Music
Looking Back
I Should Coco by Supergrass turns 30
An album that encapsulated the beer buzz of Britpop teenage summers, I Should Coco stands up as one of the UK’s greatest ever debuts
Something magical happens when ‘Alright’ drops. From club dancefloors to house parties, festivals to day raves, the single that catapulted three Oxford teenagers to fame at the height of Britpop’s majesty is still powerful enough to transport you back to 1995. Back to baggy summers spent hanging out with mates in sun-bleached parks, swigging warm ciders while listening to I Should Coco through someone’s shitty car stereo.
Supergrass’ debut encapsulated everything British teens were experiencing. Whether you were navigating crappy GCSE results, growing sideburns, or crushing on someone you shouldn’t, I Should Coco had a song to soundtrack your hormone-fuelled trials and tribulations.
Recorded in Cornwall’s Sawmill Studios and released in May 1995, I Should Coco came about after the success of the band’s debut single ‘Caught By The Fuzz’ the year before on small indie label Backbeat Records. Formed in 1993, Supergrass – Gaz Coombes, Mick Quinn and Danny Goffey – had been playing the Oxford circuit before being scouted by Sam Williams, who went on to produce their debut.
Influenced by artists including The Kinks, The Jam and Buzzcocks, Supergrass brought a fresh energy to the Bitpop scene. Boisterous, yet unable to take themselves too seriously, here was a trio of vibrant young scruffs riding the wave of the red-white-and-blue zeitgeist while still managing to sound completely unique. And, the British youth went absolutely (ahem) mad fer it.
All five singles from I Should Coco entered the British charts (the album itself reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and stayed there for three weeks), but it was ‘Alright’, the fifth and final single, that sent them stratospheric.
Taking no prisoners with its delightfully jaunty piano intro, ‘Alright’ is three minutes of pure pop candy pleasure, with Gaz firing out lyrics about girls, smoking fags and hanging out with mates. The music video featured the lads whizzing about on bicycles wearing bright tees, their names emblazoned on the front like members of a 60s mod skit show.
Gaz had those sideburns, Mick had the grin, but let’s face it, most of the girls fancied Danny (a dear friend of this writer had a picture of Goffey in her downstairs loo for years). They were young, they ran green, and the single became a cultural phenomenon in the Britpop landscape.
Other notable singles included the deliciously crunchy ‘Caught By The Fuzz’ – where Coombes recounts being busted for cannabis possession at 15 years of age, the racing bassline reflecting every teen’s adrenaline-soaked nightmare when mum comes to collect them from the police station, ugh – and ‘Lenny’, with its thumpy glam-rock intro that gives and exaggerated nod to the likes of T.Rex and others. ‘Mansize Rooster’ still sounds glorious, the plinking piano line adding more than a dash of 60s flavour to their scuzzy punk sound.
This writer still has a huge soft spot for ‘Lose It’, the fifth song on the album. It’s unsettling vocal line prequelling ‘Mary’ (one of Supergrass’ later singles) ‘Lose It’ tapped into the band’s penchant for strangeness. It would remind me of nights walking home through the street-lit parks of my youth, trying to disguise the smell of cigarette smoke on my clothes with Charlie Red body spray. Something about ‘Lose It’ felt dangerous, and my 14-year old Buffy-obsessed brain embraced it.
Same thing with ‘Strange Ones’. While the Britpoppers were bouncing about to ‘Alright’ on student union dancefloors, I was creating little folklorish narratives in my head to the darker side of I Should Coco. It’s the Supergrass musical side-hustle I’m still hugely fond of, and one that I’ve followed throughout their career.
The incredible thing about I Should Coco is that it is an iconic Britpop album (obviously) yet, it doesn’t really sound like anything else that was released during that time. It went on to carve Supergrass a niche in what would later become a hugely saturated market, and ultimately, set them on a path where they could experiment and build on their sound. In It For The Money is still one of the greatest sophomore albums of all time, following I Should Coco like a swaggering big brother riding a shit motorbike.
I cannot think of one friend, music fan or critic that doesn’t think of Supergrass fondly. In many ways, they still represent the freedom of that mid 90s summer, and probably always will. Now playing the album in full this month, they’re also spending the summer back on festival stages – including a rumored opening slot at The Pyramid Stage. Race you to the front.
