Jacknife Lee: “Britpop Was the ‘Make America Great Again’ of Its Time: A Xenophobic and Feminine Phenomenon”

Jacknife Lee’s Opinion on Britpop

Jacknife Lee referred to Britpop as “Make America Great Again on your day,” dismissing it as “xenophobic shit” and “feminine.”

• Read more: “Britpop uprising and falling”: What happened to key players next time

Lee’s Musical Background

The Irish producer is renowned for his work with some of the music industry’s biggest names, including U2, REM, Taylor Swift, Snow Patrol, The Killers, and One Direction. However, in the 90s, he played guitar in the cult Dublin Indie Punk band.

This group has recently reissued its two studio albums “Comforter” (1994) and “The Future Is Medium” (1996) on Friday (May 2) through a small independent label.

Speaking with Loud Sound in support of the reissue, Lee reflected on the time when Cuntulion’s music was released, during an era of British and Irish guitar music dominated by the Britpop movement.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DCDQCLDMK0

When asked what he finds lacking in Britpop, Lee responded: “It was such a nostalgic look back at older England. People were reminiscing about the ‘glorious days’ for Britain, like the 1966 World Championship, The Small Faces, reflecting on a time when Britain was a colony, and they didn’t voice complaints.”

“And Britpop was that ‘Make America great again’ for your day, all this rule is British shit. Loaded magazine, it was TFI Friday; it was just damn boys asking for boobs. It was terrible and we hated it.”

Explaining how he viewed coercion as a means of confrontation, he continued: “We were a bit more right, with a very Marxist perspective on things, which fueled our anger. We raged, damn crazy with amphetamines, fighting the good fight. So we weren’t going to join those groups; we just fled. Fast Grunge/Punk—when we were told we could fit in, we just ran away.”

After the band’s breakup in 1997, Lee pursued a solo career, releasing his first album, Muy Rico, in 1998, followed by Punk Rock High Roller in 2001 and a third album in 2007.

However, it was his persistent work as a producer that led to his greatest successes. Some of his early productions include the 2003 Snow Patrol album Final Straw and U2’s How to Dismantle an Atomic Bomb in 2004. He also produced the last two albums by REM, Accelerate (2008) and Collapse Into Now (2011).

More recently, he co-wrote “Last Time” for Taylor Swift’s album Red in 2012, featuring Gary Lightbody from Snow Patrol. He also collaborated with Lol Tolhurst and Siouxsie and Budgie of Siouxsie and the Banshees on the album Los-Angel in 2023.