Presenting MOJO’s finest writing on Blur in a single deluxe volume, BLUR To The End 1989-2024 is on sale now and available to order HERE!
WhenBlur returned last year with a world tour and a brand-new studio album, The Ballad Of Darren, it proved to be an exhilarating and emotional comeback. Some 30 years after they’d kickstarted the Britpop era with the peerless Modern Life Is Rubbish and Parklife albums, all the key ingredients were intact: frontman Damon Albarn’s gift for writing stirring, melancholy hymns to the travails of modern existence, Graham Coxon’s angsty guitar wizardry, Alex James’s effortless sangfroid and showcase bass playing, and Dave Rowntree’s inventive, impeccable drumming.
To salute Blur’s status as one of the greatest and most culturally significant bands of modern times, MOJO has brought together its finest writing on the group, charting their mercurial journey from inebriated art-school noise-niks to chart-topping ’90s heroes and, today, 21st century music legends.
As our in-depth features and exclusive interviews reveal, along the way there have been plenty of dizzying highs – ‘winning’ the so-called Battle Of Britpop against Oasis with Country House in 1995, cracking the American charts with Song 2 in 1997 – and wretched lows – most notably a disastrous early tour of the US, after which Blur were almost dropped by their record label as sessions for Modern Life foundered.
Blur’s comedown from the fame that Parklife brought them was dramatic and dark – alcohol and drug issues, broken friendships – but they managed to channel their strife into two increasingly experimental albums, Blur and 13, which many fans rate as their best. Ultimately, the group splintered, with Albarn focusing on his hip hop vehicle, Gorillaz, and Coxon enjoying a successful solo career, but euphoric reunions since 2009 have reminded the world of Blur’s profound importance and extraordinary catalogue of songs.
Illustrated with dozens of rare and iconic photographs, this sumptuous 132-page special tells the group’s complete story and is a must-have for all Blur fans and music connoisseurs.
