BLUR
Blur are an English alternative rock band that formed in London in 1989. The four members of the band are: Damon Albarn (vocals), Graham Coxon (guitar), Alex James (bass guitar) and Dave Rowntree (drums). Blur's debut album Leisure (1991) incorporated the influence of Madchester and shoegazing. Following a stylistic change in 1992—influenced by English guitar groups such as The Kinks, The Beatles and XTC—they released 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 famous chart battle with rival band Oasis dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
By the late 1990s, with the release of Blur (1997), the band underwent another reinvention, influenced by the indie rock and lo-fi style of American bands such as Pavement, in the process finally gaining success in the U.S. with the single "Song 2". The last album featuring the band's original lineup, 13 (1999) found Blur experimenting with electronic music and gospel music. In May 2002, Coxon was invited to leave Blur during the early recording of their seventh album Think Tank (2003). The album contained electronic sounds, simpler guitar playing, and was largely marked by Albarn's growing interest in African music. Since the 2003 tour, Blur have done no studio work or touring as a band, with band members engaging in other projects. Band members maintain that while relations within the group are now amicable, they have no concrete plans of working together in the immediate future.
(From Wikipedia)
