albums.
Blur have released seven albums: "Leisure", "Modern Life is Rubbish", "Parklife", "The great escape", "Blur", "13" and "Think tank".
They have also released a collection of b-sides, a live album, a remix album, a boxed set of all their singles, a best of album and a white label single: "The special collectors edition" (1994), "Live at the Budokan" (1995), "Bustin' 'n' dronin'" (1998), the "10th Anniversary Box Set" (1999), "Blur: the best of" (2000) and "Don't bomb when you're the bomb" (2003). Then there are loads of promos, bootlegs, etc of course. For more information on Blur's releases, try this excellent discography.
All singles are in bold.
LEISURE 1991
She's so high (Their first single. The video is of the band with rainbow spring-like things surrounding them, against a black background. A live version of "She's so high" features on a compilation CD called "Long live Tibet" which is in aid of the Tibet House Trust charity.)
Bang
Slow down
Repitition
Bad day
Sing (featured on the soundtrack to the film "Trainspotting")
There's no other way (The video is of all four of them eating Sunday dinner with a family. "Somewhere at home, I've got a tape of Kurt Cobain singing 'There's No Other Way'. It's from 1991 or so. He was on BBC Radio Bristol; they asked him which records of the moment he liked, and he just picked up his guitar and started to sing our song about being resigned to your fate (I don't know why he liked it: maybe he thought that it sounded a bit like 'Teen Spirit')." - Damon, in The Face - January 1997)
Fool
Come together (Not the Beatles' song.)
High cool
Birthday
Wear me down
MODERN LIFE IS RUBBISH 1993
(The original tracklisting for "Modern Life is Rubbish" was: Oily Water, Mace, Popscene, Badgeman Brown, Resigned, Garden Central, Hanging Over, Into Another, Peach, Bone Bag, Never Clever, Coping, My Ark and Pressure on Julian.)
For tomorrow (written once the album was really complete, as the record company decided the album needed a single)
Advert
Colin Zeal
Pressure on Julian
Star Shaped (also the name of one of their videos)
Blue jeans
Chemical world (Originally titled "Americana". See also "For Tomorrow".)
Intermission
Sunday Sunday
Oily water
Miss America (Graham is the one who shouts "Michael!" right at the beginning.)
Villa Rosie
Coping
Turn it up
Resigned
Commercial break
PARKLIFE 1994
Girls and boys (The video is of the four of them playing the song, but a background of charter tourists has been added on. Both Alex and Damon are at their most beautiful in this one. The Pet Shop Boys have done various remixes of the song.)
Tracy Jacks
End of a century
Parklife (The spoken vocals are by Phil Daniels, most famous for playing the lead in the 60's mod film "Quadrophenia". The video is as chirpy as the song.)
Bank holiday
Badhead
The debt collector (Originally this was going to have spoken vocals by Phil Daniels, but Damon couldn't think of any so it stayed instrumental.)
Far Out (Written and sung by Alex James - the first album track ever written by a solo member of the band other than Damon.)
To the end (The video is in black and white. The boys are dressed in suits and it's meant to be like some old film (apparently), set in a large house/castle. They recorded a version of this with Francoise Hardy.)
London loves
Trouble in the message centre
Clover over Dover
Magic America
Jubilee
This is a low
Lot 105
THE SPECIAL COLLECTORS EDITION 1994
Day upon day
Inertia
Luminous
Mace (the "mace" referred to is the trade name of a spray used in self-defence, and the song was apparently inspired by an incident at one of their early concerts when things got out of hand and the band were sprayed with mace by the bouncers... )
Badgeman Brown
Hanging over
Peach
When the cows come home
Maggie May (written by Quittenton/Stewart, published by Warner Chapell Music LTD/EMI Music Publishing LTD)
Es schmecht
Fried (published by Copyright Control)
Anniversary waltz (originally titled "Why is the time signature of 3/4 obsolete in the late twentieth century?")
Threadneedle street
Got yer!
Supa shoppa
Beard
Theme from an imaginary film
Bank holiday/Lot 105 (version played on kazoo by Japanese fans)
THE GREAT ESCAPE 1995
Stereotypes
Country house (The video was directed by artist Damien Hirst. This song is famed for being their first British no. 1, beating Oasis.)
Best days
Charmless man (The video is about Blur following a man about and almost driving him spare - it's very good.)
Fade away
Top man
The Universal (The band thought it would be a number one, but it wasn't, unfortunately. The video was inspired by the cult film "Clockwork Orange".)
Mr. Robinson's quango
He thought of cars
It could be you
Ernold Same (The spoken vocals are by Ken Livingstone, M.P.)
