Artists like The Beautiful South

The Housemartins were an English indie rock group formed in Hull in 1983. They released two studio albums, London 0 Hull 4 (1986) and The People Who Grinned Themselves to Death (1987), and the compilation album Now That's What I Call Quite Good (1988), all of which went top-ten in the UK. The band also achieved six UK top-twenty singles, including an a cappella cover version of "Caravan of Love" which reached number one in the UK in December 1986. Many of their lyrics conveyed a mixture of socialist politics and Christianity, reflecting the beliefs of the band.

Deacon Blue are a Scottish pop rock band formed in Glasgow in 1985, currently consisting of vocalists Ricky Ross and Lorraine McIntosh, drummer Dougie Vipond, guitarist Gregor Philp and bassist Lewis Gordon. In 2013, their estimated album sales stood at six million, and by 2020 were estimated to have risen to in excess of seven million, with twelve UK top 40 singles, along with two number one albums in both the United Kingdom and Scotland.

Del Amitri are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Glasgow in 1980. They are best known for their 1990 single "Nothing Ever Happens", which reached No. 11 in the UK, and their 1995 hit "Roll to Me", which reached the top 10 in both Canada and the United States. They have released seven studio albums, five of which have reached the UK top 10. Del Amitri has sold over six million albums worldwide.

Ocean Colour Scene is an English rock band formed in Moseley, Birmingham in 1989. They have had five top 10 albums, including a number one in 1997. They have also achieved seventeen top 40 singles and six top 10 singles to date.

Kirsty Anna MacColl was a British singer and songwriter. The daughter of folk singer Ewan MacColl, she recorded several pop hits in the 1980s and 1990s, including "There's a Guy Works Down the Chip Shop Swears He's Elvis" and cover versions of Billy Bragg's "A New England" and the Kinks' "Days". She also sang on a number of recordings produced by her husband Steve Lillywhite, most notably "Fairytale of New York" by the Pogues. Her first single, "They Don't Know", would have chart success a few years later when covered by Tracey Ullman. Her death in 2000 led to the "Justice for Kirsty" campaign.

Cast are an English indie rock band formed in Liverpool in 1992 by John Power and Peter Wilkinson after Power left The La's and Wilkinson's former band Shack had split. Following early line-ups with different guitarists and drummers, Liam "Skin" Tyson (guitar) and Keith O'Neill (drums) joined Cast in 1993. On 6 July 2025, Cast announced they had signed to Manchester independent record label Scruff of the Neck.

Lighthouse Family were a British pop soul duo that rose to prominence in the mid-1990s and initially remained active until the early 2000s. Singer Tunde Baiyewu and songwriter Paul Tucker formed the act in 1993 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England, after meeting while studying at university and both working at the same bar. Their 1995 debut album Ocean Drive sold more than 1.8 million copies in the UK alone and established them as a popular easy listening duo throughout Europe.

Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish soft rock band formed in 1982 in Clydebank by Marti Pellow, Graeme Clark (bass), Graeme Duffin (guitar) and Tommy Cunningham (drums). The bands debut album, Popped In Souled Out (1987) spawned four successful singles, including "Wishing I Was Lucky" and "Angel Eyes ", with the album peaking atop the albums charts in the United Kingdom, selling 1.5 million copies and earning a 5x Platinum certification from the British Phonographic Industry (BPI).

The Feeling are an English rock/pop band from Horsham, Sussex.

John William Weller is an English singer-songwriter and musician. Weller achieved fame in the late 1970s as the guitarist and principal singer and songwriter of the rock band the Jam, alongside Bruce Foxton and Rick Buckler. The band gained significant critical and commercial success in the United Kingdom, and were the most influential band of the mod revival of the late 1970s and early 1980s. Following the dissolution of the Jam at the end of 1982, Weller formed the Style Council with Mick Talbot, where he explored a wide variety of other musical styles, including pop, jazz, soul, hip hop, folk and classical. Although initially successful, the band's popularity declined in the late 1980s, leading them to break up in 1989. Weller began a solo career in the early 1990s, slowly re-establishing his commercial standing across his first four solo albums, Paul Weller (1992), Wild Wood (1993), Stanley Road (1995) and Heavy Soul (1997).

