Song:Girls and Boys
Album:Midlife: A Beginner's Guide To Blur
Similar to other British groups of the 90s like The Stone Roses or Travis, Blur was a much bigger deal in England than in North America. Girls and Boys is their best known song here. They reunited in 2009 and are still successful in England. Singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon were childhood friends. They met bassist Alex James while attending Goldsmiths College in London. Albarn was in the group Circus and met drummer Dave Rowntree. Coxon and then James joined Circus and changed the name to Seymour. Food Records co-owner Andy Ross saw them and signed them. The group name was changed to Blur in 1990. There's No Other Way was their first top ten hit in England. But the band struggled and even a US tour didn't help and they were close to being dropped by Food. But they hung on and their 1994 album Parklife did a lot better and Girls and Boys reached #5 on the British Singles chart. It also got airplay on Modern Rock radio in the US. Then they won four BRIT Awards in 1995. They continued to have some success in England but were sometimes criticized as inconsistent. And they weren't getting along. With the 1997 album Blur, they reinvented themselves as an alternative band as opposed to Britpop. This got them back on the British charts and the album was even certified Gold in the US. Blur went on hiatus in 1999 which led to Coxon leaving the group. They recorded an album in 2003 without him. Blur reunited for a tour in 2009 and have recorded a couple of singles and released this 2CD budget comp. But they apparently have no plans to record an album. Damon Albern was part of Gorillaz and has recorded solo. Graham Coxon has recorded several solo albums. Alex James writes a weekly food column and is a noted cheesemaker. Dave Rowntree owns a computer animation company and is attending law school. If you have never heard of Blur, here's your chance to check them out. Here's the video for Girls and Boys by Blur.
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