Blur

Indie rock / pop band with art school roots from London, England, composed of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon (1989-2002, 2008- ), Alex James (2), and Dave Rowntree. The band was formed in Colchester in December 1989 as Seymour but was renamed Blur in March 1990, after they'd signed for the Food label. Blur's early releases (the Leisure album and the singles off it) were considered indie or alternative rock, heavily influenced by the danceable rhythms of "baggy" bands from the Madchester scene and noisepop bands like My Bloody Valentine, with strains of weirder ideas running throughout, at times reminding of Syd Barrett. Tthis was more readily apparent on several single B-sides where the group let loose a darker side.

By 1992, the group was keen on reinventing themselves with a newer, smarter sound and sense of purpose, returning to a retro spectrum of British rock and pop music (e.g. The Kinks or XTC) or even nostalgic music from World War II. Their 2nd album Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) had moderate success but began attracting attention for its Britishness but in hindsight it rolled out the carpet for the Britpop cultural movement that would all but engulf the UK for two years, with groups like Suede early frontrunners too. In 1994 Blur released what was essentially seen by the general public as the Britpop flagship album: Parklife. 1995's The Great Escape was a vividly nervy and somewhat cartoonish version of the same formula.

When the 5th studio album Blur came out in 1997, the group had reinvented their sound. They severed ties from Britpop and reincorporated the art rock experimentalism of their early years, only this time the music was informed by a broader range of influences (e.g. Pavement). The album's second song Song 2 was released as a single and became a hit on alternative dancefloors. 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.

After 13 and the subsequent tours, the band took a pause and its members pursued personal projects. In 1998 Albarn started the project, Alex James engaged in with Damien Hirst, and Graham Coxon released his first solo album the same year. Over the years Coxon had started struggling with alcoholism and when Blur started the recording sessions for Think Tank, it came to a point where they asked him to no longer be present. After its release in 2003 the band went on full hiatus until December 2008, when it was announced the band would reunite for concerts in London's Hyde Park (released as All The People) followed by a series of major concerts e.g. at Glastonbury 2009. The next year saw the release of a a documentary about the band (No Distance Left To Run) and of the Fool's Day single for RSD 2010.

In July 2012 a career spanning box set was released titled Blur 21, and in August 2012 the band headlined a show in Hyde Park for the closing ceremony of the 2012 Summer Olympics (released as Parklive). Earlier that year the band had tried to record a studio album with as producer but that was aborted. In Autumn 2012 the band again paused its activities.

Early 2015, Blur made a surprise announcement that they'd finished a new album: The Magic Whip. It had been created in 5 days in Hong Kong after a Japan tour that was cancelled in 2013. Following the Magic Whip tour the band went into hiatus again ... resurfacing in 2023 with their 9th studio album The Ballad Of Darren and a series of concerts. In April 2024 Albarn stated that their performance at Coachella was probably the band’s “last gig”. On 19 July 2024 a second documentary titled To The End opened in UK and Irish cinemas, as directed by Toby L.

Noteworthy live & session members:
Cara Tivey: auxiliary keyboard player 1993-1995
Diana Gutkind: auxiliary keyboard player 1995-2000
Wayne Hernandez: primary vocalist with backing choirs since 1997
Simon Tong: guitarist; replaced Coxon for the 2003-2004 tour
Mike Smith: auxiliary keyboard player, backing vocalist and saxophonist since 2003

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