Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist 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 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".
Damon Albarn is an English-Icelandic musician, singer, songwriter and composer. He is the frontman 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 on 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".
Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second studio album by 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.
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, producing and playing all instrumentation on his solo albums. 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.
13 is the sixth studio album by 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.
"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 on 7 April 1997, "Song 2" peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, number four on the Australian ARIA Singles Chart, and number six on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
"Coffee & TV" is a 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 (1999), and was the second single released from the album on 28 June 1999. 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.
"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.
"Girls & Boys" is a song by British rock band Blur, released in March 1994 as the lead single from the group's third album, Parklife (1994). Charting at number five on the UK Singles Chart, "Girls & Boys" was Blur's first top 5 hit and their most successful single until "Country House" reached number one the following year. The single surpassed their previous commercial peak "There's No Other Way" by three spots on the UK Singles Chart, and saw the group achieve greater worldwide success. In the US, the track reached number 59 on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart, becoming the band's second single to hit the chart after "There's No Other Way". It also reached number four on the Billboard Modern Rock songs chart.
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.
"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.
Grace/Wastelands is the debut solo album from Babyshambles frontman/The Libertines co-frontman Peter Doherty. It was released in Australia on 13 March 2009, in the UK on 16 March, and in the US on 24 March, with the single "Last of the English Roses" preceding it by one week. The album features contributions from Blur guitarist Graham Coxon Dot Allison, Peter Wolfe, and members of Babyshambles. Most of the songs have been played live or feature in demo form on leaked sessions.
Total Life Forever is the second studio album by British indie rock band Foals, released on 10 May 2010 through Transgressive Records. Prior to the album's release, the band described it as sounding "like the dream of an eagle dying". It was produced by Luke Smith, and was recorded at Svenska Grammofon Studion in Gothenburg. Upon its release, the album charted in numerous countries worldwide, including number eight in the UK Albums Chart.
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 as of 2023. 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.
"Under the Westway" is a single by English band Blur, released in July 2012. After being played by Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon at Brixton Academy as part of a charity performance for War Child, speculation rose as to "Under the Westway"'s release. On 25 June 2012, it was announced on Blur's Twitter account that the track would be performed live by the band via a live stream and released for download shortly after, with Albarn stating "I wrote these songs for [the upcoming Hyde Park show] and I’m really excited about getting out there and playing them for people." The single was released as a download-only release on 2 July 2012, accompanied by "The Puritan", and received a physical release in August. The song also made its radio debut on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 6 Music show on the same day. It was the band's first single since 2010's "Fool's Day". An early mix of the song is included on the Blur 21 box set.
The Magic Whip is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. It was recorded in Hong Kong and London, and released by Parlophone on 27 April 2015 and Warner Bros. Records on 28 April 2015. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years since Think Tank (2003), marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career, and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up. The album also marks the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997).
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