Blur formed in Colchester, England in 1989 under the name Seymour (which was formed from the remains of a group called Circus). After signing a record deal, they changed their name to Blur and went on to become one of the most critically and commercially successful bands of the 1990s Britpop movement. Blur still exerts much influence eighteen years after their initial formation, and are known as a defining Brit-Rock band.

The band was formed by Damon Albarn (vocals, keyboards, guitar), Alex James (bass guitar), Dave Rowntree (drums) and Graham Coxon (guitar, backing vocals).

Initially, the band came out of the baggy and shoegazing scene, very much taking influence from artists such as The Stone Roses. Their first album, Leisure was not a critical success, with many journalists seeing them as a manufactured band. Despite this, the albums was still a modest commercial success, hitting number 7 in the UK chart. The single There’s No Other Way also broke into the top 10, however, further singles from the album failed to breach the top 20.

Their next album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, dropped the baggy tag, and is credited by many, along with the single Popscene as creating britpop. Despite a much improved critical reception, the album only reached number 15 in the UK, and failed to chart in the US at all. It was not until their next album, Parklife, that the band really broke into the mainstream.

During the 2003 “Think Tank” tour, Graham Coxon was replaced by Simon Tong, ex-The Verve guitarist. However, this was just for the live dates, as Damon Albarn has confirmed that no-one would ever replace Coxon in the band.

Blur have released 7 studio albums: Leisure (1991), Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994), The Great Escape (1995), Blur (1997), 13 (1999) and Think Tank (2003). Additionally, an 18-track ‘Best of’ compilation was released in 2000.

Damon Albarn is also the creator and lead vocalist of Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad & The Queen.

In late September 2007, the band reunited with Coxon for the first time in 5 years and a few days later a message was posted on their website saying that, while relations are healthy between all four members, they are not currently planning any musical activity.