Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Damon Albarn is an English musician, singer-songwriter, and record producer. He is the frontman and main lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz.
Parklife is the third studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 25 April 1994, by Food Records. After moderate sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "To the End", the title track and "End of a Century".
Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure (1991) had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour. After the group returned from an unsuccessful tour of the United States, poorly received live performances and the rising popularity of rival band Suede further diminished Blur's status in the UK.
Think Tank is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 5 May 2003. Continuing the jam-based studio constructions of the group's previous album, 13 (1999), the album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. There are also heavy influences from dance music, hip hop, dub, jazz, and African music, an indication of songwriter Damon Albarn's expanding musical interests.
"Popscene" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, released as a non-album single on 30 March 1992. Despite its relatively low chart placing, it has since become critically praised and regarded as one of the pioneering songs of the Britpop genre.
"Song 2" is a song by English rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released physically on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, It was also popular on radio stations in the US; consequently, it peaked at number 55 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart, number 6 on Billboard's Modern Rock Tracks chart, staying on that chart for 26 weeks. "Song 2" is certified triple platinum in the UK.
"M.O.R." is a song by English rock band Blur from their eponymous album. Released on 15 September 1997, "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart on its release as a single in September 1997. Worldwide, it reached number 45 in New Zealand and also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States.
Bustin' + Dronin' is a remix compilation/live album by the band Blur. It was originally only released in Japan but was also released in limited quantities in the UK and the US, and being released only on double-CD format. The first disc featured all the remixed songs from the band's eponymous album, Blur. After five albums with the same producer, Food Records turned the songs from Blur over to other producers for remixing. The band later chose William Orbit to produce their sixth studio album, 13. The second disc featured their live at John Peel's live session called "Peel Acres". Due to its low key, limited release in the UK, Bustin' + Dronin' only reached number 50 on the albums chart, though it is the only import release by the band to chart in the UK.
"Tender" is a song by English rock band Blur from their sixth studio album, 13 (1999). Written by the four band members about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's breakup with musician turned painter Justine Frischmann, the song was released in Japan on 17 February 1999 and in the United Kingdom on 22 February as the album's lead single. "Tender" became Blur's 11th top-10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number two the week after its release. It also reached the top 20 in Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain.
"There's No Other Way" is a song by English band Blur, released on 15 April 1991 as the second single from their debut album Leisure. "There's No Other Way" peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. It was also their first charting song in the US, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, and also reached number five on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks.
"Good Song" is a song by English band Blur and is the fourth track on their seventh studio album, Think Tank (2003). In October 2003, the song was released as the third and final single from that album, peaking at number 22 on the UK Singles Chart. The single was Blur's lowest placing single since 1993's "Sunday Sunday", ending the bands consecutive run of Top 20 singles. The promo video is an awarded animation directed by David Shrigley and the group Shynola. "Good Song" was originally called "De La Soul" after the hip-hop group. Damon Albarn would later collaborate with members of De La Soul for the Gorillaz singles "Feel Good Inc." and "Superfast Jellyfish". Graham Coxon, who had previously left the group, plays on the single's B-side "Morricone".
"Girls & Boys" is a song by English Britpop band Blur, released in March 1994 by Food Records as the lead single from the group's third studio album, Parklife (1994). The frontman of Blur, Damon Albarn wrote the song's lyrics with bandmembers Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, while Stephen Street produced it.
"For Tomorrow" is a song by English britpop band Blur. It is the lead track to their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993). Released 19 April 1993 by Food Records as the first single from the album, "For Tomorrow" charted at number 28 in the UK Singles Chart. The Visit to Primrose Hill Extended version of "For Tomorrow" was included in the band's compilation albums, Blur: The Best of, and Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur. The accompanying music video for the song was directed by Julien Temple.
"Sunday Sunday" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, included on their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993). It was released on 4 October 1993 by Food Records as the final single from that album, and charted at number 26 on the UK Singles Chart. This is the highest-charting single from the album ; the record company thought the original album contained no singles, and had the band write the other two singles specifically for single release. The band's original name, 'Seymour', is credited as guest performer on the CD1 single, due to the B-sides being recordings from that era.
"On Your Own" is a song by English rock band Blur. It was released as a single on 16 June 1997 from the band's self-titled album (1997). It charted at number five on the UK Singles Chart. Although it was not released under the Gorillaz name, Damon Albarn, frontman of both musical projects, has since referred the song as 'one of the first ever Gorillaz tunes'.
"To the End" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It appears on their third studio album, Parklife (1994), and was released as a single in May 1994 by Food Records. The song describes a couple unsuccessfully trying to overcome a bad patch in a relationship, and features full orchestral accompaniment with a choric refrain in French by Lætitia Sadier from Stereolab. The song was produced by Stephen Hague, unlike the rest of the Parklife album, which was produced by Stephen Street. Blur have produced several different recordings of the song.
"End of a Century" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. Released in November 1994 by Food Records, it was the last single to be released from their third album, Parklife (1994). The song reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, considered a disappointment by Andy Ross of Food. Damon Albarn later stated that "End of a Century" may not have been the best choice for the album's fourth single, and that "This Is a Low" would have been a better alternative.
Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur is a two-disc compilation album by Blur, released by EMI Records on 15 June 2009. It is Blur's second retrospective collection, succeeding 2000's Blur: The Best Of and coincides with the band's 2009 reunion performances.
All the People: Blur Live at Hyde Park is a pair of live albums by British band Blur, recorded during their Hyde Park reunion shows on 2 and 3 July 2009. The albums were initially exclusively available on the Sandbag website at £15 for the double CD, or £10 for the mp3 download. The title All the People is a lyric from their song "Parklife".
