Kula Shaker could be the Next Big Thing: but first they'll be groomed by the image makers. Can they remain unfazed by the 'creative' advice of stylists, photographers and hairdressers?

Britpop arrived on a wave, and kept rolling.

Black Grape

CINEMA

Last summer, Welsh surreal rockers Super Furry Animals played their debut London show in front of about 20 people (including half a dozen NME music journalists), supporting Eddie Tudorpole. They looked conventional - almost disappointingly so - but they cranked up a curious mix of baffling Welsh lyrics and 1970s prog guitar riffs that threw up so many weird ideas, they held huge promise indeed. Fulfilled in part by atheist's doodle "God Show Me Magic!", their first top-40 hit. It's typical Super Furry Animal territory, in that it appears daft - zippy and fun like a children's TV theme - but with a sharp message about lack of belief in God.

Manic Street Preachers

Acklam Road in west London was the original address of the first, and rightly legendary Rough Trade shop, which opened in 1976. Countless fans of left-field music owe their record collection to Rough Trade, who, like John Peel, have opened people's eyes to a huge world of eclectic, obscure sound. Let's face it, back in 1976 your chances of finding that limited edition New York Dolls seven inch on lurid pink vinyl in Woolworth's were pretty damn slim. And now that the alternative crowd have well and truly broken into the mainstream charts, this week of gigs, dubbed "Acklam Hall Revisited", should be seen as both a victory and anniversary celebration.