Blur and Dave Rowntree

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.