Globe alone
Dan Abnormal
Entertain me
Yuko and Hiro
LIVE AT THE BUDOKAN 1995
CD1:
The great escape
Jubilee
Popscene
End of a century
Tracy Jacks
Mr. Robinson's quango
To the end
Fade away
It could be you
Stereotypes
She's so high
Girls & boys
Advert
Intermission
Bank holiday
For tomorrow
Country house
This is a low
Supa shoppa
CD2:
Yuko and Hiro
He thought of cars
Coping
Globe alone
Parklife
The universal
BLUR 1997
Beetlebum
Song 2 (Adopted as the official song of Intel's Pentium II processor, Nike, the US icehockey team, Starship troopers and Sony Playstation's Fifa '98 - earning Blur an estimated 2 million pounds. Blur are big fans of The Simpsons (apparently Homer inspired the lyric "Woo-hoo") and were very chuffed when "Song 2" was played on the show. Bloodhound Gang did a live send-up of "Song 2" at their concert on the 6/12/97 (whether this was a one-off or not I don't know). Robbie Williams sometimes does a cover version of "Song 2" at his live gigs.)
Country sad ballad man
M.O.R. (included on the "Welcome to Sarajevo" charity album)
On your own (The "Crouch End Broadway mix" of this song is featured in "The beach")
Theme from Retro
You're so great (written and sung by Graham)
Death of a party (originally one of their demos from 1990)
Chinese bombs
I'm just a killer for your love (originally intended as a b-side)
Look inside America
Strange news from another star (the name was taken from a novel by Herman Hesse)
Movin' on
Essex dogs (apparently Damon recited the lyrics at the 1996 poetry olympics)
Movin' on (William Orbit mix)
Death of a Party (Well Blurred mix) - Adrian Sherwood
On your own (Crouch end Broadway mix) - William Orbit (this mix is featured in "The beach")
Beetlebum (Moby mix)
Essex dogs (Thurston Moore mix)
Death of a Party (Billy Whiskers mix) - William Orbit
Theme from Retro (John McEntire mix)
Death of a Party (12" Death mix) - Adrian Sherwood
On your own (Wall to wall mix by William Orbit)
13 1999
Tender (the video is a studio performance in black and white, featuring the London mixed gospel choir)
Bugman
Coffee and TV (Lyrics and some singing by Graham. The video features an animated milk carton searching for Graham and eventually reuniting him with his family. The song is featured in "Cruel Intentions" (during the only lesbian kiss in the film).)
Swamp song (this was going to be a b-side but was included on the album at the last moment)
1992
B.L.U.R.E.M.I.
Battle
Mellow song
Trailerpark (written for the Southpark soundtrack, originally called "Southpark")
Caramel
Trimm Trabb (named after a type of Adidas trainer)
No distance left to run (The video was directed by Dane Thomas Vinterberg and features footage of the band asleep in their own beds. Says Alex "When we first wrote it the words were totally different. It started as a love lullaby and ended up as a bittersweet tear-jerker.").
Optigan 1
10TH ANNIVERSARY BOX SET 1999
Consists of 22 discs, each one featuring one single and ALL its b-sides.
1. She's so high (edit), I know (actually a double a-side), Down, Sing, I know (extended)
2. There's no other way, Inertia, Mr Briggs, I'm all over, There's no other way (Blur remix), Won't do it, Day upon day (Live), There's no other way (extended)
3. Bang, Explain, Luminous, Berserk, Bang (extended), Uncle Love
4. Popscene, Mace, Badgeman Brown, I'm fine, Garden central
5. For tomorrow (single version), Into another, Hangingover, Peach, Bone bag, When the cows come home, Beachcoma, For tomorrow (acoustic), For tomorrow (Visit to Primrose Hill extended)
6. Chemical world (single edit), Young & lovely, Es schmecht, My ark, Maggie May (written by Quittenton/Stewart, published by Warner Chapell Music LTD/EMI Music Publishing LTD/Mindswept Pacific Music LTD), Chemical world (reworked), Never clever (live), Pressure on Julian (live), Come together (live)
7. Sunday Sunday, Dizzy, Fried (published by Copyright Control), Shimmer, Long legged, Mixed up, Tell me tell me, Daisy Bell (A bicycle made for two)(written by Harry Dacre, public domain), Let's all go down the Strand (written by Castling/Murphy, published by Francis Day & Hunter LTD/EMI)
8. Girls and boys, Magpie (The lyrics were originally a poem entitled "A poison tree" by William Blake), Anniversary waltz (originally titled "Why is the time signature of 3/4 obsolete in the late twentieth century?"), People in Europe, Peter Panic
