Top 5 films from 2015

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation

Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation is an American all action film written and directed by the talented Christopher McQuarrie, staring big name actors such as Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner and Alec Baldwin.

The plot revolves around Ethan Hunt, an agent contracted to the IMF before the agency was dissolved and merged into the CIA. Hunt then goes on an individual undercover mission parallel to the CIAs alternative mission, taking him across all corners of the world in order to halt the progression of a highly dangerous terrorist rogue nation called the Syndicate.

This film has it all, flash cars, attractive women, expensive suits, the lot. This film had me gripped from the start to the finish, hooking me in immediately and letting me loose at the end. A film with as much action as this is bound to have anyone on the edge of their seat, as the storyline as convoluted yet simple has us wondering at any given moment what could happen next. As well as the fancy motor vehicles and what not, Mission: Impossible is jam packed with adventure, adrenaline and danger, as they audience grow a swift yet strong attachment to the characters, in particular that of Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise).

The film was so successful in its opening weekend that it managed to make back over a third of its $150,000,000 budget, $55,290,000 to be precise. It’s hard to judge the film’s financial success just now, as it is still being shown in UK and US cinemas, and is yet to be made available on DVD, NetFlix or Amazon Prime. However, its opening weekend intake is certainly and effective barometer to predict it’s success with. So far, in under two months, the film as taken somewhere in the region $190,000,000, so it’s certainly made its money back.

Jurassic World

Jurassic World is an American Sci-fi action movie direct by Colin Trevorrow, staring stars such as Chris Pratt, Ty Simpkins and Judy Greer. This film has been highly successful in the Box Office and rightly so.

The plot begins with two siblings, Zach and Gray, one young teen and one old teen. The older one of which accompanies his younger brother to a new theme park, built on the Costa Rican side of the old Jurassic Park. The two of them seem to be enjoying themselves without any issues, that is until an error at the park releases and umpteen foot tall slaughtering machine of a dinosaur, causing panic, danger and wreaking havoc throughout the park. The plot follows the boys, their auntie (whom works on the site) and her co-worker who helps train dinosaurs on their fight for survival.

What I love about this movie is the graphic nature of it. Don’t get me wrong, it could be a hell of a lot more gruesome, which would severely hamper the reception of the film. At the same time, however, it could be a lot less visual, which would also hamper the film as it wouldn’t be gripping enough or provide that same ‘edge of your seat scenario.’ I think the special effects department did a masterstroke on measuring just the right amount of gore suitable for viewing.

Jurassic World, similarly to ‘Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation’ provokes the same element of tension, in fact is provokes it in a greater detail. Because children are involved, this emits a stronger emotion attachment, relationship and bond between the audience and the characters on screen. This in turn creates more trepidation in the minds of the audience as they feel genuine fear when the characters are in perceived danger.

The Box Office figures for Jurassic World are astonishing, let alone ground-breaking. Note that the budget for Jurassic World was $150,000,000. On its opening weekend it took in a quite staggering $205,000,000. Yes, your eyes aren’t deceiving you, two-hundred-and-five-billion US dollars. A whole third of the movie’s gross was made up in its opening weekend. This is quite unbelievable.

San Andreas

San Andreas is an American action and disaster film directed by Brad Peyton, starring Dwayne Johnson and Carla Gugino. The film, written primarily by Carlton Cuse was in dedication to the victims Hurricane Katrina, ten years after it swept through the unfortunate city of New Orleans.

San Andreas was a good film in the sense that it achieved its purpose. The writers, actors and special effects effectively portrayed the desperate struggle and desire to save lives that overcomes the human mind at a point of real danger.

Dwayne Johnson, as is customary with any Dwayne Johnson film, is the big, tough do-no-wrong guy who sweeps in and saves the day at the last. Not a real surprise really, and in many ways the film was veering towards that scenario and it wasn’t tough to predict what would happen and who would be the saviour. Johnson plays his role expertly, a very good actor who deserves more credit and consideration regarding other roles, but is unfortunately only suited to a limited percentage of character profiles.

After disaster strikes California in the form of multiple and vigorous earthquakes, helicopter firefighter (Dwayne Johnson) has to save the day. His journey is made all the more important when he has to save his daughter, while he was accompanied mid-air with her mother, with whom he is estranged.

Ant-Man

Ant-Man is the latest ‘man’ action movie from the Marvel franchise to date, directed by Peyton Reed. Following in the footsteps of Spiderman, Iron Man and the Incredible Hulk, Ant-Man is out there to protect the world from evil.

Ant-Man, whose character name is Scott Lang is played brilliantly by Paul Rudd, who by the way deserved a role in a film as such, after great performances in ‘Friends’ the TV series and both ‘Anchorman and ‘Anchorman 2.’

