Ocean Colour Scene - Hundred Mile High City

What this video is

Released in June 1997, 'Hundred Mile High City' arrived at the commercial apex of the Britpop era, months after Oasis's 'Be Here Now' cycle and concurrent with a broader consolidation of guitar-led British rock in the mainstream charts. Ocean Colour Scene, rooted in Birmingham rather than London, occupied a distinctly Mod-influenced strand of the movement, drawing on 1960s soul and rock textures. The single reached…

Why it matters

The video is a canonical example of the mid-90s British guitar rock promo format: high-energy performance footage shot with a documentary-realist sensibility, prioritising the band's live power over narrative or concept. Its fast editing pace and warm film aesthetic defined the visual grammar of…

The director

Sunderland-born Tony Briggs began his career as a freelance photographer and director working for London record labels including Acid Jazz, Go Discs, MCA, and Universal, as well as style publications i-D, The Face, and Dazed & Confused. He is a recipient of…