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''' for the Japanese market. The album is a collection of Blur songs remixed by artists such as Thurston Moore, William Orbit and Moby. Among the tracks, the band were most impressed by Orbit's effort and enlisted him to replace Street as producer for their next album, citing a need to approach the recording process from a fresh perspective.
Released in March 1999, Blur's sixth studio album 13 saw them drift still farther away from their Britpop-era attitude and sound. Orbit's production style allowed for more jamming, and incorporated a "variety of emotions, atmospheres, words and sounds" into the mix. 13 was creatively dominated by Coxon, who "was simply allowed to do whatever he chose, unedited", by Orbit.[Sullivan, Caroline. "Down and outstanding". The Guardian. 5 March 2008. Retrieved on 21 July 2008.] Albarn's lyrics—more heart-felt, personal and intimate than on previous occasions—were reflective of his break-up with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, his partner of eight years.
In July 1999, in celebration of their tenth anniversary, Blur released a 22-CD limited edition box-set of their singles. The accompanying tour in December saw Blur play the A-sides of the 22 singles (in their chronological order of release) at every show. In October 2000, the group released the best-of album Blur: The Best of, which debuted at number three in the UK. Dismissed by the band as "the first record we have seen as product", the tracklisting and release dates of Blur: The Best of were determined on the basis of market research and focus groups conducted by Blur's record label, EMI. By this time, the group had largely disowned the upbeat pop singles from the Britpop era, and favoured the more arty, experimental work on Blur and 13. In an otherwise highly enthusiastic review of the best-of for the NME, Steve Sutherland criticised the band's "sheer disregard" for their earlier work; "Just because these songs embarrassed them once they started listening to broadsheet critics and retreated wounded from the big-sales battle with Oasis doesn't mean that we're morons to love them."
Coxon's departure, Think Tank, hiatus and reunion: 2001–presentAfter 13 and the subsequent tour in 1999, the band entered into a hiatus, during which bandmembers pursued other projects. Graham Coxon recorded a string of solo albums, while Damon Albarn created the cartoon band Gorillaz with Jamie Hewlett. Alex James worked with Fat Les and co-wrote several songs with Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Marianne Faithfull.
Early in 2002, Blur temporarily broke its hiatus to record a song that would be played for the European Space Agency's Mars Lander, however, the plan fell through when the lander was lost. Recording for Blur's next album got under way in Marrakesh, Morocco in mid-2002. Tensions surfaced, however, when Coxon began to appear emotionally and creatively distant to his band mates, reportedly failing to attend recording sessions. Two of the Think Tank, released in May 2003, was filled with atmospheric, brooding electronic sounds, featuring simpler guitar lines played by Albarn, and largely relying on other instruments to replace Coxon. Coxon's absence also meant that Think Tank was almost entirely written by Albarn. Its sound was seen as a testament to Albarn's increasing interest in African music, Middle Eastern music and electronic music, and to his complete control over the group's creative direction. For the following tour the band hired Simon Tong, former guitarist and keyboardist of The Verve, who also played with Albarn in his Gorillaz project. While Think Tank was received well by critics and fans, a minority of critics didn't warm to it. However, Think Tank was yet another UK number one and managed Blur's highest US position of number 56. The album was also nominated for best album at the 2004 BRIT Awards. The band supported the album with a tour and three singles: "Out of Time", "Crazy Beat" and "Good Song".
In early 2004, the band announced, through XFM news, that they would be recording an EP, and there were also rumours that Coxon would return to Blur. Both of the rumours proved untrue. There were also some aborted recordings done in 2005. After Coxon significantly thawed about rejoining the band, James announced in April and August 2007 that the band will reunite and will likely be recording a new album in October. In early October 2007, band members all met for "an enjoyable lunch", but at the time had no intentions of Blur work in the near future.
Coxon (left) and Albarn on stage at the Newcastle Academy in June 2009.In November 2008, Albarn revealed that he and Coxon had patched up their differences. Albarn added that Blur, including Coxon, would reunite in 2009, and are "going to rehearse and see if we're into it". In December 2008, Albarn and Coxon stated that Blur would reunite for a concert at Hyde Park on 3 July 2009, but after tickets for the concert sold out within 2 minutes of release, Blur announced an additional performance at Hyde Park on the 2 July 2009.[Paine, Andre. "Blur Reuniting, Unveils London Show Plans". Billboard. 9 December 2008. Retrieved on 2 July 2009.] A series of June preview shows were also announced, ending at Manchester Evening News arena on the 26th. All the shows were well received; The Guardian's music critic Alexis Petridis gave their performance at Goldsmiths college five stars out of five, and wrote that "Blur's music seems to have potentiated by the passing of years . . . they sound both more frenetic and punky and more nuanced and exploratory than they did at the height of their fame". Blur headlined the Glastonbury Festival on 28 June, where they played for the first time since their headline slot in 1998. Reviews of the Glastonbury performance were enthusiastic, The Guardian called them "the best Glastonbury headliners in an age". The band also headlined at other summer festivals, including Oxegen 2009 in Ireland, and the Scottish outdoor show of T in the Park. Their T in the Park headline slot was put in jeopardy after Graham Coxon was admitted to hospital with food poisoning. Ultimately, the band did play, albeit an hour and a half after they were scheduled to appear. As stated by Damon Albarn during the performance, and covered by the press, this would be their final performance. Alex James also stated that the band currently had no plans to continue their reunion. Albarn followed up these comments in July 2009 by stating that the band's summer dates were all the band would be doing together, and the reunion was over. In September 2009, Coxon stated that Blur have no immediate plans for either entering the studio or playing more shows.
Discography- Leisure (1991)
- Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993)
- Parklife (1994)
- The Great Escape (1995)
- Blur (1997)
- 13 (1999)
- Think Tank (2003)
Awards- 1994: Q Awards – Best Album (Parklife)
["The Q Awards". Everyhit.com. Retrieved on 24 August 2009.] - 1994: Smash Hits Awards – Best Alternative Band, Best Album (Parklife)
[Jury, Louise: "Take That voted best, worst and most tragic", The Independent, 4 December 1995, Retrieved 24 August 2009] - 1995: Brit Awards – Best Band, Best Album (Parklife), Best Single ("Parklife")
- 1995: NME Awards – Best Band,
[Current Biography Yearbook, H.W. Wilson, ISBN 9780824210427] - 1995: Q Awards – Best Album (The Great Escape)
- 1996: Ivor Novello Awards – Best Songwriters (shared with Noel Gallagher)
- 1999: Q Awards – Best Act in the World Today
- 2000: NME Awards – Best Band, Best Single ("Tender")
["Blur's award hat-trick". BBC. 1 February 2000. Retrieved on 24 August 2009.] - 2003: Q Awards – Best Album (Think Tank)
- 2003: South Bank Show Awards – Best Album (Think Tank)
["Book for children and adults scoops South Bank award", Western Mail, 24 January 2004, Retrieved 24 August 2009] - 2009: MOJO Awards – Inspiration Award
Copyright Citations
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