Lang, a single dad who has spent numerous terms in prison for crimes such as robbery is recruited in rather unorthodox circumstances by the intelligent Dr. Hank Pym, who assigns him a mission that he can’t refuse. There’s no pressure on you, Scott. You only have to save the world, okay?

Ant-Man received huge credit from those who have the authority to critique films, with the IMDB (Internet Movie Database) giving the movie a highly impressive score of 7.7 out of 10, which doesn’t seem like much, but it’s a very high score from IMDB.

The film had a large budget of $130,000,000, of which just less than half was retained in its opening weekend. Overall, the massive Marvel film gained $47,000,000 by September the 18th, taking in an amount somewhere within the region of $177,000,000.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E.

The Man from U.N.C.L.E. is a British-American action and spy film written and directed by Guy Ritchie, starring Archie Hammer and Alicia Vikander.

Set in the 1960s, with the Cold War very much is full swing, three members of opposing agencies find themselves working alongside one and other to prevent a criminal establishment from creating a nuclear, potentially Armageddon-causing bomb. Although originally reluctant to collaborate, the three of them do so for the sake of the small matter of saving the world.

For a film with Hugh Grant, this is surprisingly very successful and very enjoyable to watch. At first, I was a little bit sceptical about the film, and didn’t know what to expect when I sat down to watch it for the first time. I have to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised by The Man From U.N.C.L.E and I think Guy Ritchie did an excellent double job of writing and directing, a very good film with some thrilling scenes.

This film, despite the highly positive reviews, is yet to perform in the box office. With a budget of $75,000,000, The Man From U.N.C.L.E took $13,500,000 in its debut weekend, and as of September 18 had only grossed $45,000,000.

Top five British comedians:

Sean Lock

Sean Lock is a veteran comedian who has been on the circuit for a long period of time, since 1993 to be precise. Lock, similarly to Rhod Gilbert, gets angry about the minutest of circumstances, and uses this within his act to his advantage.

Without a doubt, Sean Lock is the most random comedian I’ve ever stumbled across. A conversation could be petering out into non-existence and silence, but Sean can rejuvenate a sentence by mentioning the most peculiar of objects, such as the plastic bit on the end of a shoe lace, or the tedious act of bleeding a radiator, to take the conversation into a different direction and revitalising it from nowhere.

Sean Lock, like Jimmy Carr has been a regular on ‘8 out of 10 Cats’ since its formation on 2005, as a guest captain. In the time in which he has been a guest captain, the other side has had three guest captains in Dave Spikey, Jason Manford and Jon Richardson.

Lock is a very talented live comic, as well as on television, and his abilities on the stage were rewarded in 2000 when he won the British Comedy Award for Best Live Comic. For a comedian, Lock gives off a very miserable demeanour, much like Rhod Gilbert and fellow comedian Jack Dee. This however, is all part of a wonderfully constructed act, image and adapted persona designed to get the best out of his comedic abilities.

Josh Widdicombe

Josh Widdicombe is a young and aspiring comedian from Devon. Another Southern comic to add to my collection, Widdicombe has appeared on just about everything to appear on, such as: 8 out of 10 Cats, Mock The Week and The Last Leg. He even hosts his on radio show on BBC Radio 5 Live. Within in the last eighteen to twenty-four months, Josh’s career has really taken off.

Originally born in Hammersmith, Widdicombe moved to Devon with his family as a child. The 32-year-old’s first venture into the comedy scene was in 2008, when he performed at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival that year. Since he appeared in 2008, the Devonian has been a regular every year at the most popular comedy festival in the country. With those consecutive appearances, came experience, something he thrived on that made him succeed to where he is now. To further enhance his reputation on the set, Widdicombe supported (at the time) high profile comedians such as Michael McIntrye and Shappi Korsandi.

After the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics, Josh became a regular on Adam Hills’ 22:00 Channel Four show The Last Leg, as the only able bodied regular on the panel of the show. This is where Widdicombe’s success really started to come to prominence, as he began to make sporadic appearances on well acclaimed quiz-coms such as ‘8 out of 10 Cats’ and ‘Mock the Week’, as well as appearing on the Graham Norton’s Friday night chat show.

Josh is known to have a close relationship with fellow comic Jon Richardson – another brilliant comedian – and this is useful when he appears on ‘8 out of 10 Cats’ and their version of ‘Countdown,’ with Richardson is a team captain.

From ‘The Last Leg,’ Widdicombe developed a strong friendship with fellow presenter Alex Brooker. So much so, that the pair appeared on ‘The Million Pound Drop’ together, and won £100,000 each for them to donate to a charity of their choice.

