Reach for the Stars: 1996–2006: Fame, Fallout and Pop’s Final Party: A Times Summer Read 2023

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Jones said the BPI “will review our processes for the next event in 2024, as we always do, to make sure we take on board any learnings and ensure our approach is the right one”. You want the Brits to dance like no one’s watching, and to recapture the chaos that made it a must-watch in the 90s The Guardian review is here . Here’s a nice one from The Observer. Another from The Times , and one from its weekend sister, The Sunday Times . Classic Pop gave it 5/5, which was lovely. I wrote something about it for the Daily Express , while The Mirror ran this extract . Heat did one too . As did The Guardian . I also wrote this piece for The Guardian about how bonkers some of the pop was. Prepare to be left open mouthed...some of the finest secrets from the pop-music landscape of those heady times.' -- Heat An outstanding music book. England's Dreaming for people with a working knowledge of 5ive.' -- Fergal Kinney

Reach for the Stars By Michael Cragg | Used | 9781788707244 Reach for the Stars By Michael Cragg | Used | 9781788707244

Vivid moments in your life reduced to long forgotten anecdotes. Historical events reduced to kitsch. And things that you had considered appalling have now been reappraised as cultural milestones by people two decades younger than you. An outstanding catalogue of oral testimonies from major and minor players in UK pop in the decade before the financial crash.' -- New Statesman In the period covered by his book Reach for the Stars, Cragg said, pop stars wanted to win Brits “because it was a shot at recognition that they weren’t getting elsewhere. It was pop versus indie, and winning offered credibility.” But two decades later, pop is taken seriously by critics and every popstar can reach fans directly online. What is a Brit award worth in 2023?

I had absolutely no doubt we were going to make it. We found out Simon Cowell was a big deal in the industry, drove up to London really early and jumped out on him singing Wannabe along to our tape.

Reach for the Stars: The perils of being a 90s pop star Reach for the Stars: The perils of being a 90s pop star

I never wanted to be on TV. I was very naive to television. But I think it helped that I was naive. It was extremely hard on us and our families. They were equally thrust into the spotlight with no idea of how to deal with any of it. We were told we were the fattest band in pop countless times so we made a point of eating numerous bars of chocolate and fast food in defiance. We had a No1 and were the most famous band in the country but we were all pretty broke and I was still paying off my student debt. We know everything about our current crop of pop stars because they begrudgingly have to make TikToks every morning. In Reach for the Stars, Michael delves into the pre-internet pop era, speaks to the people that (just about) survived it and makes some extraordinary discoveries. I can't think why anyone wouldn't love this book.' -- Greg James, radio and TV presenter The bastions of '00s pop - armed with buoyant, immaculately crafted, carefree anthems - provided entertainment, escapism and fun for millions. It was a heady, chorus-heavy decade - populated by the likes of Steps, S Club 7, Blue, 5ive, Mis-Teeq, Hear'Say, Busted, Girls Aloud, McFly, Craig David and Atomic Kitten, among countless others - yet the music was often dismissed as inauthentic, juvenile, not 'worthy' enough: ultimately, a 'guilty pleasure'. Now, music writer Michael Cragg aims to redress that balance.The late nineties to early noughties was the golden era of TV talent shows making sudden pop stars of ordinary people, writes Natasha Wynarczyk. Mercury made his last public appearance to collect the award for outstanding contribution to British music alongside his Queen bandmates. Looking gaunt, his only words were: “Thank you … goodnight.” He died just under two years later. A book that does justice to an extraordinarily fertile period for British pop - Michael Cragg's assessment of new millennium bubblegum is top rate storytelling.' -- Bob Stanley Using the oral-history format, Cragg goes beneath the surface of the bubblegum exterior, speaking to hundred's of the key players about the reality of their experiences. Compiled from interviews with popstars, songwriters, producers, choreographers, magazine editors, record-company executives, TV moguls and more, this is a complete behind-the-scenes history of the last great movement in British pop - a technicolour turning-point ripe for re-evaluation, documented here in astonishing, honest and eye-opening detail.