Catatonia were a Welsh alternative rock band who gained popularity in the mid-to-late 1990s. The band formed in 1992 after Mark Roberts met Cerys Matthews. The first major lineup featured Dafydd Ieuan of Super Furry Animals on drums, Paul Jones on bass, and Clancy Pegg on keyboards. With this line-up the band recorded two EPs, For Tinkerbell and Hooked.

Shed Seven are an English alternative rock band, formed in York in 1990. The band originally comprised singer Rick Witter, guitarist/keyboardist Joe Johnson, bassist Tom Gladwin and drummer Alan Leach. Johnson was later replaced by Paul Banks, but a later line-up of the band included both Johnson and Banks.

The Divine Comedy are a baroque pop band from Northern Ireland, formed in 1989 and fronted by Neil Hannon. Hannon has been the only constant member of the group, playing, in some instances, all of the non-orchestral instrumentation except drums. The band has released 13 studio albums. Between 1996 and 1999, nine singles released by the band made the top 40 of the UK singles chart, including the 1999 top ten hit "National Express".

Scouting for Girls are an English pop rock band. Their name is a play on the title of the 1908 Scouting handbook Scouting for Boys. The band was formed in 2005 by three childhood friends from London, Roy Stride on vocals, piano and guitar, Greg Churchouse on bass guitar and James Rowlands on drums. They signed to Epic Records in 2007 and released their self-titled debut album that September and it reached No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart in 2008. To date, it has sold over one million copies in the UK. Over their career, Scouting for Girls have had eight top 40 singles, sold over four million records in the UK and received over one billion global streams. They have been nominated for four Brit Awards, in 2009 and 2011, and one Ivor Novello Award in 2011.

Ash are a Northern Irish rock band formed in Downpatrick, County Down, in 1992 by vocalist and guitarist Tim Wheeler, bassist Mark Hamilton and drummer Rick McMurray. As a three-piece, they released mini-album Trailer in 1994 and full-length album 1977 in 1996. This 1996 release was named by NME as one of the 500 greatest albums of all time. After the success of their full debut the band recruited Charlotte Hatherley as a guitarist and vocalist, releasing their second record Nu-Clear Sounds in 1998. After narrowly avoiding bankruptcy, the band released Free All Angels in 2001 and a string of successful singles.

Squeeze are an English rock band that came to prominence in the United Kingdom during the new wave period of the late 1970s, and continued recording in the 1980s, 1990s and 2010s. In the UK, their singles "Cool for Cats", "Up the Junction", and "Labelled with Love" were top-ten chart hits. Though not as commercially successful in the United States, Squeeze had American hits with "Tempted", "Black Coffee in Bed", and "Hourglass", and were considered a part of the Second British Invasion.

T'Pau are an English pop group formed in Shrewsbury, Shropshire, led by singer Carol Decker. They had a string of Top 40 hits in the UK during the late 1980s and early 1990s, most notably "China in Your Hand", "Heart and Soul" and "Valentine", and several hits in the rest of Europe, before disbanding in 1992. Decker still performs under the name T'Pau at solo shows and 1980s nostalgia concerts, and in 2013 she reunited with original band member and co-songwriter Ronnie Rogers for a 25th-anniversary UK tour.

The Seahorses were an English alternative rock band, formed in York in 1996 by guitarist John Squire, following his departure from the Stone Roses.

All Saints were a British girl group formed in London in 1993. They were founded as All Saints 1.9.7.5. with members Melanie Blatt, Shaznay Lewis, and Simone Rainford. The group struggled to find commercial success upon being signed to ZTT Records and were dropped by the label shortly after Rainford left the group due to a power struggle with Lewis. In 1996, the group were joined by sisters Nicole and Natalie Appleton and signed to London Records under their shortened name.