Blur are an English rock band. Formed in London in 1988, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released 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 chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
Mission of Burma was an American post-punk band formed in Boston, Massachusetts in 1979. The band was formed by Roger Miller (guitar), Clint Conley (bass), Peter Prescott (drums) and Martin Swope. Miller, Conley and Prescott share singing and songwriting duties.
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Coxon is featured on all eight of Blur's studio albums. He has also led a solo career since 1998. As well as being a musician, Coxon is a visual artist: he designed the cover art for all his solo albums as well as Blur's 13 (1999).
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.
Blur is the fifth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 10 February 1997 by Food Records. Blur had previously been broadly critical of American popular culture and their previous albums had become associated with the Britpop movement, particularly Parklife, which had helped them become one of Britain's leading pop acts. After their previous album, The Great Escape, the band faced media backlash and relationships between the members became strained.
The Kiss of Morning is the fourth solo album by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, released on 21 October 2002 in the UK, being the first of Coxon's albums since his departure from Blur, as well Coxon's first album to featured the co-producer, as his first three solo albums were self-produced by Coxon himself.
Transcopic was a British record label created in 1998 by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon for his solo releases, as well as those of other left field artists. Along with Coxon's music, the label issued records by acts such as Ooberman, The Buff Medways, You Am I, and Billy Childish. It was co-owned by Jamie Davis, who subsequently co-founded Ark Recordings and founded The Jaded Hearts Club.
"Song 2" is a song by British rock band Blur. The song is the second song on their eponymous fifth studio album. Released in April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Charts, and number six on the US Billboard Alternative Songs chart.
"Parklife" is the title track from Blur's 1994 album Parklife. When released as the album's third single, it reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number 30 in Ireland. The song contains elements of spoken word in the verses, narrated by actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the song's music video. The choruses are sung by lead singer Damon Albarn.
"Coffee & TV" is a 1999 song by the British rock band Blur. It was written by the band's guitarist, Graham Coxon, who also sang lead vocals, rather than frontman Damon Albarn. The song appears on Blur's sixth studio album, 13 and was the second single released from the album. The lyrics describe Coxon's struggle with alcoholism and the song's video, featuring a sentient milk carton searching for Coxon, won several awards. Commercially, "Coffee & TV" reached No. 11 in the United Kingdom and No. 26 in Ireland. It was a major hit in Iceland, where it peaked at No. 2 in September 1999.
"Tender" is a 1999 song by English rock band Blur. Written by the four band members about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's breakup with musician turned painter Justine Frischmann, the song became Blur's eleventh top-ten hit on the UK Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number two on 28 February 1999. It also reached the top 20 in Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain.
"Bus Stop" is a song recorded and released as a single by the British rock band The Hollies in 1966. It reached No. 5 in the UK Singles Chart. It was the Hollies' first US top ten hit, reaching No. 5 on the Billboard charts in September 1966.
The Golden D is the second solo album by Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, released in 2000. This outing saw him come back with some heavier, even lower-fi guitars and vocals. With only one track reminiscent of The Sky Is Too High, "Keep Hope Alive," the album was a departure from both Blur and his previous work. The album features two covers, "Fame and Fortune" and "That's When I Reach for My Revolver", both from early eighties post punk band Mission of Burma. All other tracks were written by Coxon, who recorded all instruments, produced and mixed the album as well. The title of the album is a tongue in cheek reference to his favourite guitar chord, possibly at the time or a constant preference.
Love Travels At Illegal Speeds is the sixth solo album by Graham Coxon. It was released 13 March 2006 in the United Kingdom, the day after Coxon's 37th birthday. The album was produced by Stephen Street who also produced Coxon's previous album, Happiness in Magazines.
"I Can't Look at Your Skin" / "What's He Got?" is a limited edition double A-sided single by Graham Coxon, released 17 July 2006. Both songs are featured on Graham Coxon's 2006 album, Love Travels at Illegal Speeds and serve as the third single from the album.
Burnt to Bitz: At the Astoria is a live album by Graham Coxon. The two-disc album is a complete recording of Coxon's gig at the London Astoria on the 25 October 2006.
Ben Hillier is an English songwriter and pop-rock record producer who is part of the creative team 140 dB. He produced the notable albums Playing the Angel, Sounds of the Universe and Delta Machine by Depeche Mode, Think Tank by Blur, Some Cities by Doves and Cast of Thousands by Elbow.
"This Is a Low" is a song by English rock band Blur for their third studio album, Parklife. The song was released as a promotional single in 1995.
"That's When I Reach for My Revolver" is a song by Mission of Burma that was written and sung by band member Clint Conley. It appears on their 1981 EP Signals, Calls and Marches. Moby covered the song in 1996 and released it as a single, reaching number fifty on the UK Singles Chart. Prior to this, Catherine Wheel also covered the song as a b-side to their single 30 Century Man in 1992.
A+E is the eighth studio album by British singer-songwriter Graham Coxon, released on 2 April 2012 through Parlophone. The album was made as a "reaction" against Coxon's prior album, The Spinning Top, which consisted of psychedelic folk songs. A+E, on the other hand, consists of pop rock songs. Coxon, who is also the guitarist of Blur, recorded 21 songs during the album's two-month-long recording process with producer Ben Hillier. The 11 songs that did not make it onto A+E were divided into a separate album that was supposed to be released in late 2012, but Coxon was never announced it until this day. The album received positive reviews from critics, although some criticized its songs for being too long. Despite its critical success, it was Coxon's least successful album on the UK Albums Chart since The Kiss of Morning, peaking at number 39 and staying on the chart for only one week.
