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| Blur | |
|---|---|
| Origin | Colchester, Essex, England |
| Genre(s) | Britpop Indie rock Alternative rock Electronica (latest album) |
| Years active | 1989-2003 |
| Label(s) | Food Records Parlophone Virgin EMI |
| Associated acts | Gorillaz The Good, the Bad and the Queen The Ailerons WigWam Fat Les Me Me Me |
| Website | Official website |
| Members | |
| Damon Albarn Graham Coxon Alex James Dave Rowntree | |
Blur were an English rock band that formed in Colchester in 1989. The band was composed of Damon Albarn (lead vocals, keyboards), Graham Coxon (lead guitar, vocals) , Alex James (bass guitar, backing vocals) and Dave Rowntree (drums, backing vocals). Blur were one of the biggest bands in the United Kingdom during the Britpop movement of the mid-1990sDowling, Stephen. Entertainment: Are we in Britpop\'s second wave?. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. but have been on hiatus since 2003.
Blur\'s original influences on their debut album, Leisure, included contemporary British alternative rock trends such as Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change in the mid-1990s—influenced by English guitar groups such as The Kinks, The Beatles and XTC—the band released Modern Life is Rubbish, Parklife and The Great Escape, hailed as classic Britpop recordings. As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with rival band Oasis.
By the late 1990s, with the release of their self-titled fifth album, the band underwent another reinvention, influenced by the indie rock and lo-fi style of American bands such as Pavement and R.E.M., in the process finally gaining success in the U.S. with the single "Song 2". The final album featuring the band\'s original lineup, 13, found Blur experimenting with electronic music and gospel music.
In May 2002, Coxon left the band during the early recording of their seventh and last album Think Tank, that was mirred with electronica and acoustic sounds in order to compensate for Coxon\'s departure. Blur continued for some time in his absence, seeing both the album and a tour through.
At the end of their 2003 tour, the band inexplicably stopped working, and the band members have since engaged in solo projects, doing minimal studio work as a band. In late September 2007, the band reunited with Coxon for the first time in 5 years and a few days later posted a message on their website saying that while relations were healthy, they were not planning any musical activity.
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In spring 1989, vocalist Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree, classmates at London\'s Goldsmiths College, formed the band Seymour, inspired by J.D. Salinger\'s Seymour: An Introduction.Blur FAQ. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. Known in Colchester as an art rock band, the band quickly gained underground popularity with their live shows. In summer 1989, Seymour, with the new addition of bassist Alex James, sent a demo containing early versions of songs such as "She\'s So High" and "Dizzy" to indie label Food Records\' A&R man Andy Ross.The History of Blur: 1989-1991. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. However, it wasn\'t until Ross attended Seymour\'s live performances that he was impressed enough to sign them. The only concern held by Ross and the record label was that they disliked the band\'s name. Food drew up a list of alternative names, from which the band decided on "Blur".Harris, John. Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock, 2004. ISBN 0-306-81367-X, pg. 49-50 Food Records finally signed the newly-christened Blur in March 1990.
From March to July 1990, Blur toured the UK, testing out new songs. After their tour was over, Blur released "She\'s So High" in October 1990, which reached #48 in the UK. However, producer Stephen Street contacted the band to produce their debut album.Stephen Street. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. The band agreed, beginning a successful partnership that would last nearly a decade. The follow-up to "She\'s So High", "There\'s No Other Way", became a hit, and both singles were included on Blur\'s debut album, Leisure, which was received positively because it fit into both the dying Madchester craze and the shoe gazing-dominated London scene. NME magazine wrote in 1991, "They are [the] acceptable pretty face of a whole clump of bands that have emerged since the whole Manchester thing started to run out of steam."Kelly, Danny. "Sacre Blur!" NME. 20 July 1991. However, some journalists and music critics dismissed the band as manufactured teen idols,Modern Life is Rubbish: The Rise and Fall of Britpop. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. a tag which Blur struggled to be rid of for the next two years.
