The Imperial Phase

The Rise & Fall of British Indie Music 1986-1997

A man with a quiff and a hearing aid twirls around with a bunch of gladioli sprouting from his trouser pocket. Two sullen Scotsmen deafen you with descanting feedback. Jackson Pollock paint-splattered mods in flared trousers become the sound of Ecstasy. A boy and a girl writing twisted songs that inspired grunge. Five lads from Burnage standing still and playing football style anthems to hundreds of thousands of people. Common People! Bez! Parklife! The “Imperial Phase” is a term defined by Neil Tennant of the Pet Shop Boys to describe a time in an artists’ career when they were at their commercial peak – when they could do nothing wrong. This book describes the imperial phase of British indie music from the end of the Smiths to the death of Britpop. In 45 coruscating essays Ray Dexter analyses the records that told the story and analyses them in a way that has never been analysed before. Artists covered include the Smiths, Jesus and Mary Chain, Stone Roses, Happy Mondays, Primal Scream, New Order, My Bloody Valentine, Blur, Pulp, Radiohead, The Verve and many, many more. Ray Dexter is an author and fan of British indie music. This is his 12th book.