Blur is the fifth album by English alternative rock band Blur. Released on 10 February 1997 in the UK through Food Records, it reached the top of the UK album chart. It spawned several hit singles in the UK, most notably "Beetlebum" and "Song 2". Blur was also a hit in the US, with "Song 2" becoming a hit and the album being certified gold. Blur is the fifth album by English alternative rock band Blur. Released on 10 February 1997 in the UK through Food Records, it reached the top of the UK album chart. It spawned several hit singles in the UK, most notably "Beetlebum" and "Song 2". Blur was also a hit in the US, with "Song 2" becoming a hit and the album being certified gold. false 2023-03-30 16:53:14 7.6 1997 1997-01-29 1997-01-29 41 Alternative Rock Britpop Experimental Indie Pop Indie Rock Lo-Fi Noise Post-Rock Punk Rock Poetry 111479 2112905 89963388-999b-408b-b84a-d3cce473bd2b ba853904-ae25-4ebb-89d6-c44cfbd71bd2 fdd6c833-3c96-33cb-9917-72e15bcd34bc /media/data/media5/Music/Blur/Blur (1997)/folder.jpg Blur AlbumArtist Blur Artist Blur Blur 1 05:03 2 02:00 3 04:50 5 04:26 6 03:36 8 04:32 10 04:11 12 04:02 14 08:10 Blur are an English rock band formed in London in 1988. The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, Leisure (1991), incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegaze. Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a widely publicised chart battle with rival band Oasis in 1995 dubbed "The Battle of Britpop". Blur's self-titled fifth album (1997) saw another stylistic shift, influenced by the lo-fi styles of American indie rock groups, and became their third UK chart-topping album. Its single "Song 2" brought the band mainstream success in the US for the first time. Their next album, 13 (1999) saw the band experimenting with electronic and art rock styles, and featured more personal lyrics from Albarn and Coxon. Their seventh album, Think Tank (2003), continued their experimentation with electronic sounds and was shaped by Albarn's growing interest in hip hop and world music, featuring more minimal guitar work. Coxon left the band early in the sessions for Think Tank, and Blur disbanded for several years after the album's tour. In 2009, Blur reunited with Coxon and embarked on a European reunion tour. In the following years, they released several singles and compilations and toured internationally. In 2012, they received a Brit Award for Outstanding Contribution to Music. Their eighth album, The Magic Whip (2015), was their first in twelve years and the sixth consecutive Blur studio album to top the British charts. After the Magic Whip tour, Blur went on hiatus until the release of their ninth album, The Ballad of Darren, in 2023. Parlophone