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.

Tong is also a member of an unnamed supergroup formed by Damon Albarn of Blur which released its first album The Good, the Bad & the Queen in January 2007.

This perception was in sharp contrast with those bands who formed the wave of newly-commercialised grunge music which was making its way across the Atlantic, and those bands who formed the foundation of Britpop, such as Pulp, Oasis, Blur and Suede.

With Alex James of the band Blur and actor Keith Allen, he formed the band Fat Les, achieving a number 2 hit with a raucous football-themed song Vindaloo, followed up by Jerusalem with the London Gay Men's Chorus.

McGee formed Creation Records following the culmination of various projects including fanzine Communication Blur, his own rock outfit The Laughing Apple ( with future Primal Scream guitarist and long-time friend Andrew Innes ) and his running of the venue The Communication Club.

In 2006, Betty formed a pop duo called WigWam, with Alex James, bassist from Blur.

In June 2009, he, along with other members of New Order ( except Peter Hook ) formed a new band called Bad Lieutenant along with Blur bassist Alex James, though James did not stay in the band due to travel distance from other members.

He formed and sang in many bands-notably the dark psychadelic outfit We Are Pleb who played extensively on the Camden scene of 88 / 89 ( which spawned Blur and Suede ) and had a penchant for setting the stage on fire.

As a result of the single's success, Blur became pop stars and were accepted into a clique of bands who frequented The Syndrome club in London dubbed " The Scene That Celebrates Itself ".

The result was Blur, the band's fifth studio album, released in February 1997.

As a result of the single's success, Blur became pop stars and were accepted into a clique of bands who frequented The Syndrome club in London dubbed " The Scene That Celebrates Itself ".

The result was Blur, the band's fifth studio album, released in February 1997.

Prior to the release of " Inbetweener " Sleeper had been the opening band for Blur on their tour to promote the Parklife album, and they became closely associated with Britpop as a result.

It was at Stanway where he would meet future Blur guitarist, Graham Coxon, who recalls seeing him act and feeling that he was a " confident performer " as well as a " show off ".

Although the group began work with Tony Hoffer producing, the album was produced by Stephen Street ( The Smiths, Blur ).

The UK was one of the two main countries in the development of rock music, and has provided global acts including The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, Pink Floyd, Queen, Elton John, David Bowie, Black Sabbath, Deep Purple, The Kinks, Yardbirds, Sex Pistols, The Clash, Van Morrison, Eric Clapton, Dire Straits, Bee Gees, Rod Stewart, The Animals, Iron Maiden, Def Leppard, Whitesnake, Motörhead, Phil Collins, Duran Duran, Billy Idol, ELO, The Hollies, Sting, Annie Lennox, George Michael, Genesis, The Cure, Siouxsie and the Banshees, The Police, UB40, Ozzy Osbourne, The Smiths, Joy Division, Foreigner, Elvis Costello, Dusty Springfield, Status Quo, Cat Stevens, Judas Priest, Bonnie Tyler, Pet Shop Boys, Joe Cocker, T. Rex, Depeche Mode, Emerson, Lake & Palmer, Roxy Music, The Jam, Rainbow, Kate Bush, Peter Gabriel, Seal, Eurythmics, Free, King Crimson, Moody Blues, The Troggs, Steve Winwood, Robert Palmer, Cream, The Foundations, Herman's Hermits, Procol Harum, Yes, The Pretenders, Simple Minds, Marillion, Nazareth, The Sweet, Human League, Supertramp, Tears for Fears, New Order, Bad Company, Brian Johnson, The Stone Roses, Pulp, Suede, Manic Street Preachers, Travis, Oasis and Blur.

Stephen Street ( born 29 March 1960 ) is an English music producer best known for his work with The Smiths in the 1980s, as well as Blur and The Cranberries in the 1990s.

" Also, the Blur song " Death of a Party " from Blur is, according to some, a reply to the Smiths song " Death of a Disco Dancer ".

Bloc Party's brand of guitar rock draws on influences such as The Cure, Joy Division, Sonic Youth, Blur, and The Smiths.

The It Girl, like the band's subsequent release Pleased to Meet You, was produced by Stephen Street who was then famous for his contributions to The Smiths, Morrissey and Blur, and is since renowned for his work with Kaiser Chiefs and others.

VH2 also had many chart shows, including the " Indie 500 " weekend, which counted down the Top 500 Indie Songs with " There Is A Light That Never Goes Out " by The Smiths topping the chart ahead of songs by artists such as The Stone Roses, Pixies, Oasis, Dinosaur Jr, The Cure, The Strokes, Blur and Radiohead.