9. To the end, Girls & boys (7" mix), Girls and boys (Pet Shop Boys 7" mix), Threadneedle Street, Got yer!
10. Parklife, Beard, To the end (French version), Supa shoppa, Theme from an imaginary film
11. End of a century, Rednecks ("sung" by Graham Coxon), Alex's song (written and sung by Alex James)
12. Country house, One born every minute, To the end (la commédie) (French lyrics and song by Francoise Hardy), Country house (live), Girls & boys (live), Parklife (live), For tomorrow (live)
13. The Universal, Ultranol, No monsters in me, Entertain me (Live it! remix), The Universal (live), Mr Robinson's quango (live), It could be you (live), Stereotypes (live)
14. Stereotypes, The man who left himself, Tame, Ludwig
15. Charmless man, The horrors, A song, St. Louis
16. Beetlebum, All your life, A spell for money, Beetlebum (Mario Caldato Jr mix), Woodpigeon song, Dancehall
17. Song 2, Bustin' + dronin', Country sad ballad man (live acoustic version), Get out of cities, Polished stone
18. On your own, Chinese bombs (live at Peel Acres), Movin' on (live at Peel Acres), M.O.R. (live at Peel Acres) (music by Blur/Bowie/Eno, published by EMI Music Publishing LTD/Tintoretto Music/RZO Music LTD/BMG Songs LTD), Popscene (live at Peel Acres), Song 2 (live at Peel Acres), On your own (live at Peel Acres)
19. M.O.R. (Alan Moulder road version) (music by Blur/Bowie/Eno, published by EMI Music Publishing LTD/Tintoretto Music/RZO Music LTD/BMG Songs LTD), Swallows in the heatwave, Movin' on (William Orbit remix), Beetlebum (Moby's minimal house mix)
20. Tender, All we want, Mellow jam, French song, Song 2
21. Coffee & TV (radio edit), Trade stylee (Alex's bugman remix), Metal hip slop (Graham's bugman remix), X-offender (Damon/Control freak's bugman remix), Coyote (Dave's bugman remix)
22. No distance left to run, Tender (Cornelius remix) - unfortunately the other b-sides (UNKLE's Battle remix, the Beagle 2 music and So you) aren't included...
(other title ideas included "The Best Blur Album In The World Ever" or "From Bars To Mars", but as Alex put it: "We thought that would be a bit silly.")
Beetlebum
Song 2
There's No Other Way
The Universal
Coffee & TV
Parklife
End Of A Century
No Distance Left To Run
Tender
Girls & Boys
Charmless Man
She's So High
Country House
To The End
On Your Own
This Is A Low
For Tomorrow (Primrose Hill version)
Music Is My Radar (inspired by 70's African
percussionist Tony
Allen. The video, featuring black-and-white-clad, 60's style dancers with the band sitting below floor level being interviewed, was directed by
Blanca Li who also directed the video for Daft
Punk's
"Around The World". Alex describes the track as "a voodoo bonfire. It's very groovy.
I'm
going to have to start wearing a cardigan. It's a magical voodoo
love
dance.")
LIMITED EDITION BONUS LIVE CD (free with some copies of "Blur: the best of")
(recorded at London's Wembley Arena in December 1999 during Blur's 10th Anniversary Singles Night Tour)
She's So High
Girls & Boys
To The End
End Of A Century
Stereotypes
Charmless Man
Beetlebum
M.O.R.
Tender
No Distance Left To Run
Me, white noise (hidden track)
Ambulance
Out of time
Crazy beat (used to accompany a series of Levi's jeans ads)
Good song (rumoured to be the third single from the album)
On the way to the club (written by Blur/James Dring, features Dave on guitar)
Brothers & sisters
Caravan
We've got a file on you
Moroccan peoples revolutionary bowls club
Sweet song
Jets (written by Blur/Mike Smith)
Gene by gene
Battery in your leg (the only track featuring Graham on this album)
DON'T BOMB WHEN YOU'RE THE BOMB 2003
Don't bomb when you're the bomb (limited edition 7" white label single inspired by the Iraq conflict with the title written in Arabic)
All songs are by either Albarn/Blur or Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree, except where stated. All pre-"Blur" releases published by MCA Music (except "Girls & boys (7" mix)", "A song" and "St. Louis"), all subsequent releases published by EMI Music, on Food Records under exclusive license to EMI Records between 1990 and 2000. No copyright infringement intended.