Blur (band)

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Blur
Left to right: Alex James, Damon Albarn, Dave Rowntree and Graham Coxon.
Left to right: Alex James, Damon Albarn, Dave Rowntree and Graham Coxon.
Background information
Origin Colchester, England
Genre(s) Alternative rock
Britpop
Indie rock
Years active 1989-present
(on hiatus as of 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 are an English rock band formed in Colchester in 1989. The band are comprised of vocalist/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/vocalist Graham Coxon, bassist/backing vocalist Alex James and drummer/backing vocalist Dave Rowntree. Blur were one of the biggest bands in the UK during the Britpop movement of the mid-1990s[1] 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. 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 Britpop rivals Oasis.

By the late 1990s, with the release of their fifth album, Blur, 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 gaining an elusive American success with the single "Song 2". The final album featuring the band's original lineup, 13, found Blur experimenting with electronica and gospel music.

In May 2002, founding member Graham Coxon left the band early in recording sessions for Think Tank, the band's seventh and latest album. Blur continued in his absence, seeing both the album and a tour through. Since the end of their 2003 tour, the band are inactive, as band members are working on solo projects. In late September 2007, the band reunited with Coxon for the first time in 5 years and a few days later a message was posted on their website saying that, while relations are healthy between all four members, they are not currently planning any musical activity.

Contents

In spring 1989, vocalist Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree, classmates at London's Goldsmiths College, formed Seymour, a name taken from J.D. Salinger's Seymour: An Introduction, which Albarn was reading at the time.[2] Known in the Colchester underground scene 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"[3] to indie label Food Records' A&R man Andy Ross. However, it wasn't until Ross attended Seymour's live performances that he was suitably impressed and decided 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".[4] 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.[5] 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. The NME 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."[6] However, some journalists and music critics dismissed the band as manufactured teen idols,[7] a title which Blur struggled to disprove throughout 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 "England vs. America",[8] 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 and 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 name of the album to Modern Life is Rubbish, reportedly taken from graffiti Albarn saw on London's Edgware Road.[9] Finally, after nearly a year in the studio, the band delivered Modern Life Is Rubbish to Food.

Blur's 1992 single "Popscene" has in retrospect been cited as a turning point for the band musically,[10] yet when it was originally released it only charted at #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."[11] 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.[12]

The record was finally released in May in Britain and later in 1993 in the U.S. Cited by some critics as the first Britpop album,[13] Modern Life Is Rubbish was well received in Britain, peaking at number 15 on the British charts, yet it did not make much of an impression in the U.S. In September 12 1995, Blur accomplishes VHS Starshaped, about a documentary, of the band making your first festivals, of 1991 to the year 1993.

Blur's 1994 follow-up, Parklife, finally became their commercial breakthrough. Influenced by East End culture and Martin Amis' London Fields,[14] Parklife entered the British charts at number one, catapulting the band to fame in their home country. In Britain Parklife 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 managed to spend 15 weeks on the U.S. charts, peaking at number 52, but Parklife never reached the American Billboard 200.

In February 20, 1995 on Brit Awards, the band had 5 indications, won 4 awards, Best Band, Album, Video and Single. During the award of Best Band, Damon takes advantage of to speak, that those victories, were proofs, that Blur was better than Oasis.


On August 14, 1995, Blur released their new single, "Country House". Originally slated for release on August 21, Albarn had requested the single's release to be moved forward to compete with the release of "Roll With It", the new single from Blur's rivals, Oasis - sparking the much hyped "Battle of Britpop". Blur's "Country House" ultimately outsold Oasis's "Roll With It" 274,000 copies to 216,000 during the week. On August 20, to radio BBC announced that Blur had won the battle, selling 58,000 more copies than Oasis.

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 summer 1996 and end in winter of the same year. By the end of recording sessions, relations in the band had improved to the point that by December, the album had been easily mixed and mastered.

By the end of 1996, Albarn's musical interests had changed from British pop to American alternative rock and lo-fi, influences which dominated[15] Blur's eponymous fifth album. Blur, released in February 1997, received the kind of acclaim that had not been seen by the band since Parklife. The 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-criticized[16] 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.

Three members of the band in the music video for Coffee and TV.
Three members of the band in the music video for Coffee and TV.

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 electronica. The album spawned another hit single, Coffee & TV, which gained Blur cult status in America,[17] 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.[18]

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."[19] 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.[20]

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.[21] 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.[22]

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 electronica, and to his control over the group's creative direction.[23] 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,[24] a minority of critics didn't warm to it.[25] However, Think Tank was yet another UK #1 and managed Blur's highest US position of #56.[26] 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, (revealed in 2007), without Graham. In an interview with the NME, Damon said that if Graham wasn't to return the band, he was not comfortable with reforming Blur.

