Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their 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). In the process, the band became central to the Britpop music and culture movement, and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a chart battle with rivals Oasis in 1995 dubbed the "Battle of Britpop".
Blur is the eponymous fifth studio album by the English rock band of the same name, 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.
13 is the sixth studio album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 15 March 1999. Jettisoning the Britpop sound of Blur's early career, 13 explores experimental, psychedelic and electronic music.
"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 second track from their 1997 eponymous fifth studio album. Released in April 1997, "Song 2" reached number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Charts, and number six on US Billboard Alternative Songs.
"Parklife" is the title track from Blur's 1994 album Parklife. When released as the album's third single, "Parklife" reached number 10 on the UK Singles Chart and number 30 in Ireland. The song is noted for being Blur's only song to contain 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, as opposed to 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.
"Tender" is a 1999 song by English rock band Blur. Written by the four band members about Damon Albarn's breakup with Justine Frischmann, the song became Blur's eleventh top 10 hit on the UK Singles Chart, debuting at number two on 28 February 1999. It also reached the top 20 in Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Norway, and Spain, and was the band's last major hit in several territories.
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.
"Sunday Sunday" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, featured on their second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish. It was released 4 October 1993 as the final single from that album, and charted at number 26 in the UK Singles Charts. 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 Blur. It was released as a single in June 1997 from the band's fifth studio album, Blur. It charted at number 5 on the UK Singles Chart. The song is used in the film The Beach (2000).
"To the End" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It appears on their third album, Parklife, and was released as single in May 1994. 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.
"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.
"End of a Century" is a song by alternative rock band Blur. Released in November 1994, it was the last single to be released from their third album Parklife. "End of a Century" reached number 19 on the UK Singles Chart, considered a disappointment by Andy Ross of Food Records. 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.
Ben Hillier is a British songwriter and pop-rock music 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 Old Town" is a song collaboration by English musicians Paul Weller and Graham Coxon. The song was released as a download single on July 2, 2007, and a limited edition 7" on 30 July. The song also features Zak Starkey on drums. The single peaked at #39 in the UK Singles Chart.
Stephen Gilchrist is an English musician from London, England, who also teaches drums and guitar across London. He is best known as the drummer in Blur guitarist Graham Coxon's live band, and also appears on Coxon's live albums, Burnt to Bitz: At the Astoria and Live at the Zodiac, and on the single "Bloody Annoying / What Ya Gonna Do Now?".
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. 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.
