These days no genre is complete without the addition of an orchestra. House, techno, grime, metal – they have all been subjected to well-intentioned but often ill-conceived fusions with classical music. So it was probably only a matter of time before some bright spark came up with the idea of applying the same concept to Britpop.
Well, that bright spark is Blur bassist Alex James, who put together such a show, called, ahem, Britpop Classical, for his own event, the Big Feastival, this year. Now it’s been announced that he is taking it to London’s Albert Hall next spring before embarking on a full UK tour.
Joining James in this venture will be both the London Concert Orchestra and the Royal Philharmonic Concert Orchestra, as well as Gary Stringer, the lead singer of Reef, Saffron from Republica and good old Phil Daniels, who will doubtless reprise his turn on Parklife.
In some ways, Britpop goes classical makes more sense that previous attempts to graft orchestras onto other genres. After all, virtually every Britpop act got round to recording at least one weepy strings-enhanced ballad: Blur had The Universal, Oasis had The Masterplan, The Verve gave us Bittersweet Symphony and Pulp delivered Something Changed. That's four songs for the setlist already (no need to thank us, Alex).
James has said in a statement: "Somehow all of these songs mean more to people now than they did when they were first released. They really resonate with my kids' generation too. Bringing them back to life with a symphony orchestra, a kick ass band, some old friends and very special guests totally blew the roof off at Feastival and I absolutely cannot wait to get this show on the road.”
RG events is producing the tour, with Director of Events Owen Kent commenting: “The energy at Big Feastival was off the scale - the crowd reaction made it instantly clear we had something special on our hands. Britpop Classical takes songs that people already love and reimagines them in a way that’s powerful, and totally exhilarating. Kicking off the tour at the Royal Albert Hall is the perfect way to launch what we believe will be one of 2026’s must-see shows.”
If all that sounds like your cup of darjeeling, then head over to the Britpop Classical website for ticket information.
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