In his autobiography, published in 2007, Blur bassist Alex James admitted to blowing a million pounds on champagne and cocaine. This confession led to an invitation from Colombia's President Uribe to visit the country and see the damage being caused by the drug trade. He went, and the BBC filmed it (one, two, three).
posted by jontyjago on Jun 14, 2009 - 64 comments

Blur have re-formed and announced their intention to play Hyde Park. Who's next?
posted by chuckdarwin on Dec 11, 2008 - 66 comments

Damon Albarn’s career reads like a roadmap to some musical no-man's land: start a pop band, turn into an indie/hip-hop/dub “virtual” group, followed by a supergroup featuring Tony Allen and Paul Simonon, and throw in an album of Malian guitar music for good measure. [more inside]
posted by mannequito on Sep 23, 2008 - 25 comments

Damon & Jamie's Excellent Adventure is a documentary following the Gorillaz' boys - Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett - as they attempt to make an opera based on classic Chinese novel Journey to the West [or for them - the 70s television show Monkey]. The documentary follows the two year process with a decent section on Albarn's approach to learning a new form of music.
posted by meech on Oct 26, 2007 - 8 comments

Parkspliced. Blur's Parklife remixed/bootlegged/mashed-up a la London Booted (and while you're in the mood: Hanzo Steel).
posted by Robot Johnny on Jul 14, 2004 - 8 comments

Attack of the Disco Furball! The cute animated character has become something of a staple for alterno-pop videos - from the runaway milk carton in Blur's Coffee and TV to the big-nosed moper in Moby's Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad. But new heights of weirdness are reached on this Flash video called Jive County which shows a be-stetsoned one-legged bundle of hair bouncing to an electro beat.
posted by skylar on Dec 2, 2003 - 0 comments

The Blur Building. Now you can spend your day in a literal fog.
posted by srboisvert on Sep 28, 2003 - 5 comments

Love and Poison tells the story of BritPop's love triangle -- Blur's Damon Albarn, Suede's Brett Anderson, and Elastica's Justine Frischmann. These articles from The Guardian are an excerpt from John Harris' "The Last Party: Britpop, Blair and the Demise of English Rock."
posted by Reggie452 on May 8, 2003 - 10 comments

blur are back. My favourite band since seeing them play in a pub in Leicester, blur release their 7th album next month. They "invented" Britpop, then reinvented themselves when the backlash began, and it's lovely to still have them around. Something I've grown with and recognise as I stare at another edition of Top of the Pops, understanding nothing of the karaoke-cover-pap in the charts today. If you're going to see them in London next month, I'll be the one at the back with a pint in my hand and a contented smile on my face (too old for this jumping around at the front lark)...
posted by jontyjago on Apr 25, 2003 - 35 comments

World's Greatest CEO? Comparison shopping site MySimon.com had its namesake character animated by Blur studios, and placed into a live-action commercial where he goes to a party and tells everyone how much cheaper they could have gotten various items in attendance. Apparently Frank DiMauro of Chapel Hill, NC didn't like the commercials and told the CEO of the animation studio who really could've cared less what Frank thought. I wish all CEO's had the nutz to reply to jerks like this guy. (Thanx to the Digital Pimps at BadAssMofo for this story and link).
posted by suprfli on Jul 1, 2001 - 30 comments