Alex James on covering Oasis and going ‘classical’: “Britpop? It’s anything I fucking say it is!”
The bassist – and well-known cheese and wine connoisseur – has unveiled ambitious plans to take his orchestral celebration of the ’90s on the road for the first time in 2026, following the show’s debut at his Big Feastival event earlier this summer. The tour will see him reimagining the biggest anthems of the Britpop era with a full live orchestra, rock band and choir, alongside a roster of special guests. Among those set to appear are Phil Daniels, Saffron from Republica and Gary Stringer of Reef, with the promise of additional high-profile surprises still to come.
The idea for the project, he explains, came together almost by chance. When a planned headliner dropped out of Big Feastival, an orchestral dance show stepped in at the last minute. Seeing the impact it had on the crowd proved to be a lightbulb moment. The timing also felt perfect, arriving amid a renewed appetite for Britpop fuelled by the recent resurgence of bands from that era.
He recalls being struck by the sheer momentum of the performance he witnessed. Ninety minutes packed wall-to-wall with instantly recognisable songs left a lasting impression, convincing him that the same format could translate powerfully to Britpop’s canon. From there, the concept of an orchestral reinterpretation quickly took shape, built around the idea of delivering an uninterrupted run of era-defining hits.
With a laugh, he likens Britpop to a fine vintage. As nostalgia deepens, listeners are returning to those records with fresh appreciation, savouring the details in much the same way as a prized bottle pulled from the cellar. The real challenge, he admits, was narrowing down an overwhelming catalogue of classics into a tightly focused set – trimming several hours’ worth of material into a concentrated, celebratory experience designed to do justice to one of British music’s most beloved periods.
