timeline

Blur

The London band who began as Seymour, turned English life into pop on Parklife, won the Battle of Britpop, then left the genre behind with a lo-fi self-titled record and kept reuniting for thirty years.

Origin
London, England
Years active
1988-2003, 2009-2015, 2023-present
Genres
Britpop, alternative rock, indie rock, art rock
Labels
Food Records, Parlophone, Virgin, SBK, Warner, Live Here Now
Also known as
Seymour

Seymour to Blur

The band that became Blur formed in London in 1988 under the name Seymour. Dave Rowntree joined on drums in October, Alex James joined Damon Albarn's band Circus on bass in December, and Graham Coxon, Albarn's childhood friend from Essex, was already in the group. They played their first show in the summer of 1989 at the East Anglian Railway Museum in Chappel and Wakes Colne. Food Records signed them in March 1990 and disliked the name, so the band picked Blur from a list of alternatives the label drew up.

Their debut album Leisure came out on 26 August 1991 and reached number seven in the UK, though Albarn called it awful in 2007. In 1992 a US tour meant to recoup debts of about 60,000 pounds left Albarn resentful of American cultural influence. The single Popscene reached number 32 and marked a turn toward distinctly English pop.

Britpop

Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) was recorded between October 1991 and March 1993. Sessions with Andy Partridge of XTC were, James said, a disaster, and the band moved to Stephen Street. Food rejected the finished mix in December 1992 and asked for more singles, so Albarn wrote For Tomorrow on Christmas Day. The record reached number 15 in the UK and did not chart in the US.

Parklife followed on 25 April 1994 and went to number one, staying on the chart for 90 weeks. Girls & Boys gave the band their first top-five single, and the title track brought in the actor Phil Daniels. At the 1995 Brit Awards Blur won four prizes, including Best British Album. Their rivalry with Oasis peaked in August 1995, when Country House and Oasis's Roll with It were released in the same week. Blur won on sales, 274,000 to 216,000. In June 1995 they played Mile End Stadium in London for about 27,000 fans, and in September The Great Escape also reached number one.

Leaving it behind

By 1996 relations inside the band were strained. Coxon was drinking heavily and drawn to American alternative rock, and he steered the group toward bands such as Pavement. The sessions for Blur (1997) began in London and moved to Reykjavik, far from Britpop. Its first single, Beetlebum, debuted at number one in the UK. Song 2 reached number two in Britain and number six on the US modern rock chart, and became a stadium fixture.

13 (1999), produced by William Orbit, was another UK number one, and its lead single Tender reached number two. During the Think Tank sessions in 2001 and 2002 Coxon, who was in rehab for alcoholism at the start, rejoined for a few sessions in February and May 2002. A miscommunication in which the band's manager told him not to return to the studio led to his leaving. The album came out in May 2003 as the only Blur record without him as a full member. For the next five years the band were quiet while Albarn's Gorillaz became his main project.

Reunions

A reunion was announced in December 2008. Albarn and Coxon played This Is a Low at the 2009 NME Awards, and the band headlined Glastonbury on 28 June 2009, then Hyde Park on 2 and 3 July. They received the Outstanding Contribution to Music prize at the Brits in 2012 and played a Hyde Park show during the London Olympics period, alongside the Blur 21 box set.

The Magic Whip, begun in Hong Kong in May 2013, appeared in April 2015 as their first album in twelve years and their sixth UK number one. After another hiatus they returned with two nights at Wembley Stadium on 8 and 9 July 2023, and The Ballad of Darren, their ninth studio album, followed on 21 July 2023. Produced by James Ford, it became the seventh Blur album in a row to debut at number one in the UK. They played Coachella in April 2024, where Albarn said the second show was probably the last.

Members

Records

Songs

Gorillaz, Oasis, Pavement, Pet Shop Boys

Where to go next

Official

  • Blur official site The band's Parlophone-run site, with streaming links, shop and mailing list.

Reference

Discography and data

Writing and criticism

Interviews

Live performance archives

Sources

  1. Blur (band), Wikipedia
  2. Britpop, Wikipedia
  3. Leisure (album), Wikipedia
  4. The Ballad of Darren, Wikipedia
  5. Blur 21, Wikipedia
  6. Blur: artist page, MusicBrainz