Josh’s humour is somewhat quirky, and as such he makes people laugh subtly, sometimes not intentionally. He uses his voice well too, he adapts his voice in a high pitch sometimes to add affect or to create emphasis on a joke in order to make his jokes funnier and more effective.

Jimmy Carr

Jimmy Carr is an English born stand-up comedian that was born and raised into an Irish Catholic family.

Carr is one of my favourite comedians of all time, from any country, of any genre. I’m gutted that I haven’t had the luxury of seeing one of his gigs live, but it’s certainly near the top of my bucket list. He is known very much for having a dark, dark sense of humour. There’s no boundaries with Jimmy Carr, and even if there were, he wouldn’t care for them. Carr could take anything, you name it, and somehow, turn an edge on it that makes it funny.

Carr has received many criticisms from all areas of the media due to his controversial style and sense of humour, and the fact that he has the mental toughness to – not just put up with all the hate and criticism that is hurled at him – but to take it on board, and dish it back twice as hard, while barely batting an eyelid really is testament to his character and his mental toughness. I really admire Jimmy Carr for how he doesn’t change to suit anyone, he is who he is and no one or nothing is going to make him alter his persona, even if that doesn’t suit everyone.

The 43-year-old comedian is the long serving host of popular Channel 4 quiz show ‘8 Out of 10 Cats.’ A show about opinions, polls and statistics regarding the weekly topical news. Carr used his position on the show to publicly apologise when a story was leaked about him exploiting a loophole to – legally, I must stress – avoid tax by only paying 1%. During the running of the show, Jimmy Carr has mugged off many a guest, with his magnificently spontaneous insults that are designed to stop anyone taking the mick out of him really. If he could rap, I really would try to avoid engaging in a rap battle with him – there’d only be one winner…

What I love about Jimmy Carr is the manner in which he deals with hecklers in the audience at his gigs. He’s the undisputed King of comebacks. If you ever go to a Jimmy Carr gig, don’t try and mug him off (I don’t know why you would anyway, he’s a genius) because within seconds he’ll pluck your self-esteem from the sky and drop it down to rock bottom in an instant, often quite insultingly and explicitly.

Rhod Gilbert

Rhod Gilbert is a Welsh stand-up comedian who is currently one of the most popular and successful comics at the comedy circuit at present.

Rhod is at his funniest when he’s angry. He is known for getting extremely angry at the smallest of things that shouldn’t matter to him. For example: he went on a six minute non-stop rant about Great Western Trains not having any egg and cress sandwiches for sale, despite there being an egg and cress sandwich clearly on display. Another rant he embarked on was regarding the enticing aromatherapy related words used to on Imperial Leather bubble bath bottles to promote and advertise their uses.

Outside of his act, Gilbert has suffered from severe anger issues, and has even been made to attend anger management classes once a fortnight to help nullify his anger by reducing his stress levels. However, this has not tarnished is comedic career, as a matter of fact, it’s only enhanced it. The Welshman, 46, has used his condition to his advantage. He’s exploited his weakness for the good. He’s taken a negative issue and transformed for his own positive gain, and for that, I admire him.

Another aspect of Gilbert’s demeanour that further reinforces his comedic value is his accent. When he’s ranting and raving about the most pointless of inconveniences, such as the size of the Morrisons’ baguettes or the flakes falling off of the end of a Greggs’ pasty, the icing on the cake is that broad Welsh accent. Just hearing him blurting out a heap of random facts that he’s sent to Imperial Leather to back up his statement in that thick regional dialect makes me laugh more and more.

One of the reasons I enjoy listening, watching or reading Rhod Gilbert’s material is the fact that I feel I can relate to him. Although he’s a 46 year-old Welsh man and I’m thirty years his senior, and English, I feel that we share a common value: annoyance. I’m just like him, he’s one of the angriest people, and he shows it. He gets wound up about all the little unnecessities in life, I agree with everything he says. It’s like he’s taken all my thoughts about the varying First World Problems we are faced with, and let them loose in a microphone to millions of people.

Peter Kay

Peter Kay has got to be in my top five. Peter Kay is a northern comedian, who has done both stand-up comedy, and situation comedy (Sitcoms) as an actor.

Kay, from Bolton near Manchester holds the current world record for the number of people he’s hosted in a single tour.

He recently wrote and starred in a Sitcom called ‘Peter Kay’s Car Share’ in which he played John Redmond, a supermarket assistant manager. The show also starred Sian Gibson as Kayleigh Kitson, whom John had to share a car with for the commute to and from work. The show was a huge success, in my household anyway, and the show carries some poignancy on a personal note.

Peter Kay has also worked alongside Paddy McGuiness in the Channel Four show: Max and Paddy’s Road to Nowhere. Kay and McGuiness starred for one series spanning six episdoes.