Reach for the Stars by Michael Cragg review — were we too

On 11 February, the Brit awards will break new ground, taking place on a Saturday for the first time in its 46-year history. With performances from acts including Lizzo and Harry Styles, the hope is to “breathe new life into the ceremony, while also introducing a new and more engaged audience”, according to this year’s Brits chairman, Damian Christian, who is managing director and president of promotions at Atlantic Records. Music journalist Michael Cragg, who interviewed key players from 1996-2006 for his new book Reach for the Stars, said: “Nearly everyone I spoke to go misty-eyed.” Having written for the likes of The Guardian, Vogue and Popjustice (as well as being a few years older than me), Michael Cragg is in the perfect position to deliver an authoritative tome on this period in pop music, as well as making sense of the pitch battles between the poptivists and the real music bores. In the introduction, he makes the case that: A brilliant, celebratory, gossipy history of 90s pop. Great stories and interviews. If that's your era, you'll love it.' -- Richard OsmanYou won't find a more comprehensive and entertaining pop book than this.' -- Jordan Paramor, journalist and author Explores in fascinating detail the dizzy, competitive, lost world of nineties and noughties “manufactured” pop” Described in 7 Heaven as “a bit of thinker”, he was often the one who cared about the band’s perception. After the excellent, disco-tinged Don’t Stop Movin’ earned them a slither of credibility – helped by Cattermole, McIntosh and Jon Lee being arrested for smoking weed in central London, leading to copious “Spliff Club 7” headlines – it was Cattermole, realising the chance the band had to move beyond DayGlo kid-friendly pop, who pushed for the follow-up single to be equally as exciting. He didn’t get his way. If you're coming to Coles by car, why not take advantage of the 2 hours free parking at Sainsbury's Pioneer Square - just follow the signs for Pioneer Square as you drive into Bicester and park in the multi-storey car park above the supermarket. Come down the travelators, exit Sainsbury's, turn right and follow the pedestrianised walkway to Crown Walk and turn right - and Coles will be right in front of you. You don't need to shop in Sainsbury's to get the free parking! Where to Find Us The latest Ofcom figures show that broadcast viewing by 16- to 24-year-olds has dropped by two-thirds in the past 10 years. Additionally, the Brits’ viewing figures for all ages halved in the past decade, showing a bigger decline than the Baftas, and one worse than the overall all-ages viewing decline, said TV analyst Tom Harrington, of Enders Analysis. The BPI stressed the Brits’ engagement with young fans across social media and YouTube, citing 44m views across performances and highlights from the 2022 show on its official YouTube channel, in addition to viewing figures that gave ITVX its best single day of 2022 until Love Island started in June.

Reach for the Stars: The perils of being a 90s pop star - BBC Reach for the Stars: The perils of being a 90s pop star - BBC

But it wasn’t like I didn’t feel it every time someone was shouting my name in a northern accent. I had to ride the storm and I’m so thankful the second wave of my music happened. It still has PR value, though it is less a long-term sales driver than a desired co-sign,” said a publicist for several Brit-winning UK pop acts. “If you win a Brit there is heightened belief within a label that other territories will engage more.” Artists still campaign around the Brits by “building to a crescendo in [their] ongoing release and touring plans that run parallel to the well-known voting window”, they said.Alongside Ian Winwood’s excellent ‘ Bodies’, ‘Reach for the Stars’ acts as a love letter to music and also as a cautionary tale of how the industry consumes, adapts and sets the agenda without any regard for the artists. I’d been on Irish Popstars in 2001. They had an over-18s limit and I’d just turned 16 at the time. I got disqualified. I went to Scotland to audition. You don’t think you’re going to win these things. But these attempts to reach fans where they are may not be enough. Michael Cragg is author of the forthcoming Reach for the Stars: 1996-2006 – Fame, Fallout and Pop’s Final Party, which details the Brits coronations and disappointments of Y2K pop acts such as Steps. “Award shows need that sense of collective hysteria,” he said. “You could watch a funny acceptance speech on TikTok, but I’m not convinced that makes a solid connection between the Brits and the viewer. It’s just more content.” He said: “Sorry, girls, I don’t think you’re quite right,” and went into his office. We’ve both laughed about that since because he was so very wrong. The Brits’ truest form of relevance, said the publicist, may be that “when you see uncertainty around the Brits, you’re watching the anxieties around the music industry play out on stage: how do we break British acts on a global scale? What does diversity, equality and inclusion look like within a label, or in the nomination process? Are pop stars so ‘online’ that they’re scared of doing or saying anything interesting?”