Blur is a British rock band, consisting of Damon Albarn (vocals/keyboard), Graham Coxon (guitar), Alex James (bass) and Dave Rowntree (drums).
The band was formed in 1989 under the name of "Seymour", which was later changed to their current name. They achieved modest success with their first two albums, Leisure (1991) and Modern Life is Rubbisch (1993).
The 1994 album Parklife meant the breakthrough of the band, especially in their home country, scoring hits with singles such as "Girls and Boys" and "Parklife". This albums sparked the sudden popularity of Brit-pop, which reached its height for Blur with the album The Great Escape ("Country House"). The band became involved in a struggle for most popular Brit-pop band in their country, which was eventually won by Oasis.
Blur, released in 1997, broke with the musical tradition from the previous two albums, focussing more on indie rock. This caused an initial decrease in popularity, although the second single from this album, "Song 2", became a big hit.
In 1999, Blur released their latest album, 13.