The Britpop explosion of the late 1990s brought about a wave of tongue-in-cheek jangle pop rock music created by, you guessed it, British people. Legendary bands like Blur, Oasis and Pulp would go on to create classic albums and have even classic-er beef. Sticking to a defining trend in rock music history, however, the Britpop subgenre was dominated by white men. 

Echobelly was an outlier. Created in a pub by Sonya Madan and Glenn Johansson, Echobelly quickly gained popularity upon releasing their debut EP, Bellyache. Madan, the key songwriter and singer of the group, was born in Delhi, India and hadn’t attended a rock concert until college. Despite her late introduction to the genre, she somehow managed to burst out of the gate fully formed and ready to drop some of the catchiest rock music of the era. 

“Great Things,” from the group’s 1995 debut album, On, serves as a mission statement directly from Madan to the rest of the world. Its chorus, “I want to do great things / I don’t want to compromise / I want to know what love is / I want to know everything,” establishes from the jump that Echobelly was hungry for success and everything that came with it. Its chord progression is simple and effective, allowing the lyrics’ typical Britpop cheekiness to shine through wonderfully.

Reaching No. 13 on the U.K. singles chart, this is Echobelly’s highest charting single, and it’s clear why upon listening to it. It absolutely rips. 

Madan still performs in Echobelly today and has marked her place in history as one of the only women of color to front a band in the Britpop era.