Cool Britannia

Geri Halliwell in her iconic red, white and blue Union Jack dress.

Cool Britannia was a period of increased pride in the culture of the United Kingdom throughout most of the 1990s inspired by 1960s pop culture. The success of Britpop and musical acts such as the Spice Girls and Oasis led to a renewed feeling of optimism in the United Kingdom following the tumultuous years of the 1970s and 1980s. It is a pun on the title of the British patriotic song "Rule, Britannia!".

Origins of the term

The phrase "Cool Britannia" was first used in 1967 as a song title by the Bonzo Dog Doo Dah Band. The phrase "Cool Britannia" reappeared in early 1996 as a registered trade mark for one of Ben & Jerry's ice-creams, and as used by the media and in advertising, it seemed to capture the cultural renaissance of London at the time (as celebrated in a 1996 Newsweek magazine cover headlined "London Rules". The election of Tony Blair's Labour government in 1997, seen by some as young, cool and very appealing, was a main driving force in giving Britain a feeling of euphoria and optimism.

The use of this term was similar to that of "Swinging London" for the boom in art, fashion and popular music during the early years of Harold Wilson's Labour government. Such a parallel was apt as, like Blair, Wilson was considered a relatively young Prime Minister, his administration ended an extended period of Conservative governments (tarnished in the latter period by scandal), and his early tenure coincided with a period of economic prosperity. Many of the creative industries labelled as Cool Britannia were avowedly inspired by the music, fashion and art of the 1960s.

1990s culture

To the extent that it had any real meaning, "Cool Britannia" referred to the transient fashionable London scene: clubs included the Ministry of Sound and the underground megatripolis at Heaven, 1990s bands such as Blur and Oasis, fashion designers, the Young British Artists and magazines. Cool Britannia also summed up the mood in Britain during the mid-1990s Britpop movement, when there was a resurgence of distinctive British rock and pop music from bands such as Oasis, Blur, Suede, Supergrass, Pulp, The Verve and Elastica, as well as the Spice Girls. The renewal in British pride (reinforced by the strong and uninterrupted growth of the British economy from 1993), was symbolised in iconic imagery such as Noel Gallagher's Union Flag guitar and Geri Halliwell's skimpy Union Jack dress, worn at the 1997 Brit Awards. The Euro 96 football tournament, hosted in England, is also considered an event that encouraged a resurgence of patriotism, particularly in England. John Major, who was prime minister at the time, famously took credit (Nov. 1996).

In March 1997 Vanity Fair published a special edition on Cool Britannia with Liam Gallagher and Patsy Kensit on the cover; the title read 'London Swings! Again!'. Figures in the issues included Alexander McQueen, Damien Hirst, Graham Coxon and the editorial staff of Loaded. By 1998 The Economist was commenting that "many people are already sick of the phrase," and senior Labour politicians, such as Foreign Secretary Robin Cook, seemed embarrassed by its usage. By 2000 - after the decline of Britpop as a tangible genre- it was being used mainly in a mocking or ironic way.

Similar terms have been used regionally for similar phenomena; in Wales and Scotland, "Cool Cymru" and "Cool Caledonia," respectively, have been used.

See also

• British Invasion
• Cool Japan
• Korean Wave
• "Things Can Only Get Better"

External links

• "Whatever happened to Cool Britannia ? The UK after eight years of Blair", Cerium, May 2005. Links to papers and video.