Blur bassist Alex James admits it took him 'ages to crack' Oasis hit Wonderwall
Alex James says the groove on Wonderwall is challenging to get to grips with on the bass.
Blur's Alex James has hailed former Britpop rivals Oasis' mega-hit Wonderwall's groove "f****** genius".
The bassist is hitting the road with his Britpop Classical tour next year, and he's been learning all the hits from that period for the orchestral show, including the Noel Gallagher-penned Oasis classic Wonderwall, which he admits "took me ages to crack".
Alex told NME: “There are a couple of big Pulp bangers that come off well with an orchestra, and Oasis. The Oasis stuff took me ages to crack. The groove on Wonderwall is f****** genius. It was a wonderful thing to devote a bit of patient study to that body of work.”
The Song 2 hitmaker even told Oasis bassist Andy Bell how hard it was.
He said: "I bumped into Andy Bell [bass] a couple of weeks ago and I was raving about ‘Wonderwall’: ‘Jesus, it took me ages to crack that one’. He was like, ‘Mate, I had to get the stems’. It’s brilliant.”
Alex says the bass is instrumental in tying all the songs they play together.
He explained: “No, but it’s like doing a jigsaw. It’s really satisfying to spend time with all these songs. The bass tends to be what ties them all together. I was listening to the charts on Friday to take my daughter somewhere. I hadn’t listened to the charts for ages. It’s like the high street, it’s just dominated by ever-bigger brands. You look back to the ‘90s and it was little independent acts. We do Ready To Go by Republica and Saffron [singer, and guest on the ‘Britpop Classical’ tour] still smashes the s*** out of that one. That was the slowest sleeper hit ever but it’s never gone away."
He added that while there is a nostalgic element to the resurgence in Britpop - largely thanks to Oasis' first tour in 16 years - the younger generations are also discovering the era.
He continued: “A lot of these songs mean more to people now than they did when they had their first flush. Obviously there’s a strong nostalgia element to it, but there’s more than that. My kid was having a party during half term, I stuck my head in to make sure no one was dead and they were all listening to Bittersweet Symphony. What surprised me about the last Blur tour was how many of my kids’ mates bought tickets and came to the shows.”
As well as the symphony orchestra, special guests performing Britpop classics by the likes of Blur, Oasis, Pulp, and Supergrass will include actor and musician Phil Daniels (featured on Blur's Parklife), Saffron of Republica, and Gary Stringer of Reef.
James said in a statement: “Somehow all of these songs mean more to people now than they did when they were first released. They really resonate with my kids’ generation too.
“Bringing them back to life with a symphony orchestra, a kick ass band, some old friends and very special guests totally blew the roof off at Feastival and I absolutely cannot wait to get this show on the road.”
The run will kick off in style at London's iconic Royal Albert Hall on March 11. It will then head to Birmingham, Manchester, Brighton, Nottingham, Newcastle, Glasgow, and Sheffield.
As well as the dates in March, Britpop Classical will head to Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Halifax’s Piece Hall, Dreamland in Margate, and Latitude Festival 2026.
Alex James’ Britpop Classical 2026 UK tour dates:
March 11 – Royal Albert Hall, London
March 12 – Symphony Hall, Birmingham
March 14 – O2 Apollo, Manchester
March 15 – Brighton Centre, Brighton
March 17 – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
March 18 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
March 19 – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
March 21 – Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield
