Blur

Profile:
Alternative Rock (Modern Rock) band from London (England).

Blur formed in 1989 as Seymour in Colchester, composed of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon (1989-2002, 2008- ), Alex James (2), and Dave Rowntree.
Blur's early releases (the singles "There's No Other Way", "Bang", "She's So High", "I Know", and the album "Leisure") were considered indie or alternative rock, heavily influenced by the danceable rhythms of "baggy" bands like The Stone Roses and noisepop bands like My Bloody Valentine, with strains of weirder ideas running throughout, like Syd Barrett (this was often more readily apparent on several single B-sides, where the group let loose its more atavistic, dark side). By 1992, the group was keen on reinventing themselves with a newer, smarter sound and sense of purpose, eschewing the sounds that were coming out of the U.S. specifically, and returning to a retro spectrum of British rock and pop music: British Invasion groups, Mod groups, Psychedelic Rock, even nostalgic music from World War II. They released their second album, "Modern Life Is Rubbish", in 1993, to moderate success and began attracting attention for their stubborn determination to lead Britain out of the miasma that was the grunge years.

Building on the qualified success of "Modern Life Is Rubbish" and its accompanying singles, and aided by groups like Suede, Blur rolled out the carpet for the Britpop cultural movement that would all but engulf the UK for two years, releasing in 1994 what was essentially seen by the general public as the Britpop flagship album, "Parklife". Everything changed culturally, and Blur was riding the crest of that cultural wave. Following rapidly on the heels of the tipping point that was "Parklife", the group's 1995 album "The Great Escape" was a vividly nervy and somewhat cartoonish version of the same formula. It left the group with a hangover that it determined it could only cure by taking several steps back from the Britpop sound and culture. The group re-embraced America, digging into influences like Pavement, Dinosaur Jr., The Pixies.

By the time Blur's fifth studio album, "Blur", came out in 1997, the group had all but severed ties from Britpop and were returning to the same noisy, art rock experimentalism that was a hallmark of their pre-Blur early days in the late 1980s as a indie artrock group Seymour, only this time the music informed by a broader range of influences. Subsequent albums "13" and "Think Tank" further increased the group's distance from Britpop, eventually encompassing a great diversity of sounds and influences from all over the globe. On February 19, 2015, Blur made a surprise announcement that they'd finished a new album, "The Magic Whip", to be made available to the public on April 25, 2015, and also released a new song, "Go Out".

Noteworthy live & session members:
Wayne Hernandez: lead vocalist with backing choirs since 1997
Simon Tong: guitarist; replaced Coxon for 2003–04 tour

When marked as a copyright holder, use Blur (2).
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Albums

