Damon Albarn has praised his former rivals, Oasis, for making Britpop “feel like it’s the biggest thing on Earth” and doing it “very well”.
The 57-year-old singer’s band Blur had a huge rivalry with the Live Forever hitmakers in the 1990s – which culminated with the so-called Battle of Britpop, when both groups released singles in the same week in 1995, with Blur’s Country House ultimately taking the number one slot ahead of Oasis’ Roll With It.
However, Damon has tipped his hat to the Supersonic group, who are amid their first tour in 16 years – dubbed Oasis Live ’25 – for keeping Britpop very much alive and kicking.
Appearing on Mexico’s Sopitas, he said: “Oasis have done a very good job of making Britpop feel like it’s the biggest thing on Earth. I don’t know how they do it myself, how they keep doing it. They just hold on to that thing, but they do it very well.”
His latest praise for Oasis comes after he “conceded defeat” to his former foes, following the huge demand for tickets for their reunion tour.
He told The Sun newspaper: “Well, it was obvious, wasn’t it?
“I think we can officially say that Oasis won the battle, the war, the campaign, everything.
“They are the winners. They take first place. In the face of such overwhelming evidence, I am happy to accept and concede defeat.
“It’s their summer and God bless them. I hope everyone has a wonderful time but I’m going to be in a very, very different place.”
While the Gorillaz and Africa Express frontman thinks the Britpop days of the 1990s were more “joyous” than the current time, he isn’t particularly interested in looking back.
He said: “I’m not being funny but it does feel like a more innocent, joyous age than now.
“Nostalgia’s OK but I try and stay away from it as much as possible. Sometimes you can’t help but be lost in it.”