During a tour of America to promote Leisure, the band became increasingly unhappy, often venting frustrations on each other, leading to several violent confrontations. The band began to formulate the idea of an album directed against American culture, which Albarn considered naming "Blur vs. America",Harris, pg. 80 on which they began work upon their return to the UK. Although Andy Partridge of the band XTC was originally slated to produce the follow-up to Leisure, his relationship with the band soon deteriorated. Street was finally brought in again to produce the album. Under his guidance, the band relinquished, to a degree, their original purpose of attacking American culture, changing the album\'s name to "Modern Life is Rubbish", reportedly taken from graffiti Albarn saw on London\'s Edgware Road.Music Profiles: Blur. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. Finally, after nearly a year in the studio, the band delivered Modern Life Is Rubbish to Food.
Their 1992 single "Popscene" has in retrospect been cited as a turning point for Blur musically,Harris, pg. 67, 77 although when it was originally released only charted at number 32. "We felt \'Popscene\' was a big departure; a very, very English record," Albarn told the NME in 1993, "But that annoyed a lot of people [...] We put ourselves out on a limb to pursue this English ideal and no-one was interested."Harris, John. "A shite sports car and a punk reincarnation." NME. 10 April 1993 In 1993, the band were ready to release Modern Life is Rubbish when Food Records said the album required more potential hit singles and asked them to return to the studio for a second time. The band complied and Albarn wrote "For Tomorrow", which would become the album\'s lead single.Harris, pg. 82-83
The record was finally released in May 1993 in Britain and later in 1993 in the U.S. Cited by some critics as the first Britpop album,George Starostin. Reviews: Blur. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. Modern Life Is Rubbish was well received in Britain, peaking at #15, but did not make an impression in the U.S.
Blur\'s 1994 album, Parklife, was to be their commercial breakthrough. Influenced by East End culture and Martin Amis\' London Fields,Connecting conversations. July 22, 2006.. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. Parklife entered the British charts at number one, catapulting the band to fame in their home country. The album also reaped Blur a string of hit singles, including the ballad "To the End", the dance-pop single "Girls & Boys", and the mod anthem "Parklife", which featured narration by Phil Daniels, the star of the film version of The Who\'s Quadrophenia. "Girls & Boys" entered the UK charts at number five, and spent 15 weeks on the U.S. Billboard 200, peaking at number 52, but Parklife never reached the American Billboard 200.
In 20 February 1995 on Brit Awards, the band had 5 indications, won 4 awards, Best Band, Album, Video and Single. In the delivery of best band, Damon speaks that those awards were a proof that the band was better than Oasis.Brit Awards 1995 - Award: Best Band
On 14 August 1995, Blur released their new single, "Country House". Originally slated for release on 21 August, Albarn had requested the single\'s release to be moved forward to compete with the release of Oasis\' single, "Roll With It". This sparked the much-hyped and media-driven "Battle of Britpop". Blur\'s "Country House" ultimately outsold "Roll With It" by 274,000 copies to 216,000 during the week, and on 20 August, the BBC reported that millions tuned in to find out the victor.Harris, pg. 233
On 11 September 1995, Blur released The Great Escape, which entered the UK charts at number one and earned highly positive reviews. However, because of mediocre sales (2.15 million worldwide and one million in UK), the album didn\'t get to be "defined" of Britpop. Instead, Oasis\' album, (What\'s the Story) Morning Glory? was a big success (18.5 million in worlwide and 4.3 million in the UK) and also 3rd Best Selling UK Albums Of All Time.http://www.bpi.co.uk/index.asp?Page=stats/content_file_118.shtml|THE BPI
On Brit Awards 1996, Blur, was nominated for 5 awards, won not because of any fault of sales because of The Great Escape. Oasis won 3 awards, in the delivery of the awards "Best Album", the band insulting Blur, and sings the chorus of Parklife for cause. Brit Awards 1996 - Award: Best Album
Struggling under negative press attention and a loss of popularity, Blur nearly broke up in February 1996, following a violent scuffle between Coxon and Albarn. The band took a brief hiatus between the end of their tour in March and the beginning of new recording sessions, which would begin in June 1996, Blur began recording their new album. While referring to the album\'s style, Albarn disowned Britpop saying, "We already left Britpop behind with our last album [Blur, 1997, a UK number one album]. It\'s just more obvious on this album." http://nyrock.com/interviews/blur_int.htm|Interview with Damon Albarn of Blur (NY Rock). The album is finished in November 1996. By the end of recording sessions, relations in the band had improved to the point that by November, the album had been easily mixed and mastered.