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. Damon was working on The Good, the Bad and the Queen, Alex had made a duet with Betty Boo called WigWam and was making cheese and Dave had formed a new band The Ailerons.[27]

In November 2006, Alex James said in comments on BBC radio that Graham would return to Blur, after a discussion the two had. Soon after, Graham told the NME that he would indeed consider returning to the band.[28]

In April 2007, Alex James said that the band would emerge from their hiatus: "We're all heading into the studio together [this August] - Graham's coming too," he told Dotmusic. "We're gonna see if we've still got it. If not, I think we'll just call it a day."[29] The band formally announced that a new album was in the works with Graham Coxon saying that he is "raring to record with Blur". HMV has also listed the as-yet untitled new studio album on its website. Dave Rowntree commented that "There is a week in the diary in September. But it's a very small thing - it could either be a seed or a full-stop." Alex James announced that the band will likely be beginning a new album in October [1].

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. [30] However, an official statement about the future of the band has yet to be released.

In the last decade, band members are mostly engaged in a variety of side-projects, instead of working as a full band.

  • Graham Coxon released 3 solo albums while still a member of the band. His first, released on his own Transcopic label was The Sky is Too High in 1998, a ramshackle mixture of English folk music and 1960s-style garage rock, under the influence of Billy Childish. This was followed by the more extreme The Golden D (2000) and the thoughtful Dylan-Drakesque Crow Sit on Blood Tree (2001). After going solo full-time, he issued his fourth album The Kiss of Morning (2002) which proved to be his most accessible to date. Coxon rekindled his relationship with former Blur producer Stephen Street in 2003, to craft his most successful solo albums to date Happiness in Magazines (2004) and Love Travels at Illegal Speeds (2006) both if which were released through EMI.
  • Alex James joined actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst to form Fat Les. He began working with pop singer Betty Boo in the band WigWam in 2005. They released the single "WigWam" in April 2006, however the single did not achieve a high chart placing and plans for an album were shelved.

Main article: Blur discography
  1. Leisure - August 26, 1991 - #7 (UK)
  2. Modern Life Is Rubbish - May 10, 1993 - #15 (UK)
  3. Parklife - April 25, 1994 - #1 (UK)
  4. The Great Escape - September 11, 1995 - #1 (UK), #150 (US)
  5. Blur - February 10, 1997 - #1 (UK), #61 (US)
  6. 13 - March 15, 1999 - #1 (UK), #80 (US)
  7. Think Tank - May 5, 2003 - #1 (UK), #56 (US)

  1. ^ Dowling, Stephen. Entertainment: Are we in Britpop's second wave?. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  2. ^ Blur FAQ. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  3. ^ The History of Blur: 1989-1991. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  4. ^ Harris, John. Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock, 2004. ISBN 0-306-81367-X, pg. 49-50
  5. ^ Stephen Street. Discogs.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  6. ^ Kelly, Danny. "Sacre Blur!" NME. 20 July 1991.
  7. ^ Modern Life is Rubbish: The Rise and Fall of Britpop. Stylus Magazine. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  8. ^ Harris, pg. 80
  9. ^ Music Profiles: Blur. BBC. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  10. ^ Harris, pg. 67, 77
  11. ^ Harris, John. "A shite sports car and a punk reincarnation." NME. 10 April 1993
  12. ^ Harris, pg. 82-83
  13. ^ George Starostin. Reviews: Blur. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  14. ^ Connecting conversations. July 22, 2006.. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  15. ^ Damon Albarn Biography. The Good, The Bad, and The Queen. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  16. ^ Oasis's cruise control. Seattle Weekly (03 1998).
  17. ^ Pitchfork Feature: 100 Awesome Music Videos.. Pitchfork Media. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  18. ^ Blur song on Mars Rover. BBC News. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  19. ^ Special Relationships. The Observer (2003-09-21). Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  20. ^ Blur - Think Tank (Parlophone). MusicOMH.com (2003-05-05). Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  21. ^ History of Blur. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  22. ^ Blur to Rock for World Peace. MTV News. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  23. ^ Artist Profile: Blur. VH1.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  24. ^ Metacritic: Blur-Think Tank:2003.. Metacritic.com. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  25. ^ allmusic: Think Tank-Overview.. All Music Guide. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  26. ^ The Official UK Charts Company: Think Tank. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  27. ^ http://www.xfm.co.uk/article.asp?id=194666 = New Album announced in March
  28. ^ http://www.nme.com/news/blur/25150 = Graham considers Blur reunion
  29. ^ Blur to return to the studio in August. Digital Spy. Retrieved on 2007-04-28.
  30. ^ Blur Forum Post. blur.co.uk. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
  31. ^ Metacritic.com compiling of reviews for Gorillaz (Demon Days). 2005.. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.
  32. ^ The Good, The Bad, and the Queen's official site.. Retrieved on 2007-03-11.

v • d • e
Blur
Damon Albarn · Alex James · Dave Rowntree · Graham Coxon
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
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blur_%28band%29"
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