Music for Misfits: The Story of Indie

Into the Mainstream (1x3)

: 16, 2015

Episode three begins with the original independent labels struggling in the wake of acid house, allowing the major labels to move in on 'indie cool' with Britpop and the subsequent rise of early ‘90s heavyweights Blur and Oasis. Bands with an old indie ethos, such as Suede, were still breaking through but switched from independent labels – creatively thriving, but in crisis financially – to majors which, although conservative, were commercially astute, thus guaranteeing international recognition and success. By the mid ‘90s, this move away from the independents, along with the demise of many of the era’s defining bands as a result of money problems and creative divisions, meant the spirit of the DIY boom had all but gone and for now 'indie' became a genre/sound rather than an alternative approach to making and releasing music. It also explores the current indie renaissance, the enduring appeal of the movement’s first wave of bands, the return of labels such as Rough Trade, and the new crop of independent labels that have learnt from the mistakes of the past and are teaming creativity with commercial success, such as Domino, which manages Arctic Monkeys and Franz Ferdinand. This episode features exclusive interviews with performers including Alex Kapranos of Franz Ferdinand, The Libertines’ Carl Barat, James Dean Bradfield of Manic Street Preachers, Shaun Ryder, Suede’s Bernard Butler, Stuart Murdoch of Belle And Sebastian, Bob Stanley of Saint Etienne, and Cocteau Twins’ Simon Raymonde. It also includes interviews with a number of influential music industry figures such as James Endeacott formerly of Rough Trade Records and founder of 1965 Records, Heavenly Recordings’ Jeff Barrett, Creation Record’s Alan McGee, Pete Waterman, journalists Alexis Petridis and Sian Pattenden, and indie music author Richard King.