![]() ![]() Following the worldwide success of Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the media quipped that Blur "wound up winning the battle but losing the war". However, opinion quickly changed and Blur found themselves largely out of favour with the media. The Great Escape was released in September 1995 to positive reviews, and entered the UK charts at number one. At the end of the week, "Country House" outsold Oasis' "Roll With It" by 274,000 copies to 216,000, becoming Blur's first number-one single. The debate over which band would top the British singles chart became a media phenomenon, and Albarn appeared on News at Ten. Partly due to increasing antagonism between the groups, Blur and Oasis decided to release their new singles on the same day, an event the NME called the "British Heavyweight Championship". It was all dysfunctional, misfit characters fucking up." The release of the album's lead single "Country House" played a part in Blur's public rivalry with Manchester band Oasis termed the "Battle of Britpop". James reflected, "It was all more elaborate, more orchestral, more theatrical, and the lyrics were even more twisted. Building upon the band's previous two albums, Albarn's lyrics for the album consisted of several third-person narratives. Albarn was uncomfortable with fame, however, and he suffered from panic attacks.īlur began working on their fourth album The Great Escape at the start of 1995. Coxon later pointed to Parklife as the moment when " went from being regarded as an alternative, leftfield arty band to this amazing new pop sensation". Blur won four awards at the 1995 Brit Awards, including Best British Group and British Album of the Year for Parklife. Enthusiastically greeted by the music press, Parklife is regarded as one of Britpop's defining records. Parklife entered the British charts at number one and stayed in the album charts for 90 weeks. Parklife was released in 1994 and revived Blur's commercial fortunes, with the album's first single, the disco-influenced "Girls & Boys", achieving critical acclaim and chart success. Despite the album's poor performance, Albarn was happy with the band's direction and wrote prolifically for Blur's next album. The second Blur album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, was released in May 1993 and peaked at number 15 on the British charts, but failed to break into the US Billboard 200, selling only 19,000 copies. The sessions with Partridge proved unsatisfactory, but a chance reunion with Stephen Street resulted in him returning to produce the group. Although sceptical of Albarn's new manifesto, Balfe gave his assent for the band's choice of Andy Partridge of the band XTC to produce their follow-up to Leisure. Blur had undergone an ideological and image shift intended to celebrate their English heritage in contrast to the popularity of American grunge bands like Nirvana. During the two-month American tour, Albarn, along with the band, became increasingly unhappy and homesick, and began writing songs which "created an English atmosphere". Albarn has since referred to Leisure as "awful".Īfter discovering they were £60,000 in debt, Blur toured the United States in 1992 in an attempt to recoup their losses. ![]() Although the resulting album Leisure (1991) peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart, it received mixed reviews, and according to journalist John Harris, "could not shake off the odour of anti-climax". The recording of the group's debut album was hindered by Albarn having to write his lyrics in the studio. ![]() As a result of the single's success, Blur became pop stars and were accepted into a clique of bands who frequented the Syndrome club in London dubbed the "Scene That Celebrates Itself". The resulting single, "There's No Other Way", became a hit, peaking at number eight. The band had trouble creating a follow-up single, but made progress when paired with producer Stephen Street. In October 1990, Blur released their first single, "She's So High", which reached number 48 in the UK Singles Chart. In March 1990, after changing their name to Blur, they signed to Food Records. They changed their name to Seymour in December 1988, inspired by J.D. Alex James, a fellow student at Goldsmiths, eventually joined as the group's bassist. Albarn was in a group named Circus alongside Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree. Further information: Blur Formation and LeisureĪlbarn enrolled on a part-time music course at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988, claiming that his sole intention was to gain access to the student union bar. ![]()
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