EKPC-0160, FOODTC-6 Leisure — Blur Blur Leisure (Album, Comp) Food, Parlophone EKPC-0160, FOODTC-6 South Korea 1991 Sell This Version
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EKPC-0596, 0777 7 89442 4 9 Modern Life Is Rubbish — Blur Blur Modern Life Is Rubbish (Album) Food, Food EKPC-0596, 0777 7 89442 4 9 South Korea 1993 Sell This Version
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7243 8 29194 2 1, 724382919421 Parklife — Blur Blur Parklife (Album) Food, Food 7243 8 29194 2 1, 724382919421 Taiwan 1994 Sell This Version
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PRO 4163 Park Life Album Promo - Medley — Blur Blur Park Life Album Promo - Medley(Cass, Promo, Smplr) EMI PRO 4163 Sweden 1994 Sell This Version
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94-38 In Concert: New Rock — Blur The Meat Puppets* / Blur The Meat Puppets* / Blur - In Concert: New Rock(2xCD, Transcription) Westwood One 94-38 US 1994 Sell This Version
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TCD 0795 In Concert - 603 — Blur Blur In Concert - 603(CD, Transcription) BBC Transcription TCD 0795 UK 1994 Sell This Version
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FOODTC 14, 7243 8 35235 4 2 The Great Escape — Blur Blur The Great Escape (Album) Food, Parlophone FOODTC 14, 7243 8 35235 4 2 UK 1995 Sell This Version
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TCD 1021 In Concert - 649 — Blur Blur In Concert - 649(CD, Transcription) BBC World Service, BBC Radio International TCD 1021 UK 1995 Sell This Version
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TOCP-8906・7 Live At The Budokan (Japan Only Official Live Album) — Blur Blur Live At The Budokan (Japan Only Official Live Album) (Album) EMI, Food TOCP-8906・7 Japan 1996 Sell This Version
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PL/BL01/01, PL/BL01/02 Planet Live! — Blur Blur Planet Live!(2xCD, Transcription) Austereo MCM, Austereo MCM PL/BL01/01, PL/BL01/02 Australia 1996 Sell This Version
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CDIN 106 Blurb Interview — Blur Blur Blurb Interview EMI CDIN 106 Europe 1997 Sell This Version
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none Blur — Blur Blur Blur (Album) Food, Parlophone none Germany 1996 Sell This Version
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C0X3X01XA Live From The Pit Presents Blur (Broadcast Window: Oct. 27 thur Nov. 3, 1997) — Blur Blur Live From The Pit Presents Blur (Broadcast Window: Oct. 27 thur Nov. 3, 1997)(CD, Transcription) Global Satellite Network C0X3X01XA US 1997 Sell This Version
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97-26 Off The Record Special — Blur Live / Blur Live / Blur - Off The Record Special(CDr, Promo, Transcription) Westwood One 97-26 US 1997 Sell This Version
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SPRO 1479 Blur — Blur Blur Blur(Cass, Promo, Smplr) EMI Music Canada SPRO 1479 UK 1997 Sell This Version
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IC 0768 In Concert 768 — Blur Blur In Concert 768(CDr, Transcription) BBC Worldwide, BBC Radio International IC 0768 UK 1998 Sell This Version
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98-03 Off The Record Special — Blur Live / Blur Live / Blur - Off The Record Special(CD, Transcription) Westwood One 98-03 US 1998 Sell This Version
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none 13 — Blur Blur 13 (Album) Food, Food, Food none UK 1998 Sell This Version
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IC0788 In Concert - 788 — Blur Blur In Concert - 788(CD, Transcription) BBC Worldwide IC0788 UK 1999 Sell This Version
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none Samples From The Forthcoming Release Blur Samples From The Forthcoming Release "13"(Cass, Promo, Smplr) Virgin none US 1999 Sell This Version
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99-28 Sonic Net All Access — Blur Orgy And Blur Orgy And Blur - Sonic Net All Access(CD, Transcription) MediaAmerica Radio 99-28 US 1999 Sell This Version
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none Live at Ally Pally ‘94 — Blur Blur Live at Ally Pally ‘94(2xCDr, Promo) Food none UK 2000 Sell This Version
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none Meltdown Gig 01.07.00 — Blur Blur Meltdown Gig 01.07.00(CDr, Promo) Food none UK 2000 Sell This Version
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none  B-sides Gig (Electric Ballroom 06.09.99) — Blur Blur B-sides Gig (Electric Ballroom 06.09.99)(CDr, Promo) Food none UK 2000 Sell This Version
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CDIN134 The Best Of...The Radio Show — Blur Blur The Best Of...The Radio Show(CD, Promo) Food, Parlophone CDIN134 Europe 2000 Sell This Version

Add Review

Rich.C

Rich.C

January 13, 2017
Mainstays of the British music scene (there was a point when England wondered who would be bigger, Blur or Oasis -- Blur lost) the band broke stateside in 1997 with the irresistible gem "Song 2." This was a rollicking departure from the wry, carefully constructed Brit Pop the band had already perfected. They've continued to evolve beyond the florid psychedelia and high-octane Indie pop of past years, stretching-out their songs, dabbling in Gospel, and taking a deeper, more emotionally expressive approach to songwriting, and just for the record they were/are 10 x better than Oasis ;)
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