His

most incredible piece of comedy, in my eyes, is his routine in which he dismantles famous song lyrics and raises the awareness that they sound like other, some explicit and funny, lyrics. Kay took the lyrics from high profile songs, and without editing the music in any way, he highlighted some lyrics that sounded like something else. Now that I’ve heard Kay’s version of songs such as Duffy’s ‘Mercy’ and Sister Sledge’s ‘Family,’ I’ll never listen to those songs in the same way again.

Top Five Television Sitcoms

Gavin and Stacey

Gavin and Stacey (2007-2010) was a British Sitcom written by Ruth Jones and James Corden. The plot surrounded the lives of two internet daters, Gavin Shipman and Stacey West, who meet for the first time in the pilot and fall in love with one and other. The lives of their families and the integration of one and others families is poignant within the plot in future episodes.

Gavin Shipman (Mat Horne) is a 28 year old only – and spoiled – child, living with his parents Pam (Alison Steadman) and Mick (Larry Lamb). He is close with his lifelong best mate Smithy (James Corden) whose name we later learn as Neil. He’s a big football fan, supporting Tottenham Hotspur, and is portrayed in the image and personality of a typical lad of his age.

Stacey West (Joanna Page) is a Welsh 26-year-old who has never been married but has five times been engaged, although she does her best to keep that a secret from Gavin. She lives at home with her Mother Gwen (Melanie Walters) in a small town called Barry, just south of Cardiff. She spends most of her time with her very unorthodox friend ‘Nessa’ (Ruth Jones) and sees a lot of her Uncle Bryn (Rob Brydon) in the absence of her late father.

The two families converge into one as the love between Gavin and Stacey blossoms. Pam, Gavin’s mother, always tries to give off a good impression to Stacey’s family, masquerading as a vegetarian for a period of time. I’m not sure how that gives off a good impression… Although their families are close with one and other and develop a good bond, after a few drinks that all changes. There are often many comical arguments with hilarious insults, and at one point Pam labels Gwen a ‘Lip-munching sheepshagger’ referring to the rather unfortunate stereotype.

Throughout the series, there is a frosty relationship developing between ‘Nessa’ and ‘Smithy’ who are played by the two writers of the show: Ruth Jones and James Corden respectively. The pair don’t get along with one and other, except for one night where they get together and Nessa gets pregnant. They call the baby ‘Neil’ as they coincidentally have the same family tradition of calling every boy by that name.

Gavin and Stacey experience marital problems within the show, after getting married. Stacey moves into the Shipman household but struggles to set in and begins to feel extremely homesick, eventually returning to her Mother’s house in Barry. The distance becomes a factor, but the couple’s love is strong enough to get through such a problem.

The show was a huge hit in the UK and is now being repeated. There is even speculation regarding a fourth series, but we’ll have to wait and see.

The Inbetweeners

The Inbetweeners (2008-2010) was a British Sitcom and Cringe Comedy written by Damon Beasley and Iain Morris. The series was based around four teenage friends living in a suburban area of North London who class themselves as ‘one up from the freaks’ within the school environment. The key is in the title really, they’re not repulsive, but certainly not the ‘cool kids.’

The four characters are Simon Cooper (Joe Thomas), Jay Cartwright (James Buckley), Will McKenzie (Simon Bird) and Neil Sutherland (Blake Harrison). These characters represent a lot of people currently in High School or college at the moment. Don’t deny it; every circle of friends has a Jay, Neil, Simon or a Neil. If you’re thinking that you’re friendship group doesn’t have one of these characters, well, it’s probably you…

Will McKenzie is a young lad who has recently transferred from Private School to Public School and finds it hard to adjust. Simon is elected to be his carer, and reluctantly becomes friends with Will. Will then merges with Simon’s friends: Neil and Jay. Will is known to be the nerdy one of the group, which is represented by his glasses, his quotes and his briefcase, for which he gets bullied.

Jay Cartwright is known for his unnecessary vice of lying, often being called a ‘bullshitter’ by the other members of the groups. This is down to him emitting ludicrous statements about alleged sexual adventures he’s been on, when in actual fact he’s still very much a virgin.

Neil Sutherland has a very reputation of being a little bit simple. The boys often wind Neil up by accusing his Father of being a homosexual; this sexuality is heavily hinted at and insinuated by the writers throughout the series. Neil often blurts ridiculous questions that even five-year olds could answer. For example: “What is Swansea, is it an animal?” and: “What’s this pesto, is it for humans?”

Simon Cooper is perhaps the most normal – or least strange – member of the group. Although, Simon spends three series obsessing over his childhood family friend Carly, with whom he embarrasses himself on many occasions and gets nowhere. His obsession with Carly gets out of hand when he spray paints: ‘I LOVE CARLY D’AMATO’ on her driveway, albeit after a few drinks.

