The Great Escape is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 11 September 1995 on Food/Virgin Records. The album received glowing reviews and was a big seller on its initial release, reaching number one in the United Kingdom album chart (outselling the rest of the Top 10 put together) and was their first to crack the US charts reaching number 150. Less than a year after the album was released, it was certified triple platinum in the UK. The album continued the band's run of hit singles, with "Country House", "The Universal", "Stereotypes" and "Charmless Man". "Country House" was Blur's first single to chart at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, beating Oasis' "Roll with It", in a chart battle dubbed "The Battle of Britpop". The Great Escape is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Blur, released on 11 September 1995 on Food/Virgin Records. The album received glowing reviews and was a big seller on its initial release, reaching number one in the United Kingdom album chart (outselling the rest of the Top 10 put together) and was their first to crack the US charts reaching number 150. Less than a year after the album was released, it was certified triple platinum in the UK. The album continued the band's run of hit singles, with "Country House", "The Universal", "Stereotypes" and "Charmless Man". "Country House" was Blur's first single to chart at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, beating Oasis' "Roll with It", in a chart battle dubbed "The Battle of Britpop". false 2023-03-30 16:50:12 7.4 1995 1995-09-26 1995-09-26 57 Alternative Rock Britpop Electronic Indie Pop Indie Rock Pop Pop Rock Rock Synth-Pop 111479 2112899 19a62713-b02a-3d1e-88c7-d987add9b098 ba853904-ae25-4ebb-89d6-c44cfbd71bd2 15198663-e606-3c48-a296-17d3da309947 /media/data/media5/Music/Blur/The Great Escape (1995)/folder.jpg Blur AlbumArtist Blur Artist Blur Blur 1 03:10 2 03:55 3 04:49 4 03:32 5 04:18 6 04:00 7 03:57 8 04:00 9 04:15 10 03:12 11 02:06 12 02:23 13 03:23 14 04:16 15 05:24 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. Virgin Records America, Inc.