I have liked Blur since before they became popular after the release of their Parklife album which most people think was their first. Back in the day there was a big band battle between Blur and Oasis and most people chose one or the other but I chose both. Both bands have different styles and I think Blur made some good music.
Blur were an English rock band and formed in Colchester in 1989 and consisted of Damon Albarn, Alex James, Dave Rowntree and Graham Coxon. Blur were originally called Seymour but their manager at the time didn't like the name and drew up a list and Blur was the name they finally chose.
The single There's No Other Way was Blur's first commercial success and the release of their debut album Leisure in 1991 rose in the charts and Blur embarked on a tour of the US to promote the album. During their time in America, Blur had many arguments because of the lack of appreciation by American listeners and were writing an album which was aimed at American culture called England vs America but in the end decided against it and their second album was released in 1993 and was titled Modern Life Is Rubbish and some reports claim this was the first ever Britpop album.
In 1994 Blur released the album Parklife which was a huge success and entered the UK chart straight at #1 and contains some of their most popular songs including Parklife, Girls and Boys, End Of A Century and To The End. The song Girls And Boys entered the UK charts at #5 and also spent 15 weeks on the US Billboard 200.
When Blur released the single Country House it was at the same time that Oasis released Roll With It and this is what caused the whole Battle Of Britpop scene. September 1995 saw both Blur and Oasis release new albums which also fueled the battle. Blur released The Great Escape and Oasis released (What's The Story) Morning Glory? The battle saw more press during the 1996 Brit awards when Oasis sang the chorus of Parklife while accepting one of their awards.
Their next album, the self titled Blur was released in 1997 and contained more hits: Beetlebum, Song 2 and M.O.R. This album saw a drastic change in the style of blur's music and Damon Albarn was reported as saying "We already left Britpop behind with our last album". The song Beetlebum went straight into the US chart at #1 and Song 2 reached #6. The album turned gold ($1million in sales) only a few months after it's release.
When 13 was released in 1999 the single Tender was a massive hit not only in the UK but also in the US and the single Coffee And TV gained them cult status in the US. The 13 album also saw another turn in the style of Blur's music which now included electronically produced music and gospel style music.
Think Tank was released in 2003 and was Blur's last studio album. The album was another #1 hit in the UK and was also nominated for an award in the 2004 Brit Awards. Blur split in 2003 and Damon Albarn had started work with his new band Gorillaz.
Some of Blur's most famous songs are: Girls And Boys, There's No Other Way, Country House, For Tomorrow, Parklife and The Universal.
My Top 10 Blur Songs are:
01. Tender
02. There's No Other Way
03. On Your Own
04. I'm Just a Killer For Your Love
05. For Tomorrow
06. Charmless Man
07. End Of A Century
08. London Loves
09. She's So High
10. No Distance Left To Run
There were two main reasons I started listening to Blondie and they were: first I thought Debbie Harry was amazingly beautiful and second the style of music they made. At the time I got into Blondie I was listening to a lot of punk and new wave stuff like The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Sham 69, The Exploited, Ramones, Ian Dury, The Stranglers, etc... and it also helped me to annoy my parents. I actually used to like putting posters on my wall when I was a kid at school and one of my posters was a full size poster of Debbie Harry.
Blondie are an American punk/new wave cross and were formed in 1975 and consisted originally of Chris Stein, Debbie Harry, Jimmy Destri, Clem Burke and Gary Valentino. They were originally named "Angel And The Snake" but changed their name to Blondie in 1975 because Debbie Harry was repeatedly referred to as Blondie.
The self titled Blondie debut album was released in 1976 and then re-released a year later when they signed to a new record company. The band first received commercial success through an Australian TV show cock-up, the show was supposed to play the video to X Offender but actually played the video to In The Flesh. This event saw the album reach #5 in the chart. In 1977 Gary Valentine had left and the album Plastic Letters was released and saw Blondie achieve success in the UK when the album went in to the top ten.
The hole that was made when Gary left the band was filled in 1978 by the inclusion of Frank Infante and then a new member (Nigel Harrison) was also added and Blondie embarked on a massive UK tour which included a gig at The Roadhouse where The Boomtown Rats Opened. This tour made Blondie one of the first American New Wave bands to attain success in the UK.
Blondie started to see even more success after the release of their third album Parallel Lines in 1978 which contained the song Heart Of Glass which was their first US #1 hit and actually went on to sell over 1 million copies. Blondie seemed to be more popular in the UK and this was somewhat due to the singles Sunday Girl (which went to #1) and also One Way Or Another. Their fourth album Eat To The Beat also had many singles which were popular in the UK (Dreaming, Atomic and Union City blues).
1980 saw Blondie rise again in the US chart with the Release of the album Autoamerican which contained the hit singles The Tide Is High, Rapture and Call Me (which was recorded for the movie American Gigolo). Rapture is the only Blondie single to get a higher chart position in the US (#1) than the UK (#5) and was revolutionary because of the combination of rap/hip-hop with their usual sound.
The Hunter was released in 1982 and didn't do as well as some of their previous albums and both Debbie Harry and Jimmy Destri had both released solo albums in 1981. After the decline in popularity of the band and the rising media attention of Debbie she decided to leave and Blondie broke up in August 1982. In 1997 they reformed and in 1999 the release of No Exit saw them return to the top of the charts once again and the single Maria reached #1 in the UK exactly 20 years after their first which was Heart Of Glass.
Blondie released the album The Curse of Blondie in 2003 and March 2006 saw Blondie inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame and also onto the Rock Walk Of Fame at Guitar Center on Sunset Boulevard in Hollywood.
Andy Jackson - Wisdom_mcr has sinced written about articles on various topics from Food And Drink, Music and Recreation and Sports. My name is Andy I'm 31 and I'm from Manchester, UK I like to read a lot (Discworld, Sci-Fantasy) and listen to music (The Doors, Wu-Tang, Amy Winehouse, Kaiser Chiefs, Blondie, Bob Dylan, Jimi Hendrix). I also try to be a skateboarder when I get time and. Andy Jackson - Wisdom_mcr's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.