10 Things You Never Knew About Blur

Blur is an iconic English rock band that has been active for over 25 years. Despite their popularity and longevity, there are still some things about the band that are not widely known. Here are ten facts about Blur that you may not have known.

1. Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon are the only original members of the band. While Dave Rowntree and Alex James have been with the band since the start, they weren't part of the original lineup. 2. Graham Coxon left the band in 2002, but returned for their 2009 reunion tour. 3. The iconic album cover for "Parklife" was taken outside a London pub, The Eagle. 4. Blur's greatest hit, "Song 2," was released as a single in 1997 and reached number two on the UK Singles chart. 5. The band has sold over 25 million records worldwide. 6. Blur have been nominated for seven BRIT Awards, including three for Best British Group. 7. The band's second album, "Modern Life Is Rubbish," was released in 1993 and was not immediately successful. However, it has since become one of the most acclaimed Britpop albums of all time. 8. Blur's song "Chemical World" was featured in the opening scene of the cult classic film "Trainspotting." 9. The band was named after the slang term for a blurry photograph. 10. Blur have released eight studio albums and have been cited as an influence by many other bands, including Oasis, Arctic Monkeys and Kasabian.

These are just a few of the things you may not have known about Blur. With a career spanning over 25 years and eight albums, the band has had a long and successful career. With such a long and varied history, there's still plenty more to learn about this iconic rock band.

5 Facts That Would Surprise You About Damon Albarn

Surprises don't come easy, but with Blur's enigmatic frontman Damon Albarn, there's lots to be shocked about. The frontman isn't exactly uncontroversial with his colourful, creative and at times crazy career in the Britpop realm. Here are 5 facts that would totally shock you about Damon Albarn. 

1) He had a fling with a Spice Girl 

Damon Albarn is rumoured to have a fling with Mel C from Spice Girls back in the 1990s when he was in an on-off relationship with his then girlfriend Justine Frischmann. Spice Girls stars Mel C and Geri Horner were kicked out of a Blur show at the beginning of their career after trying to rush the stage and perform with Damon Albarn. The pair sneaked backstage at the London Astoria gig and decided they'd try to join singer Albarn for a favourite tune, but security guards had other ideas. However, it is rumoured that later on Damon and Mel C just hit off! 

2) He and Justine Frischmann had an Open Relationship (yes there was lots of cheating) 

Damon Albarn's relationship with Justine Frischmann of Elastica (another hugely successful Britpop band) was nothing but normal. They broke up, got back together, went with other people and cheated on each other multiple times. However, this wasn't technically cheating, because they both agreed to an open sort of relationship. While this escapes us normal folks, it's apparently quite common in the music world. Hey, how else would you date a celebrity? 

3) He had a feud with his best friend Graham Coxon 

Graham Coxon is an essential part of Blur, but things were not great between Damon Albarn and Coxon for many years after Blur hit their peak. Reportedly, Graham Coxon suffered from substance abuse and Albarn was moving in a different musical direction. The two just didn't hit off and didn't speak to each other for many years after Blur disbanded. Think Tank, Blur's last album, was written without Coxon's input.

‘It’s something we’ve been thinking about for a while and we’re coming back into focus because Graham and I have reconciled our differences which drove the band apart,’ the singer told Absolute Radio back during Blur's big reunion. 

‘So that’s why we’re back. It feels like the right time.’ Coxon, who has also had solo projects, said he was prepared to forget the feud so they can delight fans at their July comeback in Hyde Park, London. And it worked! 

4) He never got married to the mother of his child Missy Albarn

Damon Albarn does not believe in marriage, nor does his girlfriend Suzi Winstanley. The two are different and very unconventional. Albarn rarely talks about his personal life other than to say that he and Suzi have no plans to marry at all.

“I don’t think she’d marry me. Suzi doesn’t believe in marriage, and nor do I. It’s been so ruined by everybody who’s got divorced.” They've been together for decades and there's no sign of him changing his mind. 

5) He used to do lots of drugs 

We all knew that rock stars partied and they partied hard- but Damon Albarn was a fan of heroine, cocaine and a variety of mind-altering drugs. Albarn has been asked about this before: in No Distance Left To Run, the documentary released after Blur's reunion in 2009, he talks very cagily about this period – when Britpop's garish colour scheme was replaced by much darker shades – and offers nothing more specific than the observation that "a lot of people's lives were fairly muddied by heroin". 

He comes from a bohemian family and has experimented with all sorts of substances, which in part might have helped some of his music. On 13 there was a song titled Caramel, seemingly referring to the brown goo produced when heroin is heated up, and Trimm Trabb, a picture of sedated solitude in which Albarn sings, "I doze, doze away."

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5 Facts You Never Knew about Damon Albarn

The Blur frontman has always been a bit mysterious and aloof with his personal stories. But here are 5 fun facts that you probably never knew about the man himself.

1. After his breakup with Justine Frischmann in the late 1990s, there are rumours he dated Melanie C from Spice Girls (Sporty Spice) and Shaznay Lewis from All Saints. He has been seen with them together in house parties hosted by Albarn and Jamie Hewlett in their pad in London during his recovery days. He has always had an open relationship with Justine Frischmann and was caught kissing an Australian DJ back in the days.

2. Blur and the gang used to play a "Punching Game" with each other, where they'd take it in turns to hit each other as hard as they can. Alex James recalls: “There was one tour in America that I had two black eyes,” James claimed. “One from Graham and one from Dave. And Damon broke my nose once. But you know… there was never any question we would split up. We were tighter than ever.” “Dave used to play this game called the Punching Game,” James continued. “We all took it in turns to punch each other. I remember playing it with the bass player from Dinosaur Jr… he was fucking massive. Taller than me. He lumped the shit out of everyone.” In case anyone needs ear infection treatment, heads up to Auris Ear Care a London clinic who does just that and more! 

3. Damon finally admitted to using heroin in his latest autobiographical album Everyday Robots (2015). The song "You and Me", referencing Justine Frischmann and his heroin use, found him admitting his 5-day-a-week regime. He has said that it's a relief that it can all become out in the open, since he was "mysterious" about his heroin usage during the 1990s.

4. Damon has a really close relationship with his daughter Missy Albarn. He always writes songs for her and according to him, she "cries" with embarassment. He also admits that his collaborations in the latest Gorillaz album Humanz is based off Missy's choices and favorites. What a dad!

5. Damon is a perpetual suitor when it comes to collaborations. How he managed to get Lou Reed, the Velvet Underground star on the old Gorillaz album was because he sent in hundreds of songs but were all rejected by Lou Reed. He said the secret to his success is to never give up on pestering the great musicians of his time.