Think Tank is the seventh studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on 5 May 2003. Continuing the jam-based studio constructions of the group's previous album, 13 (1999), the album expanded on the use of sampled rhythm loops and brooding, heavy electronic sounds. There are also heavy influences from dance music, hip hop, dub, jazz, and African music, an indication of songwriter Damon Albarn's expanding musical interests.
Think Tank (Blur album)
Norman Cook (often known as Fatboy Slim) produced the tracks "Crazy Beat" and "Gene By Gene"
Blur were 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