A large number of the most popular artists from the world of rock ’ n ’ roll and pop music have been interviewed by Hot Press, including those as diverse as David Bowie, Bob Marley, The Rolling Stones, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Fleetwood Mac, R. E. M., Kate Bush, Radiohead, Paul McCartney, Van Morrison, Joni Mitchell, The Smiths, The Sex Pistols, The Clash, Oasis, Blur, New Order, 50 Cent, Green Day, Foo Fighters, The Strokes, Kylie Minogue, Westlife, Massive Attack, Alicia Keys, David Gray, PJ Harvey, Marilyn Manson, Robbie Williams, Beyoncé, and many more.

( Hands On and Mappamundi ) were both produced by Stephen Street, who had already produced records for The Smiths and Blur.

* Ep 378 ( 2002-02-17 ) History of Britpop 2-featuring: The Beatles & David Bowie & Sex Pistols & The Jam & Blur ( band ) & Duran Duran & The Smiths & The Stone Roses & The Charlatans ( UK band ) & Happy Mondays & Inspiral Carpets

* Ep 683 ( 2011-03-20 ) Rock ’ n ' Roll Shrines-featuring: Blur ( band ) & The Smiths & U2 & Beastie Boys & Bob Marley & R. E. M.

Many popular alternative artists have appeared on NME compilations, including The Smiths, Blur, Franz Ferdinand, The Stone Roses and The Libertines.

In the UK the Madchester scene influenced the early sound of 1990s Britpop bands like Blur, and Oasis who drew on 1960s psychedelic pop and rock, particularly on the album Standing on the Shoulder of Giants ( 2000 ).

However, it also performed at larger venues, supporting Blur on a 1997 UK tour, taking in several stadia, and appearing at Glastonbury festival in 1997.

Blur's work, along with many more minor Britpop bands, have been cited as particularly reminiscent of 1970s Wire at various points, with Graham Coxon and Damon Albarn both speaking of the band's influence on Blur.

A large scale use of cold water fog is the Blur Building ( 2002 ), an exhibition pavilion built for Swiss Expo. 02 on Lake Neuchatel by architects Diller Scofidio + Renfro.

Some members of this scene ( Blur, Lush, Suede ) would go on to play a leading part in Britpop.

Blur, a group that formerly mixed elements of shoegazing and baggy, took on an Anglocentric aesthetic with their second album Modern Life Is Rubbish ( 1993 ).

Food drew up a list of alternatives, from which the band decided on " Blur ".

After a poor performance at a 1992 gig that featured a well-received set by Suede on the same bill, Blur were in danger of being dropped by Food.

Blur began working on their fourth album The Great Escape at the start of 1995.

Partly due to increasing antagonisms between the groups, Blur and Oasis ultimately decided to release their new singles on the same day, an event the NME called " The British Heavyweight Championship ".

An early 1996 Q magazine interview revealed that relations between Blur members had become very strained ; journalist Adrian Deevoy wrote that he found them " on the verge of a nervous breakup ".

In February 1996, when Coxon and James were absent for a lip-synced Blur performance broadcast on Italian television, they were replaced by a cardboard cutout and a roadie, respectively.

Blur reached number 61 on the Billboard 200 and was certified gold, while " Song 2 " peaked at number six on the Modern Rock chart.

After the success of Blur, the band embarked on a nine-month world tour.

After " Coffee & TV ", the first Blur single to feature Coxon on lead vocals, managed to only reach number 11 in the UK, manager Chris Morrison demanded a chart re-run because of what he deemed was a sales miscalculation.

Dismissed by the band as " the first record we have seen as product ", the tracklisting and release dates of Blur: The Best of were determined on the basis of market research and focus groups conducted by Blur's record label, EMI.

By this time, the group had largely disowned the upbeat pop singles from the Britpop era, and favoured the more arty, experimental work on Blur and 13.

Early in 2002, Blur recorded a song that would be played by European Space Agency's Beagle 2 lander once it touched down ; however, attempts to locate the probe after it landed on Mars were fruitless.

Though the band members finally met up in October, they posted on their website that they had only " met up for an enjoyable lunch " and that there were no " other music plans for Blur ".

In December 2008, Blur announced they would reunite for a concert at London's Hyde Park on 3 July 2009.

Blur headlined the Glastonbury Festival on 28 June, where they played for the first time since their headline slot in 1998.

In April 2010, Blur released their first new recording since 2003, " Fool's Day ", for the Record Store Day event as a vinyl record limited to 1000 copies ; it was later made available as a free download on their website.