Britpop rules

Producer John Battsek's documentary about the Britpop music scene in the Nineties, written and directed by John Dower, is mandatory viewing, and not just for people like myself who can't stand (or understand) a note that the Albarns, Cockers, Gallaghers and their tribe put out.

Well, maybe Cocker is an exception: he once had a flat above me, and talked sense when we met.

This is a valuable record of a fast-changing Britain and contains a marvellous last-minute comeuppance for all the slobbish, inarticulate and dumb-faced pop idols who try to screw words out of their addled brains and tell us where they were and what they did when, like, contributing to our cultural heritage on Spike Island or at Glastonbury.

When New Labour hijacked the "Cool Britannia" phenomenon in order to rebrand Left-wing politics with the imprimatur of youth, it was the speedy beginning of the end - and most of the Britpop prats couldn't see it.

The sight of Noel Gallagher sipping champagne in Downing Street with an ingratiating Tony Blair - Liam, to his credit, stayed home - is one of the choicest embarrassments in a movie that casts an exemplary cool eye of its own on the scene.

"The choreographers have taken over our world," laments a fallen Britpop star at the end, recalling entering a recording studio and finding a boy band in session: "I thought they were kids from a special-needs school."

Live Forever
Cert: cert15