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 at Wembley Stadium in 2023. From left to right: Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn, Dave Rowntree and Alex James
Blur at the Roskilde Festival, 1999
Coxon (left) and Albarn (right) on stage at the Newcastle Academy in June 2009
Blur, "The Ballad Of Darren" Album Playback Show at Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith, Tuesday 25 July 2023
Damon Albarn is an English musician, singer, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, and record producer from Whitechapel, London. He is the frontman and main lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz.
Albarn at Wembley Stadium in 2023
Commemorative plaque at 21 Fillebrook Road Leytonstone, East London, where Albarn was brought up
Albarn (right) and Graham Coxon (left) performing with Blur at Newcastle Academy in June 2009
Albarn with Blur at the Rock in Roma, 2013