Like a Blur

Colchester's finest, formed in the late 1980s as Seymour, but happily renamed for their 1991 debut LP Leisure. They went on to score a couple of #1 singles (and a few albums) before disbanding in 2003. They reformed first to produce a track for the 2012 Olympiad, and then managed to knock out a whole brand new LP during a short few days together. They have a great back catalogue, and I think I might have all their albums. Here's a handful of their works:

There's No Other Way

Girls and Boys

Beetlebum

Tender

Out Of Time

Blur: The Singles Night
A one-off gig from 1999, purportedly playing all their singles in order, though they skipped rather a lot of them actually. Mind, they did have Phil Daniels on hand for Parklife, which was a neat touch.

Blur - Parklive
From Hyde Park in 2012, a concert for the end of the Olympic Games, and featuring a wide choice of hits, as well as newie 'Under the Westway'. They managed to get Phil Daniels on hand for 'Parklife', and Harry Enfield pratted about in drag during the same number. A good show, Alex James' laconic style contrasts with his hyper colleagues.

Discovering: Blur
The usual story, from their early striving for a sound and direction, through the Britpop war, to the evolution of their sound, and eventual decline.

Blur at Glastonbury 2009
From Sunday on the Pyramid Stage, a breezy run-through the predictable, from 'Girls and Boys', to 'The Universal'. One surprise was 'Advert', from MLIR. Phil Daniels was present and correct for 'Parklife', too. They seem to have endured after all.

Blur: New World Towers
The story of The Magic Whip album, how their reformation for the 2012 London Olympics led to a world tour, which led them to Hong Kong, where they were stuck between gigs for 5 days and decided to work on new material. Cut to 18 months later, where Alex wonders ruefully whether it was all for nothing, when Graham decides to take the lead in knocking the material into shape, with producer Stephen Street. Since Graham was the one to leave first originally, this was viewed as a welcome surprise, and Damon was delighted to have to come up with lyrics, many of which came from their HK hiatus, and also his feelings about the band. This is all spliced with performance from a gig at Hyde Park, and Damon talking about the emotional experience of gigging. Will there be another album? Does there need to be? Time will etc

The South Bank Show Originals: Blur
Melvyn checked in on Colchester's finest back in 1999, and all 4 members had some useful stuff to say, most obviously Damon. Damon met Graham, at the school where he failed A Level Music. Graham met Dave through drinking in local pubs. Alex met Graham at College. And so on. There was discussion of Britpop and the notorious Blur v Oasis debate which Damon clearly regretted being part of. Given what lay in their future (Graham leaving, for one), this was a well-timed show, and a nice repeat.

Drummer Dave Rowntree took part in last week's local council elections, and was elected for the University ward of Norfolk County Council

Bit of a Blur, by Alex James
The bass player wrote his autobiography a while back, and a pretty decent read it is, too. He was the party animal of the band, and covers his many adventures, projects, Blur albums, involvement with the failed Beagle Mars lander, flying and more with verve and spirit. His settling down with his wife and a farm has led to his partial reinvention as a cheese producer, which I gather he dealt with in a follow-up volume. But this one was worthwhile.

Weekend - 20/8/17
Aled Jones first spoke to Martine McCutcheon, whose new album is out this week, and is her first for 18 years. She wrote it during the past 8 years and is a personal project having suffered with ME and Lyme Disease. She feels proud of being 41 and is touring. She started in the business aged 11 and was signed to Polydor at the age of 14, but the girlband she was part of, Milan, died a death. She did get a solo #1 with Perfect Moment in 1999. She sang "Say I'm Not Alone" from the new album, and covered "Every Breath You Take".
Aled's other significant guest was Alex James, plugging his Feastival, in its 6 year and running next weekend I guess. But there's no plans for more work with Blur, mainly because the individual guys are all busy on other things.

The Culture Show: Damon Albarn Solo
The frontman of Blur is pushing his imminent opus 'Everyday Robots', and this cheery half-hour saw him return to childhood haunts which have inspired much of the album. He seemed to feel upset about some of it, which didn't inspire sympathy. Also pretty sure he's released solo work before.

Blur/Oasis: The Britpop Years
A French-backed documentary vaguely looking at what fed the rise in Britpop, how it peaked with the singles clash between Blur and Oasis, and what went wrong soon after that. Alan McGee and Stephen Street were among the few relevant voices interviewed, but archive of the Gallaghers helped round out the story. The longer-term story of the two bands is more complex than is considered by shows like this, however entertaining.