The cast were reunited on two occasions after the shows conclusion, creating two movies, which include trips to Cyprus and Australia, severe dehydration, Simon getting engaged and a whole host of crazy teenage antics.

Will McKenzie, played by Simon Bird. Jay Cartwright, played by James Buckley.

How I Met Your Mother

How I Met Your Mother (2005-2014) was an American Sitcom based around a group of five friends living in New York City who often socialised in a bar called MacClaren’s. The five friends were Barney Stinson (Neil Patrick Harris), Ted Mosby (Josh Radnor), Robin Scherbatsky (Cobie Smulders), Marshall Erkisen (Jason Segel) and Lily Aldrin (Alyson Hannigan). Bob Saget also features in every episode as he plays Ted’s future self in a voiceover role.

After the conclusion of Friends in 2004, How I Met Your Mother took a leaf out of its book. There are many similarities between the two programmes, which is perhaps why I chose to include How I Met Your Mother. Both shows are based in New York City. Both shows contain a setting for all the members of the group to socialise within. Both shows revolve around stories between a group of twenty-somethings, and both shows lasted for the best part of a decade.

The narrator of the show is Bob Saget, who plays the future voice of Ted Mosby, always talking in the past tense as if he is talking to his children, when referring to events that occur within the series.

Barney Stinson is a womanizer within the show, a role played excellently by Neil Patrick Harris, as the actor is in fact gay, which makes Barney’s confident approach to talking to women all the more surprising. Never seen in any other attire than a suit, the young business man acts as Ted’s ‘wingman’ when Ted, an architect, is not in a relationship with Robin, a news reporter.

Marshall Eriksen and Lily Aldrin are the married couple within the circle of five, having met in college. Lily is a primary school teacher, while Marshall is the breadwinner working for his big corporate company.

Ted Mosby is an aspiring architect whose first big design turns out to be Marshall’s new work setting for ‘Goliath National Bank.’ We know most about Ted and his troubles with women as his character is voiced by the narrator. Ted and Robin have an on-off relationship in the plot of the series.

(Left to right): Robin, Ted, Marshall, Lily and Barney grabbing a bite to eat and a drink in Maclaren’s Pub.

The cast of How I Met Your Mother in 2005.

Family Guy

Family Guy (1999- Present) is an American animated television show based around a Rhode Island Irish Catholic Family.

Most episodes are based around the Father, Peter. Peter has a quintessential housewife in Lois, who is unemployed and stays at home permanently looking after their infant Son, Stewie. They have two other children together in Meg, an overweight teen who gets bullied by the family, who is older Sister to Chris, a teenager in High School who also has trouble with his weight. In fact, both siblings have trouble making friends. They also have a talking, alcoholic dog named Brian.

The Hit US cartoon is a comedy, mainly revolving around Peter’s chaotic antics, Stewie and Brian’s adventures, or Stewie’s solitary plans and ambitions for world domination. The creator, Seth Macfarlane, is known for having a dark sense of humour, which is evident in the show. Family Guy should be avoided by anyone who is easily offended, often mocking events such as: 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the OJ Simpson trial.

Notable voicers are Seth MacFarlane (also the creator and director), who voices Peter and Stewie, alongside other external characters such as Glenn Quagmire, Seth Green who voices Chris Griffin and Cleveland Brown. Hollywood starlet Mila Kunis voices Meg Griffin and Alex Borstein voices Lois.

Family Guy has been cancelled twice by its network FOX, for its controversy, along with its persistent mocking of its own network. However, FOX saw some sense and returned Family Guy to our screens on both occasions. Its fourteenth season is currently being shown in the US, and there are no plans to bring the show to an end, despite MacFarlane stating in 2011 that Family Guy had exceeded his expectations.

One of the reasons why I love Family Guy is because of its random nature. Seth Macfarlane creates animated circumstances that would never occur in real life. When would you ever see an infant child mastermind a time transporting device and use that to take his alcoholic talking dog across multiple parallel universes? Every episode is twenty-five minutes of solid, guaranteed laughter, along with the uncertainty of not knowing what will happen next.

Friends

Friends (1994-2004) was an American Sitcom based around a circle of six friends living in Upper Manhattan who often socialised in a quintessential New York coffee house called ‘Central Perk.’

(Left to right): Lois, Brian, Peter, Meg, Chris and Stewie in Family Guy’s inaugural episode in 1999.

The Griffin family fifteen years on, in season 13. (2014)

Running for ten seasons, there are many fallouts (Notably between Chandler and Joey), romances between members of the group highly frequent within the plot was the on-off relationship between Ross and Rachel – and a whole host of hilarious scenes. For a comedy, viewers worldwide found themselves incredibly encapsulated within the plot of the series, with a number within the region of 52.5 million viewers tuning into the final episode: ‘The Last One.’