The new album exemplified the band\'s incorporation of American lo-fi and indie rock into their Britpop sound, a musical evolution which came as a stark contrast to the much-criticizedOasis\'s cruise control. Seattle Weekly (03 1998). third album Be Here Now by rivals Oasis.
The band\'s reinvention earned them much praise in the UK; the album and its first single, "Beetlebum" debuting at number one. In the U.S. also, the record received strong reviews as the album and its second single "Song 2" became a large hit. The album reached #61 on the Billboard Top 200 chart and achieved gold status in December of that year, while "Song 2" peaked at #6 on the Modern Rock chart. After the success of Blur, the band embarked on a worldwide tour. However, at the conclusion of their tour, the band announced that they would take a different approach to their next album, and so parted ways with long-time producer and collaborator Stephen Street, who had helped establish the band as one of the biggest bands in the UK.
With Street gone, Blur was in need of a producer, a gap which they resolved by hiring William Orbit (Madonna, Seal). As a result, Blur\'s 1999 album 13 was musically dominated by Orbit\'s electronic production. 13 was preceded by the single "Tender", which marked a new era of sonic experimentation for Blur, with its mix of gospel music and electronic music. The album spawned another hit single, Coffee & TV, which gained Blur cult status in America,Pitchfork Feature: 100 Awesome Music Videos.. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. largely thanks to its music video, which featured the protagonist "Milky". Graham Coxon had even bigger artistic input on 13, contributing vocals to some of the songs, including "Coffee & TV" and "Tender", and designing the album cover.
Exhausted by incessant recording and touring through the world, the band took a hiatus, pausing only to release a box set of singles in August 1999 to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Early in 2002, however, Blur temporarily broke its hiatus to record a song that would be played for the European Space Agency\'s Mars Lander, however, the plan fell through when the lander was lost.Blur song on Mars Rover. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
Recording for Blur\'s next album, Think Tank, got under way in Marrakesh, Morocco in mid-2002. Tensions surfaced, however, when Coxon began to appear emotionally and creatively distant to his band mates, reportedly failing to attend recording sessions. Two of the main causes for this has been cited as the choice of dance DJ Fatboy Slim as the album\'s producer and also Coxon\'s alleged alcohol problems. After several weeks of uncertainty, Coxon confirmed that he had been asked to leave the band for reasons connected with his "attitude."Special Relationships. The Observer (2003-09-21). Retrieved on 2007-03-11. His last contribution to the band was a guitar line on the final track of Think Tank, "Battery in Your Leg" which Albarn said was the only song he ever wrote about the band.Blur - Think Tank (Parlophone). MusicOMH.com (2003-05-05). Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
Before the album was released, Blur released a new single, Don\'t Bomb When You\'re The Bomb as a very limited white label release. A largely electronic song, sporting a chorus consisting of "Don\'t bomb when you\'re the bomb-ba-bomb-bomb-bomb" the single and the band\'s startling reinvention was a shock to Blur fans, who were expecting a return to the catchy pop tunes of the band\'s early career.History of Blur. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. Albarn, however, attempted to assuage fans\' fears by explaining the impetus behind the song and providing reassurances that the band\'s new album would be a return to their roots.Blur to Rock for World Peace. MTV News. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
Think Tank, released in May 2003, was filled with atmospheric, brooding electronic sounds, featuring simpler guitar lines played by Albarn, and largely relying on other instruments to replace Coxon. Coxon\'s absence also meant that Think Tank was almost entirely written by Albarn. Its sound was seen as a testament to Albarn\'s increasing interest in African music, Middle Eastern music and electronic music, and to his control over the group\'s creative direction.Artist Profile: Blur. VH1.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. For the following tour the band hired Simon Tong, former guitarist and keyboardist of The Verve, who also played with Albarn in his Gorillaz project.
