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. 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","End of a Century","Parklife" and "To the End".
The Great Escape is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Blur. It was released on 11 September 1995 on Food and Virgin Records. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and charted in the top 10 in more than ten countries around the world. Less than a year after the album was released,it was certified triple platinum in the UK. The album received near-universal acclaim on release.
13 is the sixth studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur,released on 15 March 1999. Continuing the stylistic shift away from the Britpop sound of the band's early career,13 explores experimental,psychedelic and electronic music.
Blur:The Best Of is a greatest hits compilation album by English Britpop band Blur,first released in late 2000 and is the final Blur album by Food Records. It was released on CD,cassette tape,MiniDisc,double 12" vinyl record,DVD and VHS. The CD album includes 17 of Blur's 23 singles from 1990 to 2000,plus non-single,"This Is a Low". A special edition of the CD version included a live CD. The DVD/VHS version contains the videos of Blur's first 22 singles. The album,which has had enduring sales,hit number 3 in the band's native UK in the autumn of 2000,while denting the US charts at number 186. The cover is by artist Julian Opie. The painting of this Blur album can be found at the National Portrait Gallery in London,England.
"Country House" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single from the band's fourth studio album,The Great Escape (1995),on 14 August 1995 by Food and Parlophone. Released on the same day as the Oasis single "Roll with It" –in a chart battle dubbed the "Battle of Britpop" –"Country House" reached number one in the UK Singles Chart. The song is the band's best-selling single,with over 540,000 copies sold as of May 2014. Its music video was directed by Damien Hirst and nominated for Best Video in the 1996 BRIT Awards.
"Beetlebum" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released on 20 January 1997 as the lead single from the band's eponymous fifth album,Blur (1997). Written about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's experiences with heroin,the song features Beatles-influenced music and a mood that Albarn described as "sleepy" and "sexy". Despite fears of the song's uncommercial nature,the single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart,becoming Blur's second track to top the chart. It has since appeared on several Blur compilations.
"Parklife" is a song by the English rock band Blur,released in August 1994 by Food and Parlophone as the third single from the band's third studio album,Parklife (1994). The song contains spoken-word verses by the actor Phil Daniels,who also appears in the music video,which was directed by Pedro Romhanyi.
"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.
"Out of Time" is a song by British band Blur from their seventh studio album,Think Tank (2003). The song was written and produced by band members Damon Albarn,Alex James and Dave Rowntree,with Ben Hillier also serving as a producer. After being premiered via BBC Radio 1 on 3 March,it was released as the album's lead single on 14 April 2003,by Parlophone. The song became the band's first release without guitarist Graham Coxon. It is a pop ballad featuring acoustic guitars and bass,as well as a Moroccan orchestra. Lyrically,it deals with a civilisation that has lost touch,with Coxon's departure being referenced in the lyrics.
"Tomorrow Comes Today" is a song from British virtual band Gorillaz's self-titled debut album Gorillaz and was their first release when issued as an EP in November 2000. The first three songs from the EP ended up on their debut album,however,"Latin Simone" was heavily edited,and dubbed into Spanish,for the album release. The new version was sung by Ibrahim Ferrer,and renamed "Latin Simone ". The original version is sung by 2-D and appears along with "12D3" on some versions of the later-released compilation album G-Sides. The song itself was also the fourth and final single from that album,released on 25 February 2002. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. A demo version of the song,"I Got Law" was included as a bonus track of the Japanese edition of 13 by Blur,Damon Albarn's other musical project.
The 10 Year Limited Edition Anniversary Box Set is a box set by the band Blur released in limited quantities on 17 August 1999. It contains 22 CDs with 126 tracks featuring all official UK singles from their debut album,Leisure,to their 1999 album,13,and the b-sides,with the exception of three of the b-sides featured on the single No Distance Left to Run. Fanclub singles,promotional singles,and singles released in other countries are not included.
"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.
The discography of English rock band Blur consists of nine studio albums,six live albums,five compilation albums,one remix album,two video albums,four extended plays,35 singles,10 promotional singles and 37 music videos. Formed in London in 1988,the group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn,guitarist/singer Graham Coxon,bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Three years later,their debut release,the Madchester and shoegazing-tinged Leisure (1991),peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart. Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) inaugurated the Britpop phase of their career. Its multi-Platinum follow-ups Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995) helped the band achieve mainstream popularity in Britain;every Blur studio album from Parklife onwards has topped the British charts.
"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.
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".
No Distance Left to Run is a documentary film about the British rock band Blur,released in cinemas on 19 January 2010. Following the band during their 2009 reunion and tour,the film also includes unseen archive footage and interviews. It was released on DVD on 15 February 2010 region free and the recording of the 2009 Hyde Park concert is included on a second disc. It aired on BBC2 on 14 March 2010. It is the band's second documentary video,following Starshaped seventeen years before in 1993.