The plot revolves around the six main characters: Joey Tribbiani (Matt Le Blanc), his room-mate Chandler Bing (Matthew Perry), his college room-mate Ross Geller (David Schwimmer), his little sister Monica Geller (Courteney Cox), her best friend from high school Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston) with Phoebe Buffay (Lisa Kudrow) forming the sixth member of the contingent. Throughout the series, Ross and Rachel have an on-off relationship, and prematurely marry at one point. The two ultimately conform once again in the final episode. At the second of Ross’ three marriages, Chandler and Monica become an item and get married two seasons later. Joey and Rachel have a brief fling for a couple of episodes but find it hard adjusting to being in a relationship with one and other.

A BrightKauffmanCrane production, the hit US programme had a massive cultural impact throughout the USA and beyond. Not least due to Rachel Green (Jennifer Aniston)’s haircut being emulated by many female fans across the world, which lead to it being dubbed ‘The Rachel.’ Friends set the tone for many American Sitcoms as their writers and directors really opened up to the reality of everyday life of certain groups of people within New York City at the time.

September 1994 May 2004

Top five British bands from the 1990s.

Blur

Blur (1988-2003) were a British group who reached the height of their fame and power within the fascinating musical decade of the 1990s. Throughout their most successful period, the quartet helped revolutionise the British music culture and the way the general public demanded and responded to music. Damon Albarn’s somewhat unique method of projecting his voice was a breath of fresh air to the musical scene, and with the birth of Blur, came the subsequent birth of the modern genre of Brit Pop.

Personal favourites of mine were songs ‘Parklife’ (1994) and ‘Girls and Boys’ (Also 1994).

The four members of the band were the aforementioned Damon Albarn (lead singer), along with Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree. Throughout the mid-nineties, the band released three albums: ‘Modern Life is Rubbish,’ (1993), ‘Parklife’ (1994) and ‘The Great Escape’ (1995), which threw them into fame while establishing and introducing the rising Britpop culture. Their chart battle with rivals Oasis further reinforced the rise of Brit Pop, while helping them achieve high popularity, at a point which was considered the peak of their fame.

Oasis

Oasis (1991-2008) came along three years after Blur and emerged as the main rivals to their southern counterparts. Brothers Noel and Liam along with other band members further reinforced the foundations of Britpop in the British music. Throughout the highly significant decade of the nineties, Oasis released three albums: ‘Definitely Maybe’ (1994), ‘(What’s the story) Morning Glory?’ (1995), and the slightly less successful ‘Be Here Now’ (1997). Coming from Manchester, Oasis followed in the footsteps of successful Mancunian nineties bands such as ‘The Stone Roses’ and ‘Happy Mondays.’

Personal favourite songs of mine were ‘Don’t look Back in Anger’ and ‘Wonderwall,’ which were two my favourite all-time records.

In 1995, both Blur and Oasis were embroiled in a huge rivalry that was well documented throughout the entire media. Both bands declared music war on one and other and engaged in a battle for the number one UK chart spot that would be announced on hit show: ‘Top of the Pops.’ Oasis’ ‘Role With It’ went toe to toe with Blur’s ‘Country House’ in what renowned musical magazine NME had dubbed the ‘British Heavyweight Championship.’ The winner, announced by Pulp’s Jarvis Cocker was ‘Country House,’ however this didn’t hamper Oasis’ reputation as Blur were always living in the shadow of their Northern rivals.

Happy Mondays.

Happy Mondays (1980-1993) were a British band from Salford, near Manchester who peaked in the year of 1990. Lead singer Shaun Ryder along with his brother Paul, his namesake Paul Davis as well as Mark Day and Gary Whelan released a ground breaking album in November 1990. With help from renowned DJ Paul Oakenfield, ‘Pills, n thrills and bellyaches’ was the first big album of the decade. With its uniquely vibrant album cover, this revolutionary album gave the UK a strong taste of what music would be meeting their ears throughout the nineties. Their diverse combination of many genres of music attracted the attention of many DJs who saw the band as the perfect fit for some of their mixes, notably the aforementioned Paul Oakenfield.

A personal favourite of mine was the 1990 hit from ‘Pills ‘N Thrills and Bellyaches:’ ‘Step On.’

However, with great success comes great expectations; expectations that Happy Mondays simply couldn’t be equal to. As such, in 1993, the group dissolved completely. In the final year of the decade, the group (bar the exclusion of Mark Day and Paul Davis) were reunited for another two years. Since, another two attempts at reincarnating have been attempted, and as of 2012, Happy Mondays are up and running again, embarking on an 18-day UK tour to mark the 25th anniversary of their first album. Although they’re never going to be quite as electric as they were in the 1990s…

Stereophonics.

