Showing posts with label Blur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Blur. Show all posts

Monday, September 2, 2024

Britpop: Top 25 Albums

Britpop:

The Top 25 Albums

Britpop was a genre which emerged in the early ‘90s in the United Kingdom. It grew out of the British indie music scene and was characterized by its guitar-driven pop sound.

This list was compiled by aggregating the results of 22 sources. Those albums which made at least 3 lists were ranked by overall Dave’s Music Database points and then the top 25 were ranked based on the aggregate of Britpop albums.

Check out other best-of-genre/category lists here.

1. Oasis (What’s the Story) Morning Glory (1995)
2. Pulp Different Class (1995)
3. The Verve Urban Hymns (1997)
4. Blur Parklife (1994)
5. Oasis Definitely Maybe (1994)

6. Suede (aka “London Suede”) Suede (1993)
7. The Stone Roses The Stone Roses (1989)
8. Blur The Great Escape (1995)
9. Blur Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993)
10. Radiohead The Bends (1995)

11. Radiohead OK Computer (1997)
12. Suede (aka “London Suede”) Dog Man Star (1994)
13. Manic Street Preachers Everything Must Go (1996)
14. The La’s The La’s (1990)
15. Oasis Be Here Now (1997)

16. The Verve A Northern Soul (1995)
17. Manic Street Preachers The Holy Bible (1994)
18. Coldplay A Rush of Blood to the Head (2002)
19. David Bowie The Man Who Sold the World (1970)
20. Teenage Fanclub Bandwagonesque (1991)

21. Coldplay Parachutes (2000)
22. Blur Blur (1997)
23. Keane Hopes and Fears (2004)
24. Kaiser Chiefs Employment (2005)
25. The Libertines Up the Bracket (2002)

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First posted 9/2/2024.

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Wednesday, July 26, 2023

Britpop: Top 50 Songs

Britpop:

Top 50 Songs

Britpop was a genre which emerged in the early ‘90s in the United Kingdom. It grew out of the British indie music scene and was characterized by its guitar-driven pop sound.

This list was compiled by aggregating 29 lists (sources at the bottom of the page). Those songs which made 3 or more lists were then ranked based on their overall status in Dave’s Music Database.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
2. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
3. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
4. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
5. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
6. Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1995)
7. The La’s “There She Goes” (1988)
8. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1996)
9. Blur “Girls and Boys” (1994)
10. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)

11. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)
12. The Verve “The Drugs Don’t Work” (1997)
13. Elastica “Connection” (1994)
14. Blur “Parklife” (1994)
15. Cornershop “Brimful of Asha” (1997)
16. Edwyn Collins “A Girl Like You” (1995)
17. Coldplay “Trouble” (2000)
18. Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
19. Oasis “Supersonic” (1994)
20. Oasis “Whatever” (1994)

21. Manic Street Preachers “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” (1998)
22. Oasis “D’You Know What I Mean?” (1997)
23. Oasis “Cigarettes and Alcohol” (1994)
24. Stone Roses “Love Spreads” (1994)
25. Blur “There’s No Other Way” (1991)
26. Supergrass “Alright” (1995)
27. The Verve “Lucky Man” (1997)
28. Oasis “Some Might Say” (1995)
29. Blur “Country House” (1995)
30. Radiohead “Just” (1995)

31. Blur “This Is a Low” (1995)
32. Blur “Beetlebum” (1997)
33. Suede “Animal Nitrate” (1993)
34. The Verve “Sonnet” (1998)
35. James “Laid” (1993)
36. Oasis “Roll with It” (1995)
37. Placebo “Nancy Boy” (1997)
38. Suede “The Drowners” (1992)
39. Lush “Ladykillers” (1996)
40. Ocean Colour Scene “The Riverboat Song” (1996)

41. The Verve “History” (1995)
42. Mansun “Wide Open Space” (1996)
43. Ocean Colour Scene “The Day We Caught the Train” (1996)
44. Blur “The Universal” (1995)
45. Oasis “Shakermaker” (1994)
46. Pulp “Babies” (1992)
47. The Lightning Seeds “The Life of Riley” (1992)
48. Space “Female of the Species” (1996)
49. The Bluetones “Slight Return” (1996)
50. Blur “Chemical World” (1993)

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First posted 4/10/2013; last updated 7/26/2023.

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Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Sports Anthems: Top 50 Songs

Sports Anthems:

Top 50 Songs

This list is the result of aggregating 27 lists of the most popular sports anthems. These may be songs that are designed to get the crowd riled up or singing along. They may be the introductory song as a team, or even a specific player, takes the field. In any case, these are the songs most likely to come blaring out of your favorite stadium’s speakers.

Click here to see other genre-specific song lists.

1. Queen “We Will Rock You” (1977)
2. The White Stripes “Seven Nation Army” (2003)
3. AC/DC “Thunderstruck” (1990)
4. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
5. Guns N’ Roses “Welcome to the Jungle” (1987)
6. House of Pain “Jump Around” (1992)
7. Eminem “Lose Yourself” (2002)
8. Metallica “Enter Sandman” (1991)
9. Ozzy Osbourne “Crazy Train” (1980)
10. Survivor “Eye of the Tiger” (1982)

11. Neil Diamond “Sweet Caroline” (1969)
12. Queen “We Are the Champions” (1977)
13. Gary Glitter “Rock and Roll Part 2” (1972)
14. Steam “Na Na Hey Hey Kiss Him Goodbye” (1969)
15. Tag Team “Whoomp! There It Is” (1993)
16. Europe “The Final Countdown” (1986)
17. Journey “Don’t Stop Believin’” (1981)
18. Darude “Sandstorm” (2000)
19. 2 Unlimited “Get Ready for This” (1991)
20. The Alan Parsons Project “Sirius” / “Eye in the Sky” (1982)

