Blur is a group of talented and successful musicians from the UK. For more than 30 years they have been giving the world energetic, interesting music with a British flavor, without repeating themselves or anyone else.
The group has a lot of merit. Firstly, these guys are the founders of the Britpop style, and secondly, they developed quite well such directions as indie rock, alternative dance, lo-fi.
How it all began?
Young and ambitious guys - Goldsmiths Damon Albarn (vocals, keyboards) and Graham Coxon (guitar), students of a liberal arts college who played together in the Circus band, decided to create their own band. In 1988, the musical group Seymour appeared. At the same time, two more musicians joined the band - bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree.
This name did not last long. During one of the live performances, the musicians were noticed by the talented producer Andy Ross. From this acquaintance began the history of professional music. The group was invited to work in a recording studio and was recommended to change the name.
From now on, the group is called Blur ("Blob"). Already in 1990, the group went on tour in the cities of Great Britain. In 1991, the first Leisure album was released.
The first success "keep" failed
Soon the group began to cooperate with visionary producer Stephen Street, who helped the guys gain popularity. It was at this time that the first hit of the young band Blur appeared - the song There's No Other Way. Popular publications wrote about the musicians, invited them to significant festivals - they became real stars.
The Blur group developed - experimented with styles, followed the principle of sound diversity.
Difficult period 1992-1994
The Blur group, not having time to enjoy the success, had problems. A debt was discovered - about 60 thousand pounds. The group went on a tour of America, hoping to earn money.
They released a new single Popscene - extremely energetic, filled with incredible guitar drive. The song was met with a cool response from the audience. The musicians were perplexed - in this work they made every effort, but did not receive even half of the enthusiasm they had hoped for.
The release of the new single, which was in the works, was canceled, and the second album needed to be rethought.
Disagreements in the group
During the US city tour, the band members felt tired and unhappy. Irritability had a bad effect on relationships in the team.
Conflicts began. When the Blur group returned to their homeland, they found that rival group Suede was basking in the glory. This made the position of the Blur group precarious, as they could lose their record contract.
When creating new content, the problem of choosing an ideology arose. Moving away from the English idea, saturated with American grunge, the musicians realized that they were going in the wrong direction. They decided to return to the English heritage again.
The second album Modern Life is Rubbish was released. His single cannot be called brilliant, but he significantly strengthened the position of the musicians. The song For Tomorrow took 28th position, which was not bad at all.
Wave of success
In 1995, after the release of the third Parklife album, things were successful. The single from this album won a triumphant 1st position in the British charts and was unusually popular for almost two years.
The next two singles (To the End and Parklife) allowed the band to emerge from the shadow of competitors and become a musical sensation. Blur has received four iconic awards from the BRIT Awards.
During this period, competition with the Oasis group was especially fierce. The musicians treated each other with undisguised enmity.
This confrontation even became known as the "British Heavyweight Contest", which resulted in the victory of the Oasis group, whose album went platinum 11 times in the first year (for comparison: the Blur album - only three times in the same period).
Star disease and alcohol
The musicians continued to work productively, but the relationship in the team became more tense. It was said about the leader of the group that he had a severe form of star disease. And the guitarist could not keep a secret addiction to alcohol, which became a topic for discussion in society.
But these circumstances did not prevent the creation of a successful album in 1996, Live at the Budokan. A year later, an album was released, repeating the name of the group. He did not show record sales, but allowed him to win international success.
The Blur album was recorded after a soothing trip to Iceland, which influenced its sound. It was unusual and experimental. By that time, Graham Coxon had given up alcohol, saying that during this period of creativity, the group stopped “chasing” popularity and public approval. Now the musicians were doing what they liked.
And the new songs, as expected, disappointed many "fans" who wanted the familiar British sound. But the album won success in America, which softened the hearts of the British. The video clip for the most popular song Song 2 was often shown on MTV. This video was shot entirely according to the ideas of the musicians.
The group continued to amaze
In 1998, Coxon created his own label, and then an album. He did not receive significant recognition either in England or in the world. In 1999, the group presented new songs written in a completely unexpected format. The album "13" turned out to be very emotional and heartfelt. It was a complex combination of rock music and gospel music.
For the 10th anniversary, the Blur group organized an exhibition dedicated to its work, and a book about the history of the group was also released. The musicians still performed a lot, received awards in the nominations "Best Single", "Best Video Clip", etc.
Side projects are getting in the way of the Blur group
In the 2000s, Damon Albarn worked as a film composer and participated in various projects. Graham Coxon has released several solo albums. The founders of the group worked even less together.
There was an animated band Gorillas created by Damon. The Blur group continued to exist, but the relationship between the participants was not easy. In 2002, Coxon finally left the band.
In 2003 Blur released the album Think Tank without guitarist Coxon. The guitar parts sounded simpler, there were a lot of electronics. But the changes in sound were received positively, the title of "Best Album of the Year" was received, and the songs were also included in the prestigious list of the best albums of the decade.
Band reunion with Coxon
In 2009, Albarn and Coxon decided to perform together, the event was planned in Hyde Park. But the audience accepted this initiative with such enthusiasm that the musicians continued to work together. Recording of the best songs, performance at festivals took place. The Blur band has been lauded as musicians who have gotten better over the years.
In 2015, the new album The Magic Whip was released after a long break (12 years). Today it is the last musical product of the Blur group.