Stereophonic s (1992- Present) are a Welsh rock group who peaked between 1996 and 2000. Their ascent to prominence and fame came in 1997, when their first album ‘Word Gets Around’ was released and reached as high as sixth in the UK album charts. From this magnificent album, five singles were released such as ‘Traffic’ and ‘A Thousand Trees.’ Two years later, their second album ‘Performance and cocktails’ was released. A hit in the UK album charts, entering at number one and going platinum within a month.

Although Stereophonics’ most successful period was in the latter stages of the nineties, my favourite song of theirs comes from 2003, in the shape of ‘Maybe Tomorrow.’

Stereophonics have, as of today announced their intent to tour the UK this December to launch their new album ‘Keep The Village Alive.’ Their ninth studio album to date, spanning 23 years of existence, a mark of a very successful career. Although they may feel they have slipped under the radar somewhat, they’ve achieved a lot of success even for a band who have been dubbed A ‘nearly’ band.

The Stone Roses

Finally, The Stone Roses (1983-1996) were the third in my trio of Mancunian bands. With Ian Brown at the lead on vocals, The Stone Roses released arguably the greatest first album from any band of all time. ‘The Stone Roses’ named after its artist was an incredibly successful first album which was highly influential in the Madchester movement in the early nineties, as well as playing an instrumental role in the reinvigoration of British music that we know today as Britpop. Although not immediately rewarded for its greatness, ‘The Stone Roses’ grew on many of its critics and provided a base for many aspiring UK bands to build around.

Personal favourites of mine were ‘Waterfall’ and ‘I wanna be Adored,’ tracks five and six on ‘The Stone Roses.’

With such success with their debut album, it would prove to be incredibly difficult to emulate the monumental success achieved by ‘The Stone Roses.’ The band’s second album, which was released in 1994 and named ‘The Second Coming’, failed to hit the heights of ‘Stone Roses’ but was an excellent album nonetheless. Had ‘Second Coming’ been the first album they released, it would have achieved mass popularity, but as it followed in the footsteps of such a successful album it, rather unfortunately, failed to do so.

27,000 enthusiastic Stone Roses fans crammed into their self-constructed Spike Island gig in May 1990. A concert deemed a significant movement in the music industry that saw a high rise in outdoor concerts from then on.

Top 5 Male British solo artists

Ed Sheeran

Ed Sheeran is a young, fascinating singer who has released two award winning albums, going from the streets to stage in such a short period of time. Ed Sheeran is just about the most famous artist of his time, and at 24, he’s got a lot more to come.

What I like about him is his versatility, he sing, he can rap, he can even act (as he’s just got a part in Home And Away). His unique tone of voice can alter at any moment to reflect, resemble or symbolise his mood, state of mind and surroundings.

His story is remarkable. As a young little ginger boy with a posh accent living in a small farm town somewhere in West Yorkshire, Sheeran wanted nothing more than to become a world famous singer. So much so, he bought a one way train ticket to London as to pursue his dreams. When he arrived in London in 2008, he didn’t have a house,and often asked for favours from friends to provide him with a place to crash at nights. Most nights however, he would sleep on the Underground Tube platforms as he had no alternative.

His first big break came in June 2011, when his debut ‘The A-Team’ was released. A poignant song with heart-warming lyrics that concern real people really captured the hearts of the British public and thus went as far as number three in the UK charts. A really high for him, which gave us a really flavour of what was to come from the then twenty-year-old.

From that point onwards, Sheeran has never looked back. Recording hit albums such as ‘+’ and ‘X’ and recording songs with Taylor Swift. Personal favourite songs of mine are: ‘The A-Team’ and ‘Thinking Out Loud.’

Jake Bugg

Jake Bugg is twenty-one-year-old singer from Nottingham. Growing up in a on a council estate in rural town called Clifton, Bugg learned to play the guitar at any early age. This was just the beginning of his musical exploits. At 17, as an up and coming talent, the BBC gave him an opportunity to play a role in their Glastonbury weekened, and was subsequently given a contract by a record company.

Bugg’s distinctive voice is very recognisable, as he projects his voice in such a way that he encapsulates anybody listening to listen further. His voice is like a headline in a newspaper, it engages people and therefore they listen to more of his material.

Bugg’s music and lyrics address topical and poignant issues with the youth of today, and doesn’t hold back when talking about subjects such as drugs, sex and alcohol. He highlights said issues within teenagers and creates songs about the problems and how they are caused.

