Oxford
Oxford appears in 4 Songsheets issues: Shoegaze and Dreampop, C86 and Indie Pop, Northern Soul and Britpop. 6 artists in the archive came from here, including Ride, Swervedriver and Talulah Gosh. Key places include The Jericho Tavern.
Ride and Swervedriver emerged from Oxford's student scene, forming the Thames Valley wing of shoegaze alongside nearby Reading.
Scenes
Artists from Oxford
- Ride
Ride formed in Banbury in 1988, four musicians writing songs in student digs before becoming, by 1990, one of the bands at the front of the Thames Valley scene.
- Swervedriver
Swervedriver came out of Oxford with a heavier, more motorik take on shoegaze, drawing more from Hüsker Dü and Dinosaur Jr.
- Talulah Gosh
Talulah Gosh formed in Oxford in 1986, after Amelia Fletcher and Elizabeth Price met at a club, both wearing Pastels badges; they took their name from an NME headline about Clare Grogan.
- Roger Eagle
Roger Eagle, a public-school rebel from Oxford who moved north, became the Twisted Wheel's DJ on 24 November 1963, building its reputation on imported American blues and rhythm and blues.
- Supergrass
Gaz Coombes, Danny Goffey and Mick Quinn formed Supergrass in Oxford in 1993.
- Heavenly
After Talulah Gosh ended, Amelia Fletcher regrouped with her brother Mathew, Peter Momtchiloff and Rob Pursey as Heavenly in Oxford in 1989.
Places
- The Jericho Tavern1980s-present · Shoegaze and Dreampop
A Thames Valley venue where many Reading and Oxford-based shoegaze bands developed their sound, serving as a regional hub before bands made the move to London's larger scene.
Records made by artists from Oxford
Connections
London and the Thames Valley formed a connected shoegaze corridor; Creation Records signed bands from across the region.