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'When our third album comes out our position as the quintessential English band of the 90s will be assured.' A typical bullish statement that could have been made by any number of UK indie bands in 1990 - but from the mouth of Damon Albarn of Blur it amounts to prophecy. Blur were formed in London while Albarn
(b. 23 March 1968, Whitechapel, London, England; vocals), Alex James
(b. 21 November 1968, Bournemouth, Dorset, England; bass) and Graham Coxon
(b. 12 March 1969, Rinteln, Hannover, Germany; guitar) were studying at Goldsmith's College. Coxon had first seen Albarn when he played a debut solo gig at Colchester Arts Centre in 1988. Also in that audience was future Blur drummer Dave Rowntree
(b. 8 May 1964, Colchester, Essex, England). Albarn's desire to make music was encouraged by his father, who moved in circles that exposed his son to artists such as Soft Machine and Cat Stevens, while his mother was a stage designer for Joan Littlewood's theatre company at Stratford. Rowntree's father was sound engineer for the Beatles at the BBC, and had taken lessons on the bagpipes. When the four members convened in London
(the first person James saw in halls of residence was Coxon), they formed a band - initially entitled Seymour - and started out on the lower rungs of the gig circuit by playing bottom of the bill to New Fast Automatic Daffodils and Too Much Texas at Camden's Dingwalls venue. A year and a dozen gigs later, the quartet had signed to Food Records, run by ex- Teardrop Explodes keyboard player David Balfe and Sounds journalist Andy Ross, whose suggestion it was that they change their name to Blur. They earned a reputation with venue promoters for haphazardly implemented onstage stunts. Playing vibrant 90s-friendly pop with a sharp cutting edge, Blur's debut release, 'She's So High'
(which had initially ensured that Seymour were signed when included on their first demo tape), sneaked into the Top 50 of the UK chart. With the band displaying a justifiably breezy confidence in their abilities, there was little surprise when the infectious 'There's No Other Way' reached number 8 in the UK charts in the spring of 1991. This success continued when Leisure entered the UK charts at number 2 - a mere two years after formation. However, a relatively fallow period followed when 'Popscene' failed to rise above number 34 in the UK charts. As the 'baggy' and 'Madchester' movements died, the band were viewed with the same hostility that now
greeted bands such as Rain or the Mock Turtles, as
audiences looked away from the Byrds -fixated
guitar pop of the period. Blur seemed set to disappear
with the same alacrity with which they had established
themselves, although their names were kept alive in
press columns by their 'expert liggers' status. Modern
Life Is Rubbish was presented to their record company
at the end of 1992 but rejected, Balfe insisting that
Albarn should go away and write at least two more
tracks. The resultant songs, 'For Tomorrow' and
'Chemical World', were the album's singles. When it
finally emerged in 1993, its sales profile of 50,000
copies failed to match that of its predecessor or
expectations, but touring and a strong headlining
appearance at the Reading Festival rebuilt confidence.
The 'new' model Blur was waiting in the wings, and saw
fruition in March 1994 with the release of 'Girls & Boys',
the first single from what was to prove the epoch-making
Parklife album. This set wantonly upturned musical
expectations, borrowing liberally from every great British
institution from the Beatles, the Small Faces and the Kinks
to the Jam and Madness, topped off by Albarn's knowing,
Cockney delivery. At last there seemed to be genuine
substance to the band's more excessive claims. With the
entire music media their friends again, Blur consolidated their
position with a live spectacular in front of 8,000 fans at
London's Alexandra Palace; meanwhile, the album gained a
Mercury Music Prize nomination, and they went on to secure
four trophies, including Best Band and Album, at the 1995
BRIT Awards. Subsequently, the UK press attempted to
concoct an Oasis versus Blur campaign when both bands
released singles on the same day. In the event, Blur won the
chart battle
(with 'Country House') but remained diplomatically
silent; however, it was Oasis who took over the headlines on a
daily basis. Following the lukewarm reception given to The
Great Escape, Blur quietly retreated to Iceland to work on new
material. The result of their labour was 'Beetlebum', another
number 1 single, in January 1997, and Blur, a UK number 1
album. The harder sound
(evident on the thrashy 'Song 2') and
more downbeat subject matter
('Death Of A Party') recalled
some of their earlier singles, and proved beyond any doubt that
they remain a major force in UK pop. With its obvious debts to
American alternative rock bands such as Sonic Youth and
Pavement, the album also broke Blur in the USA. In 1998 Coxon
launched his own label, Transcopic, and released his solo debut.