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Britpop battle between Blur and Oasis revisited in ‘punchy’ new comedy


John Niven’s debut play explores rivalry between the two British bands who vied for the No 1 spot in the charts in 1995

The Battle is the debut stage play of novelist and screenwriter John Niven who said of the era: “Music was so central to the culture that two pop groups could dominate the entire summer, the evening news and the front page of every newspaper in the country. The play – billed as “based (mostly) on real events” – will follow the feud between the two bands preceding the chart battle, including the 1995 Brit awards where Blur beat Oasis to the trophies for best British single, album and group of the year. A year after the chart battle, coverage of a music industry charity football match centred on Liam Gallagher and Damon Albarn tussling on the pitch as the group’s rivalry continued to be hyped by the media.

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Or read this on The Guardian