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Blur was formed in London in 1989. The group’s four members are Damon Albarn (vocals), Graham Coxon (guitar), Alex James (bass) and Dave Rowntree (drums). They rapidly gained notoriety for their energetic live shows and quickly signed to Food Records in early 1990. The quartet’s debut album “Leisure” attained the British Top Ten however its success was short lived. The group was often accused of just ripping off the Madchester sound. But Blur had a lot more to offer…

“Modern Life Is Rubbish” was released in 1993 and it signaled a rebirth for the band. Although not a commercial smash it proved to be a critical triumph. Clearly inspiring themselves from some of the classic British groups (The Kinks, The Jam, Madness), Blur truly crafted an album that showcased their songwriting abilities. A successful tour gained Blur some of their best ever live reviews topping all the critics and fans polls. This laid foundation for the follow-up “Parklife”, their first number one album which proved to be Blur’s biggest record yet. After winning an impressive four Brit Awards in early 1995, the group prepared itself for a full fling assault on the charts. This carried on with “The Great Escape” which also debuted at #1 on the UK charts.

Never content to sticking to one particular sound, the band radically changed their approach for 1997’s self-titled “Blur” which showcased more American indie influences. Once again with 1999’s “13”, Blur defied the preconceptions of what a pop group should sound like by recording one of their most ambitious records yet. Produced by William Orbit (Madonna) “13” navigated through several musical styles such as Gospel, Trip Hop, Prog and Punk.

As Blur began recording their seventh album “Think Tank” (2003), Graham Coxon left the group after tensions between him and Albarn reached boiling point. Despite all of this the group soldered on with Albarn providing almost all the guitar work on the record. It was destined to become a critical and commercial success in England where it reached number 1 upon its release. After not touring “13”, Blur embarked on its first tour in almost six years to promote “Think Tank” which brought them to North America in July 2003. It was during this occasion that I had the chance to sit down with bassist Alex James and discuss at length about Blur’s career and future projects.