30 Astonishing Facts About The Famous Band Blur We Bet Your Never Knew

15 May 2019, 12:02 pm EDT By Ruby Karnick

Blur, with eight studio albums released till date, earning them 5 Brit Awards out of 17 nominations, is one of the most influential bands in the world. The band also has been nominated twice for the most prestigious Mercury Prize. Here are some unique facts about the English rock band:

The band, formed in the year 1988, in London, consists of Damon Albarn - the lead vocalist/keyboardist, Graham Coxon - guitarist/vocalist, Alex James - bassist, and Dave Rowntree - drummer.
Albarn and Coxon were childhood friends who met James while studying at London's Goldsmiths College. James, along with Rowntree, was in a group named Circus, which fired two members including James in December 1988, leading to James joining Albarn and Coxon.
They gang first named themselves as Seymour in December 1988, inspired by J. D. Salinger's "Seymour: An Introduction." However, the name was disliked by Food Records' A&R representative Andy Ross, who courted them after seeing their first live performance in summer 1989.
The new name "Blur," was one of the names in the Food's list of alternative names for the band. It was said that the entire group liked and decided the name "Blur," suited them most.
It is reported that their most famous album "Parklife," was almost named as "Soft Porn." However, this is the album that is said to have revived the band's commercial fortunes.
In the year 1995, the band won four Brit Awards, including the Best Band and Best Album for Parklife, making it the most won by a band in a single ceremony.
While all the band members were pleased with the final result of "Parklife," before its release, Food Records owner David Balfe was not, telling the band's management "This is a mistake."
In fact, soon after the release of "Parklife," Balfe sold Food Records to EMI, and moved to the country.
The band's lead single "Country House," from their fourth studio album "The Great Escape," is reportedly about Balfe, leaving the label and settling in a house in the country.
The said single also had several unflattering digs at Bafle, which he claims to have never taken offense of, as he felt "there was a lot of truth in the song."

The "Country House," single garnered a great deal of media attention, when Food Records decided to release that single on the same day as Oasis's "Roll with It," which led to famously dubbed "Battle of Britpop."
In fact, the second verse of "Country House," - "He's got morning glory and life's a different story," is said to be a direct referred to the Oasis's band's second album "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?"
At the end of the battle, Blur's "Country House," came at top, selling 274,000 copies, compared to just 216,000 copies of Oasis's "Roll With It," becoming the band's first number one single.
It is reported that Albarn, till date, use to jokingly announce the song as "Roll With It," in certain live performances, like the performance during the "Singles night."
Their fourth album "The Great Escape," which entered the UK charts at number one, sold nearly half a million copies in its first month of sale, with NME hailing it as "spectacularly accomplished, sumptuous, heart-stopping and inspirational."
However, this opinion changed very quickly, with the band finding themselves largely out of favor with the media once again, with the band being perceived as an inauthentic middle class pop band" in comparison to the "working class heroes" Oasis.
In fact, with the worldwide success of Oasis' "(What's the Story) Morning Glory?," the medias claimed that "Blue has won the battle, but has lost the war."
Their third studio album "Parklife," has been listed among the "1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die." In the year 2017, it was ranked at #2 in the Pitchfork's list of "The 50 Best Britpop Albums."
The band's eponymous fifth studio album "Blur," which marked a change in the direction of their music, is the band's most successful album in the US, receiving positive reviews from most of the music critics.
The said album, which topped the UK Albums Chart, reached the Top Twenty in Switzerland, France, Norway, New Zealand, Sweden and Japan. However, it could not match the sales of their previous albums in UK.

The most popular "Song 2," the second track of their fifth album "Blur," reportedly peaked at number two on the UK Singles Chart, and was two minutes and two seconds long, with two verses, two choruses, recorded with two drummers at the same time.
In fact, the song was nominated for two Brit Awards - Best British Single, and Best British Video as well as for two MTV Video Music Awards - Best Group Video, and Best Alternative Video.
The single "Song 2," has been ranked at #79 on the NME's list "150 Best Tracks of the Past 15 Years" in the year 2011. It was first listed as the 15th Best Track Ever, by BBC Radio 1, in December 1998.
Initially, the name "Song 2," is said to have been the working title for the track, the song being the second track from the album. However, the name got stuck, though till date, some mistake the title to be "woo-hoo!"
Their lead single "Girls & Boys" from their third album "Parklife," was written when Albarn vacationed in Magaluf, Spain with then-girlfriend Justine Frischmann, where he claimed the city had a rampant sexual scene among visitors.
The song "Girls & Boys," which was their first single to reach number 5 on the UK Singles Chart, was named single of the year by NME and Melody Maker in the year 1994.
A cover of the song as a Hot Topic exclusive bonus track of the electronic band Blaqk Audio's debut album "CexCells" was released in the year 2007.
A version of the song "Girls & Boys," was performed by the American alternative rock band The Get Up Kids in July 2011 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series.
"Think Tank," the band's seventh studio album, which was their fifth consecutive studio album to reach the number one spot in the UK Albums Chart, was also their highest charting album in the United States, reaching number 56 on the Billboard 200.
The said album's cover art stenciled by the graffiti artist Banksy, was reportedly sold at an auction for a whooping £75,000 in the year 2007. Two years later, the cover art of Green Day's 2009 album, "21st Century Breakdown" was compared to this cover.