While Think Tank was received well by critics and fans,Metacritic: Blur-Think Tank:2003.. Metacritic.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. a minority of critics didn\'t warm to it.allmusic: Think Tank-Overview.. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. However, Think Tank was yet another UK #1 and managed Blur\'s highest US position of #56.The Official UK Charts Company: Think Tank. Retrieved on 2007-03-11. The album was also nominated for best album at the 2004 BRIT Awards. The band supported the album with a tour and three singles: "Out of Time, "Crazy Beat" and "Good Song".
In early 2004, the band announced, through XFM news, that they would be recording an EP, and there were also rumours that Graham would return to Blur. But in the news, the band explained that the workload on Damon would be significant, as he was working on Gorillaz\' second album, among other projects. Dave said at the time "We’ve done a week or so recording, and we’ll do another couple of weeks, I think in September". The recording in a "couple of weeks" never happened.
In mid-2005, Blur recorded some songs, without Graham. In an interview with the NME, Damon said that if Graham wasn\'t to return to the band, he was not comfortable with reforming Blur. "Why don\'t I get another guitarist? Because there\'s none better than Coxon," was Damon\'s reply. In March 2006, Alex James announced that Blur were already in the studio and that the name of the new album would be "Nasty, Dirty, Filthy". This attempt was never completed due to the members having too many other projects happening.
After Coxon significantly thawed about rejoining the band, http://www.nme.com/news/blur/25150 = Graham considers Blur reunion Alex James announcedBlur to return to the studio in August. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2007-04-28. in April and August 2007 that the band will reunite and will likely be recording a new album in October NME. However, in early October 2007, the official band site revealed that although bandmembers all met for "an enjoyable lunch", they had no intentions of Blur work in the near future and that the media drew out the reunion talks far too much. Blur Forum Post. blur.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-10-05. An official statement about the future of the band has yet to be released.
Alex James – the most optimistic and talkative member of the band – maintains that "It would be a disaster thinking there would never be another Blur record. And anyone who has ever been in a band thinks they can get back together and make the best album ever."Blur Planning A New Album. Dailyrecord.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-12-23. Damon Albarn is more pessimistic about the potency of band reunion: "You\'d be very unwise to put money on it. I\'m starting my own betting service and I\'ll just keep feeding things to the press saying \'Maybe, maybe\'. It\'s like the polar ice-caps staying frozen: unlikely."Blur and Solo In an article published in NME on 1 February, 2008, Albarn gave further indication of the obstacles to a Blur reunion. Specifically, he said that "[Graham, Alex and Dave] all hate me... a reunion is not going to happen." http://www.nme.com/news/blur/34023 The day before that (31 January) Graham Coxon said that beside the lunch the band never discussed potential recording: "We met for a catch-up and it was great, but there was no real talk of recording."NME
In the last decade, band members are mostly engaged in a variety of side-projects, instead of working as a full band.
| Blur | |
|---|---|
| Damon Albarn · Graham Coxon · Alex James · Dave Rowntree | |
| Albums | Leisure · Modern Life Is Rubbish · Parklife · The Great Escape · Blur · 13 · Think Tank |
| Compilations | The Special Collectors Edition · Live at the Budokan · Bustin\' + Dronin\' · The 10 Year Limited Edition Anniversary Box Set · Blur: The Best of |
| Related articles | Discography · Food Records · Honest Jon\'s · Stephen Street · Transcopic · The Battle of Britpop |
| Other projects | The Ailerons · Fat Les · The Good, the Bad and the Queen · Gorillaz · Me Me Me · WigWam |
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