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Biography
Prior to the formation of Blur, vocalist/keyboardist Damon Albarn performed in the group Circus alongside drummer Dave Rowntree, which later enlisted the help of guitarist Graham Coxon. Shortly after, whilst the members were studying at London’s Goldsmiths College, the name was changed to Seymour, and Alex James joined on bass to complete the line-up. After recording a number of demos and live performances in 1989, the band caught the attention of Andy Ross of Food Records who subsequently offered to sign the band provided they changed their name.
Blur was ultimately born and began touring in 1990 in support of the Cramps, later releasing the single “She’s So High”. The band’s sound was distinctly of the Madchester genre, drawing influences from the soaring psychedelic pop of The Stone Roses combined with the guitar drive of the Who. After releasing the No. eight charting single “There’s No Other Way” and the No. 24 single “Bang”, Blur released their debut album “Leisure” in 1991.
Following the release, the band embarked on a two-month tour of the States after which Albarn and the band aimed to move away from the sound and scene of their debut, which proved problematic. “Pop Music” was the band’s first single to step into the shoes of English pop however failed to find an audience in either the UK or the U.S. Blur’s sophomore album “Modern Life Is Rubbish”, produced by Stephen Street, was issued in 1992 to generally good reviews.
“Modern Life Is Rubbish”, whilst failing to achieve its intended success, paved the way for Blur’s breakthrough album “Parklife”. Released in 1994, “Parklife” shot to the top of the UK charts, aided by the lead single “Boys & Girls” and considerable BBC radio airplay. The album remained in the charts for a total of 90 weeks, earned rave reviews from the musical press, and has long been regarded as one of Britpops’ defining albums.
During this time Blur developed a musical rivalry with Manchester-based band Oasis, marked by both band’s releasing new singles on the same day. Blur’s “Country House” ultimately outsold Oasis’ “Roll With It”, however Blur’s subsequent album “The Great Escape” failed to compete with Oasis’ sophomore “(What’s the Story) Morning Glory?”. 1995’s “The Great Escape” once again earned positive reviews and topped the UK charts, however with the popularity of Oasis in the U.S., Blur were increasingly losing relevancy and public support.
After a year or so out of the spotlight, with influences taken from American indie-rock, Blur reincarnated themselves and released a self-titled album in 1997. Despite the UK No. 1 single “Beetlebum”, the album failed to reignite the popularity of its predecessors, however did find popularity in the U.S. With the significant success of the single “Song 2” in the States, hype for the band crossed the Atlantic and Blur enjoyed a resurgence of success in Britain. The album “13” followed in 1999 after which Albarn focussed on the hip-hop side-project Gorillaz with cartoonist Jamie Hewlett.
Graham Coxon departed the group ahead of the band’s seventh studio album “Think Tank”, which marked the end of Blur until a reunion tour in 2009. The documentary “No Distance Left to Run” was released in January 2010, followed by a new recording for Record Store Day entitled “Fool’s Day” also in 2010.
Live reviews
Blur, icons of the 90's Britpop revolution have enjoyed one of the most critically and commercially celebrated careers of any British artist. Their music has been the soundtrack to a generation and fans old and new continue to sell out their tours in mass force to see Damon Albarn and co perform the classic songs.
From the offset, the audience are excited and remain in a sense of hushed anticipation before the iconic group begin their show. The lights go down and deafening cheers ring out to the opening bars of 'Boys & Girls'. It is a risky move opening with one of your most prolific hits but Blur simply energise the crowd as they remain engaged with the show throughout. Albarn thanks them briefly between tracks but with seven albums to fit into a 20 song setlist, time is of the essence.
Luckily all the big hitters are included, a mass sing/clap along to 'Country House' nearly rips the roof off the Civic Hall before 'Parklife' causes mass jostling within the crowd. It is the anthemic introduction to 'Song 2' which receives perhaps the greatest reaction of the evening. Blur's music does not seem to age and the quartet proves why they are considered titans of Britpop.
sean-ward
Blur as a band is a British icon, which enjoyed most of their success in the 90s. Legends from the Britpop revolution, Blur are a wonder to watch live. Their music redefined a generation, and they continue to be one of the most successful British rock bands today. When Blur rocked on to stage to screams of ‘Woo Hoo’ by the excited crowd, it felt like an incredible moment and memento to British music history. Blur opened with ‘Song 2’, to the crowd’s absolute delight. They rocked the stage, strumming on guitars and bass and slamming on drums. Although Blur opened with arguably their most prolific and, best, hit, the rest of the show by no means felt like a let-down after such a fantastic opening. If anything, the show went from strength to strength as the band missed up their set list, interspersing slower songs with more up tempo tracks. ‘Coffee and TV’ and ‘Girls and Boys’ also had massive crowd reactions and were two highlights of the night. The crowd begged for an encore at the end and Blur obeyed, coming back to perform ‘Song 2’ one last time for the exultant crowd.
sabraziz
It was amazing! I loved every song they played, and I can´t stop being excited, yet. I think they really know how to make a show and how to make people feel the music they are playing, they know that for many people that went to see them, there are songs that have listend for so many years, and the fact that after so much time, they were listening Blur playing it alive, listening many people singing the lyrics at the same time, and they are there, living that moment, with the people that must be there with them, it´s something amazing that words simply cannot discribe. That´s the best part of every concert, and is something Blur really knew how to gave us.
Danielgn
Blur. Ah, the first thing that comes to mind is Beetlebum. Blur has a song for each mood you're in, however, be warned there is a bit of grungy, dive-bar listening type of feel.
I've had the great fortune of seeing Blur once, and it was beyond memorable. One moment you are jumping up and down, moshing, the next you and the entire crowd are singing along to Song 2. Some artists don't sound anything like their album music, but for Blur it's so point on and more! Let's just say I lost my voice for 2 days after the concert.
So grab your 90's clothes - necklace choker, ripped jeans, & simple tee and kick it with Blur - promise you won't regret!
ashley-woodruff-1
Best band I've ever seen live, we didn't have the best seats but it was still an incredible experience. Genuinely made me cry it was so amazing. I'm so upset there aren't anymore UK dates as if there where id be booking them all.
Ifancygraham