At a young age, his parents were estranged, and Jake was living in deprived area, on a council estate in Nottingham. He’s before stated that this had a profound effect on his desire to succeed, and that within his song lyrics are issues and problems that he has witnessed and faced on a first-hand basis.

Bugg has said that his experiences of his parents’ separation, coupled with living in a cash-strapped environment on a council estate have helped him become stronger as a person. He’s developed a mental toughness which has help him overcome problems that have faced him and has learned and adapted his behaviour by becoming more patient as resilient when things aren’t going his way.

James Blunt

James Blunt is a former serviceman who became a singer-songwriter in 2003. Another artist with a distinctive voice, Blunt’s song writing ability cannot be questioned. Many of Blunt’s songs are written about and in response to sad and upsetting situations such as losing a loved one and going through a break up.

He rose to prominence in 2004 when he released his debut album ‘Back To Bedlam.’ Blunt later stated that this album was inspired by his experiences in the armed forces, with whom he served a four year period. Also in the year of 2004, and on that album, Blunt recorded ‘You’re Beautiful’ which was released on May of 2005. The single, the third to be released from Back to Bedlam, reached number two in the British charts, and was distinctive song for those who listened. If you knew it, and you heard it, it was in your head for the rest of the day. A song about love at first sight, and how chance can be an important factor in your happiness, ‘You’re beautiful’ was relatable to so many people in that period of time.

Another favourite song of Blunt’s is ‘Carry You Home.’ Although not a successful as the higher end of his material, ‘Carry You Home’ carries some poignancy from a personal perspective, as it was released during a time of bereavement, while I was in mourning, and whenever I mourn now, I try to listen to this song.

I also enjoy listening to his single ‘1973.’ It’s a very catchy song which again, will be in your head if you hear it. In fact, just writing about it now has embedded it in to my head.

James Morrison

James Morrison – not to be confused with the West Bromwich Albion footballer - is a British soul singer from Rugby, Warwickshire who rose to prominence in 2006 with his debut single ‘You Give Me Something’ hitting the number five spot in the United Kingdom.

In July of that year, he released his debut album ‘Undiscovered’ which was a massive success worldwide, topping the UK charts in its first week. Undiscovered was critically acclaimed and the Sun went as far as saying: “There isn’t a bad track on the album.” This meant success for Morrison, who was previously unheard of.

However, recently his career has been on somewhat of a downward spiral, and nobody really hears his name any more, despite his wealth of musical talent. It’s sad really, but I guess when someone has a brilliant debut album then the success that comes with that is hard to emulate, maintain and replicate.

Morrison released some brilliant singles such as the previously mentioned ‘You Give Me Something,’ ‘You Make It Real’ and ‘Please Don’t Stop The Rain’ as well as collaborating with the world renowned Nelly Furtado in 2008 for the songs ‘Broken Strings.’ This was a huge step for him, as two years prior he wasn’t even known, just another person, to then combining for a duet with the one and only Nelly Furtado, this would’ve been when he thought his career had really taken off.

In 2010, he released his third studio album, called ‘The Awakening,’ however, it failed to hit the incredibly high standards he had set himself with ‘Undiscovered.’ Nonetheless, it was undoubtedly still a very good album, it’s just that ‘Undiscovered’ was ten times better, and would’ve taken a lot to emulate.

James has completed his fourth studio album, called: ‘Higher Than Here’ which will be available for purchase and download on October of 2015.

Jamie T

Jamie T is a singer-songwriter who is originally from Wimbledon is South London.

Jamie is known for having a unique voice and he is also very versatile in how he utilises that. He is known for being able to rap, and to sing, and he is not your quintessential 29-year-old male singer. He uses his vocals to create an assertive tone in his songs, I wouldn’t say he shouting, because he has a soft voice, but he uses his unique singing voice to his advantage and it’s very effective within his songs.

The singer, who is signed to Virgin Records first made a name for himself in 2007, when Radio 1 DJ and analyst Zane Lowe described ‘Back In The Game’ the hottest record in the world, as well as stating that ‘Salvador’ was his single of the week. And you know when you’re getting somewhere when Zane Lowe talks you up like that, because Zane Lowe knows what he’s talking about. Jamie released his debut album ‘Panic Prevention’ which received praise from renowned critics such as ‘Drowned in Sound’ which rated the album 10/10, with NME going for 8/10. A brilliant debut album from Jamie T, which gave us a taste of what to expect in the future from the then twenty-one-year old.

What people need to understand about Jamie T is, he’s a proper English boy. He doesn’t shy away from controversy and he tells us how it is. Yes, he swears in his songs, but that just increases the sense of realism within his lyrics and how brilliant close to the truth some of his songs come across as. Jamie T is a creator, a writer and a musician, and he’s very good at what he does.