The Britpop Story - It really, really, really could happen
John Harris needed only half an hour to relive the short golden age of Britpop, in which he slagged off shoegazing bands for being unambitious, yet also clearly disgusted with Oasis who were very ambitious indeed. Blur's Graham Coxon was typically level-headed about the silliness of the spat with Oasis, and the overall movement, whilst Justine Frischmann talked about Suede, and Louise Wener cheerfully backed up John's general attitude.

misery guts wrote:Blur at Glastonbury 2009
From Sunday on the Pyramid Stage, a breezy run-through the predictable, from 'Girls and Boys', to 'The Universal'. One surprise was 'Advert', from MLIR. Phil Daniels was present and correct for 'Parklife', too. They seem to have endured after all.

The Glastonbury Experience: Blur @ 2009
Another of these short extract shows, this time covering Song 2 (with a long intro), For Tomorrow and inevitably The Universal.

The Piano - A Love Affair
Writer Alexander Waugh discusses his love for the piano, and talks to others about it, like Jools Holland, in this 2006 piece. He tries to teach (or re-teach) a friend in 3 lessons, and shows disdain for her preferences for Keane and Coldplay. Gamely, he talks to Damon Albarn as an example of a rocker whom Waugh saw as disparaging the craft of the piano. Albarn of course is quite skilled on the piano and more on Waugh's wavelength than expected. Waugh pushes it, though, as though Albarn might somehow become a full-on classical pianist after all. Albarn demurs.

Top of the Pops - Blur
A compilation of 10 performances, from 1998, running from There's No Other Way to Beetlebum.

Rock Friendly Trees: The Birth of Cool Britannia
A familiar story, here focusing on Suede, Blur and Elastica really. Brett and Mat of Suede were happy contributors, but there wasn't really anyone from Blur. They did get Justine from Elastica to talk though, which must count as justifying the whole programme. It's not hard to deduce Blur would have been better off if they'd never been gulled into feuding with Oasis.

Damon Albarn: Blur, Gorillaz & Other Fables, by Martin Roach & David Nolan (2006)
Billed pompously as the "first and only" biography of the Blur frontman, it also admits to be culled from an author's previous book on Blur. The albums are flatteringly judged, Oasis rate about as much cross-coverage as Suede, and they conclude that Blur shouldn't reform. They did, though.

Read that they were doing some sort of "homecoming" gig this summer, but was still surprised at the news of an imminent new album, The Ballad Of Darren, due for release soon.

With the album only a few weeks off, they've been beset by an injury crisis to Dave Rowntree. They cancelled a festival appearance in France, but still hope to fulfil big Wembley gig commitments this weekend:

https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/blur-dave-rowntree-injury-update-ahead-of-wembley-shows/

BBC Radio 2 - In Concert - Blur
Jo Whiley introduced them at the BBC Radio Theatre in Maida Vale, to an appreciative audience. They did a few tracks from the new album, and brought Phil Daniels on for Parklife. A lively crowd and a happy band.

The new album went to #1 last week 

Blur at Peel Acres
From April 1997, legendary Brit DJ John Peel invites the band to play a show at his home, look at his infamously extensive record collection, and so on. In the end, only 3 songs of theirs are played live, and John spends the first half talking to various teenagers about acts they might like to see play at the venue, and he manages to tell an interminable anecdote about Melanie singing to him as he lay in bed with jaundice, which leads to playing a record of her singing about Christopher Robin. When Damon criticises Kula Shaker, fellow DJ Steve Lamacq defends them as being popular with the audience. Altogether, a rather weirder show than expected.

Blur Live
Again from 1997, at the time of their self-titled album, and this time getting rather more performance, somewhere in London. From Beetlebum to Song 2, they managed to fit in 16 songs, and Damon name-checked & thanked Warm Jets and Super Furry Animals as supports.

Journeys in Sound: Graham Coxon
Nemone talks to the erstwhile guitarist and songwriter about his current project in The Waeve, with his other half, as their 2nd album is out. He's made 9 albums with Blur, and 8 solo. He had a complicated upbringing, and has faced anxiety issues, though he did get clean from alcohol troubles, and seems happier these days. He can also play saxophone. He met Rose at a charity gig during lockdown. He namechecks Duke Ellington, Talk Talk and the Pixies among acts he rates.

Radio 2 In Concert: Blur
From the Brixton Academy in 1997, running from There's No Other Way to Song 2. A few less familiar numbers than usual.

Soul Music: Tender
How their 1999 number proved inspiring for several people, and how it highlighted changes in the band, particularly Damon and Graham.