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 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 and Icelandic musician, singer, songwriter and composer. 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.
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 of Blur's studio discography. 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.
"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".
"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, and number six on the US Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.
"Parklife" is a song by the English rock band Blur, released as the third single from their third studio album, Parklife (1994). It contains spoken-word verses by the actor Phil Daniels, who also appears in the music video.
"Coffee & TV" is a song by 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.
"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 became Blur's eleventh top-10 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.
"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.
"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, it was the last single to be released from their third album, Parklife (1994). "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.
"Green Fields" is the third single by British alternative rock band the Good, the Bad & the Queen. "Green Fields" is also the eleventh track on the group's 2007 debut album The Good, the Bad & the Queen.
"The Puritan" is a single by English band Blur. After being played by Damon Albarn at a poetry festival, speculation rose as to "The Puritan"'s release. It is the band's first single since 2010's "Fool's Day". It was announced the track would be premiered via a Twitter live feed. It was also accompanied by "Under the Westway" and was performed at Blur's 2012 summer shows.
Leisure is the debut studio album by the English rock band Blur, released by the Food record label on 27 August 1991.
"We Got the Power" is a song by British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Jehnny Beth of British post-punk band Savages and backing vocals from former Oasis guitarist and songwriter Noel Gallagher and American rapper D.R.A.M., who also appears on the group's single "Andromeda". The song was released on 23 March 2017. It was released as the second single from their fifth studio album Humanz.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen were an English art rock supergroup composed of singer Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, bassist Paul Simonon of the Clash, guitarist Simon Tong of the Verve, and Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen. They released their self-titled debut album in 2007. Their second album, Merrie Land, coproduced with Tony Visconti, was released in 2018. They disbanded in 2019, and Allen died in 2020.
