This is a biography about one of the best bands to come out of England in the nineties, one of the founding members of "Brit pop."
Blur are an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree.
Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change—influenced by English guitar pop groups such as The Kinks, The Beatles and XTC—Blur released Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), an album of slightly mellow, percussionist sounds, but it was not met with commercial success.
With their next two most commercially successful albums Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995), the band are seen to have invented 'Britpop' and fuelled massive popularity in the new era of British music. The band won numerous musical awards and set the Guinness World Record for the most Brit Awards achieved in one year. However, 'The Great Escape' was reportedly Damon Albarn's least favourite album.
As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with rival band Oasis dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
In recording their follow-up, Blur (1997), the band underwent another reinvention, showing influence from the lo-fi style of American indie rock groups. "Song 2", one of the album's singles, brought Blur mainstream success in the US. The last album featuring Blur's original lineup, 13 (1999) found the band members experimenting with electronic music and gospel music, as Albarn wrote more personal lyrics. The album also was influenced by Albarn's breakup with Elastica front-woman Justine Frischmann, who reportedly cried when hearing single 'Tender' for the first time.
In May 2002, Coxon left Blur during the recording of their seventh album Think Tank (2003). Containing electronic sounds and more minimal guitar work, the album was marked by Albarn's growing interest in hip hop and African music.
After a 2003 tour without Coxon, Blur did no studio work or touring as a band. The band members engaged in other projects, with Albarn starting a hugely successful cartoon band Gorillaz and Alex James making a career out of cheese and farming. Coxon released several acclaimed solo albums and continued a steady solo career. Dave Rowntree went to law school and started training as a lawyer.
In 2009 Blur reunited, with Coxon back in the fold, for a series of successful concerts. The band is reported to be on good terms with Coxon and Albarn mending their friendship, which were on the rocks following their Britpop years.
In 2010 - 11, speculation of new material have sprung up now and then. The band offered fans an exclusive recording of Fool's Day as a promotional single in late 2010.
As of 2012, Blur are back and have regularly jammed in the studio together. A promotional single 'Under the Westway' with one additional song 'The Puritan' had been released on July 2nd 2012. The band are back to play one of their most massive gigs ever: the London Olympics Hyde Park Closing ceremony.
Blur have announced they are touring the world in 2013. Gig locations span across Europe, America and Asia, including places like Hong Kong, USA, Taiwan, Italy, Japan, Germany, France, Portugal, Norway, Mexico, Belgium and Indonesia. Most venues are large music festivals like Coachella in California, which fuelled rumours that there will be new material released sometime in 2013.
The band did a tour in 2015 for their newest UK Number 1 album 'The Magic Whip'.
For the years 2020-2021 there are no further plans for a new album. The members of the band are currently working on their individual musical projects.