" We felt ' Popscene ' was a big departure ; a very, very English record ", Albarn told the NME in 1993, " But that annoyed a lot of people ... We put ourselves out on a limb to pursue this English ideal and no-one was interested.

Blur entered the studio early that year to record material for a new album, but in May producer William Orbit told the NME that Albarn had halted recording.

" We felt ' Popscene ' was a big departure ; a very, very English record ", Albarn told the NME in 1993, " But that annoyed a lot of people ... We put ourselves out on a limb to pursue this English ideal and no-one was interested.

After the completion of the reunion dates, Albarn told Q that the band had no intention of recording or touring live again.

Blur entered the studio early that year to record material for a new album, but in May producer William Orbit told the NME that Albarn had halted recording.

Albarn was voted the fourth greatest frontman of all time in a 2010 UK Poll for Q Music magazine.

Introductions with Coxon ’ s old school friend Damon Albarn and Dave Rowntree soon took place ; at the time Albarn and Rowntree were part of a band called Circus.

Damon Albarn of Blur summed up the attitude in 1993 when after being asked if Blur were an " anti-grunge band " he said, " Well, that's good.

After studying Drama and playing in short lived synth pop outfit, Two's a Crowd, Albarn formed a band with Coxon which, after various incarnations, evolved into Blur with additional members, Alex James and Dave Rowntree.

Damon Albarn later revealed that the song " Sweet Song " was written after he had been looking at a photograph of Graham.

His identity was revealed to other crew members after the voyage, and he joined Damon Albarn and the other members of The Good, the Bad, and the Queen for a performance in London celebrating Greenpeace's 40th anniversary.

Formed in London in 1988 as Seymour, the group consists of singer / keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist / singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree.

Childhood friends Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon met Alex James when they began studying at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988.

Coxon, in particular, began to resent his band mates ; James for his playboy lifestyle, and Albarn for his control over Blur's musical direction and public image.

Albarn along with Graham Coxon met Alex James when they began studying at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988.

The most infamous of Gallagher's controversial statements was in a 1995 interview with The Observer, where he expressed a wish for Damon Albarn and Alex James of rivals Blur to " catch AIDS and die ", a comment which he quickly apologised publicly for, and stated that " AIDS is no laughing matter.

In 1989 James joined Coxon, Albarn and Rowntree's new band, Seymour, which would later be renamed Blur.

Unlike his band mates Albarn and Coxon, James has not released any solo material, although he has been involved in other collaborative side projects.

The media sensation was spurred on by verbal attacks from the respective camps ( in particular Noel and Liam Gallagher, Damon Albarn and Alex James ), that extended beyond the music industry to the point where the two bands were regularly mentioned on the evening news.

A screenshot from the video for Blur's " Bang " showing the band ( Left to right: James, Rowntree, Albarn, Coxon ).

Stars featured have included: Dizzee Rascal, Al Murray, Plan B, Alex James, Graham Coxon and Damon Albarn, former Madness singer / drummer / manager John Hasler, all 6 members of the reformed Specials, ex-Bodysnatcher and Madness collaborator Rhoda Dakar, Martin Freeman, Eamonn Holmes, Jeremy Clarkson, Lulu, and Peter Andre, as well as an Elvis Presley lookalike security guard from Australia.

All songs credited to Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree

In an August 2008 Observer interview, Gorillaz band members Albarn and Hewlett revealed the nature and title of the project, Journey to the West, a movie adaptation of the opera of the same name based on a 16th-century Chinese adventure story also known as Monkey.

Their next album, 13 ( 1999 ) saw the band members experimenting with electronic and gospel music, and featured more personal lyrics from Albarn.

The band members were homesick ; Albarn said, " I just started to miss really simple things ...

The band complied and Albarn wrote " For Tomorrow ", which became the album's lead single.

The debate over which band would top the British singles chart became a media phenomenon, and Albarn appeared on the News at Ten.

" Blur became perceived as an " inauthentic middle class pop band " in comparison to the " working class heroes " Oasis, which Albarn said made him feel " stupid and confused ".

Coxon, recognising his own personal need to — as Rowntree put it —" work this band ", wrote a letter to Albarn, describing his desire for their music " to scare people again ".

Graham Coxon recorded a string of solo albums, while Damon Albarn dedicated his time to Gorillaz, the animated band he had created with Jamie Hewlett.

In a 1993 NME interview, Damon Albarn of Britpop band Blur agreed with interviewer John Harris ' assertion that Blur was an " anti-grunge band ," and said, " Well, that's good.

Damon Albarn (; born 23 March 1968 in Whitechapel, London ) is a English musician, singer-songwriter, record producer and actor who came to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of the Britpop band Blur.

During the two-month American tour, the band became increasingly unhappy and homesick homesick ; Albarn said, " I just started to miss really simple things ...

The band complied and Albarn wrote " For Tomorrow ", which became the album's lead single.

The debate over which band would top the British singles chart became a media phenomenon, and Albarn appeared on the News at Ten.

" Blur became perceived as an " inauthentic middle class pop band " in comparison to the " working class heroes " Oasis, which Albarn said made him feel " stupid and confused ".

Gorillaz is a virtual band composed of four animated band members created in 1998 by Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl.

Two modern examples of the " cartoon rock group " could include the British band, Gorillaz — a musical project created in 1998 by British musician Damon Albarn and British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, and Dethklok, a fictional death metal band created by Brendon Small.

Damon Albarn frequently stated that the door was always open for Coxon to rejoin the band.

" Upon the group's return to the United Kingdom, Blur ( Albarn in particular ) were upset by the success rival group Suede had achieved while they were gone.

Although he had previously dismissed it, Albarn grew to appreciate Coxon's tastes in lo-fi and underground music, and recognised the need to significantly change Blur's musical direction once again.

Other musicians, and at least one comedian, who have sung Numan's praises in recent years include Beck, Grant Nicholas, Tricky, Damon Albarn & Matt Sharp, Jarvis Cocker, Queens of the Stone Age, David Bowie, Noel Fielding and Afrika Bambaataa, who spoke of the influence Numan's music had on the fledgling American DJ scene: " In the late 70s and early 80s Gary had the rhythms that DJs wanted to get hold of and people waited for his records on the dance floor.

" Upon the group's return to the United Kingdom, Blur ( Albarn in particular ) were upset by the success rival group Suede had achieved while they were gone.

By 1991, Anderson and Frischmann had broken up ; Frischmann started dating Damon Albarn of the group Blur.

The latter shows still had guest appearances, from the likes of Nick Hornby, Damon Albarn, Peter Cook etc., although the departure of the fantasy team format meant it was less essential the guests had a decent football knowledge than before.

Albarn reportedly eventually became happy about Live 8, feeling that his criticisms had been addressed.

NME reported that Albarn had foregone plans to record a solo album and instead formed a new unnamed group which featured Tong with Albarn, former Clash bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Tony Allen.