Blur Biography

Damon Albarn (b.1968) and Graham Coxon (b.1969) met as schoolboys in 1980, at Stanway Comprehensive School in Colchester, Essex, where they sang together in the choir. Both had musical parents. Alex James met Coxon at Goldsmith's College in the London, where they studied together in the late 1980s. Dave Rowntree came from Colchester, where he had seen Albarn perform solo in 1988. Together they formed an art-punk band called Seymour. After a dozen or so shows, they renamed the band Blur in 1989, and were signed to Food Records later that year.

The first release from Blur was the single 'She's So High', in 1990. The story really began to gather speed with the next single, 'There's No Other Way', a hit in Britain in spring 1991.

'Leisure', Blur's debut album released in August 1991, was heavily influenced by Pink Floyd; the guitars and vocal harmonies by the Beatles. With their second album, 'Modern Life Is Rubbish', Albarn moved on as a songwriter, writing witty caustic lyrics, sung to music littered with Brit pop references and string and brass accompaniment. This sound developed on the third album, 'Parklife', which won four Brit Awards in 1995.

'The Great Escape' pushed beyond pop, entangling banjo with Mellotron with waltz. Blur then retreated to Iceland, to work on 'Beetlebum',another number 1 single, in January 1997, and 'Blur', a UK number 1 album.

In 1998, Coxon launched his own label, Transcopic, and released his solo debut. The band returned in March 1999, with 'Tender', a lingering meditation on Albarn's turbulent relationship with Justine Frischmann of Elastica. 'Think Tank', recorded without Coxon, takes punk into world music.

Albarn has also worked with comic artist Jamie Hewlett, and several leading hip-hop producers, to create the manufactured cartoon band, the Gorillaz.