{"product_id":"the-last-party-9780007134731","title":"The Last Party","description":"\u003cp\u003e'The loveliest - and certainly the most human - book about pop music I've ever read ... A delightful and humane soap opera, a real page-turner, full of rounded and entirely recognisable characters.'\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eJon Ronson, Daily Telegraph\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eTHE DEFINITIVE HISTORY OF BRITPOP - BLUR, OASIS, ELASTICA, SUEDE \u0026amp; TONY BLAIR\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBeginning in 1994 and closing in the first months of 1998, the UK passed through a cultural moment as distinct and as celebrated as any since the war. Founded on rock music, celebrity, boom-time economics and fleeting political optimism - this was 'Cool Britannia'. Records sold in their millions, a new celebrity elite emerged and Tony Blair's Labour Party found itself, at long last, returned to government.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eDrawing on interviews from all the major bands - including Oasis, Blur, Elastica and Suede - from music journalists, record executives and those close to government, The Last Party charts the rise and fall of the Britpop movement. John Harris was there; and in this gripping new book he argues that the high point of British music's cultural impact also signalled its effective demise - If rock stars were now friends of the government, then how could they continue to matter?\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eBritpop in numbers: \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cul\u003e \u003cli\u003eThere were an astonishing 2.6 million ticket applications for the Oasis gig at Knebworth in 1996. 1 in 24 of the British public wanted to see them play. In the end the band played to 250,000 fans across two nights with a guest list that ran to 7,000.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003e'Definitely, Maybe', Oasis's debut album, went straight to No 1, selling 100,000 copies in 4 days and outselling the Three Tenors in second place by a factor of 50%\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eOn its first day in the shops Oasis's second album, 'What's The Story, Morning Glory', was selling at a rate of 2 copies a minute through HMV's London stores.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003cli\u003eBy 1997 Creation Records (which had been founded 12 years earlier with a bank loan of  1,000 by an ex-British Rail Clerk Alan McGee) announced a turnover of  36million thanks almost entirely to one band: Oasis.\u003c\/li\u003e \u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eAuthor:\u003c\/b\u003e John Harris\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBinding Type:\u003c\/b\u003e Paperback\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublisher:\u003c\/b\u003e Harper Perennial\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePublished:\u003c\/b\u003e 06\/21\/2004\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003ePages:\u003c\/b\u003e 464\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eWeight:\u003c\/b\u003e 0.93lbs\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eSize:\u003c\/b\u003e 8.00h x 5.00w x 1.18d\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eISBN:\u003c\/b\u003e 9780007134731\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eRevised Edition\u003c\/b\u003e","brand":"Harper Perennial","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":46814566908041,"sku":"9780007134731","price":14.99,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0636\/9240\/6921\/files\/img_a53d742f-09bf-49f0-be17-4158dcd1782b.jpg?v=1779826703","url":"https:\/\/sonsanddaughtersbooks.com\/products\/the-last-party-9780007134731","provider":"Sons and Daughters Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}