Britpop legend Andy Ross dies aged 66

Ross was one of the architects of the Blur v Oasis chart battle

Andy Ross, the man who discovered Blur and part of the Britpop label Food Records, died yesterday aged 66.

Ross started life in the music industry as a writer on Sounds and joined Food, which had been founded by former Teardrop Explodes manager Dave Balfe.

Having seen Blur at the Islington Powerhaus in November 1989, he signed the band on the following March and guided them through their precarious early days before the huge success of Britpop in the mid 90s. Ross is credited, along with Damon Albarn and NME editor Steve Sutherland, with the decision to move their ‘Country House’ single by one week to create a massive chart battle with Oasis which garnered huge press and media attention in 1995.

Ross had been suffering ill health for some time since a stroke but continued in recent years to manage bands including CuT and 485C.

Tributes to Ross have flooded social media. Dave Rowntree, Blur’s drummer, said: “Really sad to learn of the passing of my friend and mentor Andy Ross. He was one of the good ones – generous, warm, and kind. They broke the mold.”