21. The Rolling Stones “Start Me Up” (1981)
22. Ramones “Blitzkrieg Bop” (1976)
23. Zombie Nation “Kernkraft 400” (1999)
24. Jack Norworth and Albert von Tilzer (composers) “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” (1908)
25. DJ Khaled with T-Pain, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, & Rick Ross “All I Do Is Win” (2010)
26. Village People “Y.M.C.A.” (1978)
27. C + C Music Factory “Gonna Make You Sweat (Everybody Dance Now)” (1990)
28. Smash Mouth “All Star” (1999)
29. Baha Men “Who Let the Dogs Out?” (2000)
30. Van Halen “Jump” (1983)

31. Black Eyed Peas “Let’s Get It Started” (2004)
32. Gerry & the Pacemakers “You’ll Never Walk Alone” (1963)
33. Bill Conti “Gonna Fly Now” (1976)
34. Chumbawamba “Tubthumping” (1997)
35. Fort Minor “Remember the Name” (2005)
36. Technotronic “Pump Up the Jam” (1989)
37. Fatboy Slim “Right Here Right Now” (1999)
38. DJ Snake with Lil Jon “Turn Down for What” (2013)
39. Beastie Boys “Sabotage” (1994)
40. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis with Ray Dalton “Can’t Hold Us” (2011)

41. Kanye West with Daft Punk “Stronger” (2007)
42. Queen “Another One Bites the Dust” (1980)
43. Frank Sinatra “Theme from New York, New York” (1980)
44. Phil Collins “In the Air Tonight” (1981)
45. Kendrick Lamar “Humble” (2017)
46. The Isley Brothers “Shout” (1959)
47. Todd Rundgren “Bang the Drum All Day” (1983)
48. Styx “Renegade” (1978)
49. Twisted Sister “We’re Not Gonna Take It” (1984)
50. Bon Jovi “Livin’ on a Prayer” (1986)

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First posted 3/14/2023.

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Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Damon Albarn: Top 50 Songs

Damon Albarn

Top 50 Songs

Damon Albarn is a singer/songwriter who was born 3/23/1968 in Whitechapel, London, England. He first achieved fame during the Britpop era with his band Blur. He later formed Gorillaz and the supergroup The Good, the Bad & the Queen. He has also worked as a solo artist.

Click here to see other best-of lists from performers and here to see other best-of lists from songwriters and/or producers.

Awards:

Top 50 Songs

Dave’s Music Database lists are determined by song’s appearances on best-of lists as well as chart success, sales, radio airplay, streaming, and awards. This list includes songs by Blur; Gorillaz; The Good, the Bad & the Queen; and Damon Albarn as a solo artist.

DMDB Top 1%:

1. Song 2 (Blur, 1997)

DMDB Top 2%:

2. Feel Good Inc. (Gorillaz with De La Soul, 2005)
3. Girls & Boys (Blur, 1994)

DMDB Top 5%:

4. Clint Eastwood (Gorillaz, 2001)
5. Parklife (Blur, 1994)
6. Dare (Gorillaz with Shaun Ryder, 2005)

DMDB Top 10%:

7. This Is a Low (Blur, 1994)
8. Country House (Blur, 1995)
9. There’s No Other Way (Blur, 1991)
10. Out of Time (Blur, 2003)

DMDB Top 20%:

11. Beetlebum (Blur, 1997)
12. The Universal (Blur, 1995)
13. Stylo (Gorillaz with Mos Def & Bobby Womack, 2010)
14. Tender (Blur, 1999)
15. 19-2000 (Gorillaz, 2001)

DMDB Top 20%:

16. Coffee + TV (Blur, 1999)
17. Chemical World (Blur, 1993)
18. Charmless Man (Blur, 1995)
19. On Melancholy Hill (Gorillaz, 2010)
20. To the End (Blur, 1994)

21. She’s So High (Blur, 1990)
22. For Tomorrow (Blur, 1993)
23. Dirty Harry (Gorillaz, 2005)
24. Kingdom of Doom (The Good, the Bad, & the Queen; 2007)
25. End of a Century (Blur, 1994)
26. Music Is My Radar (Blur, 2000)
27. Tomorrow Comes Today (Gorillaz, 2001)
28. Kids with Guns (Gorillaz, 2005)
29. Crazy Beat (Blur, 2003)
30. Doncamatic (Gorillaz with Daley, 2010)

31. No Distance Left to Run (Blur, 1999)
32. Humility (Gorillaz with George Benson, 2018)
33. On Your Own (Blur, 1997)
34. El Mañana (Gorillaz, 2005)
35. Popscene (Blur, 1992)
36. Rock the House (Gorillaz, 2001)
37. Stereotypes (Blur, 1995)
38. Heavy Seas of Love (Damon Albarn, 2014)
39. Rhinestone Eyes (Gorillaz, 2010)
40. Herculean (The Good, the Bad, & the Queen; 2006)

41. Mr. Tembo (Damon Albarn, 2014)
42. Good Song (Blur, 2003)
43. Under the Westway (Blur, 2012)
44. M.O.R. (Blur, 1997)
45. Ascension (Gorillaz with Vince Staples, 2017)
46. The Valley of the Pagans (Gorillaz with Beck, 2020)
47. We Got the Power (Gorillaz with Jehnny Beth, 2017)
48. Green Fields (The Good, the Bad, & the Queen; 2007)
49. Bang (Blur, 1991)
50. Everyday Robots (Damon Albarn, 2014)

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First posted 1/26/2022.
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Thursday, October 14, 2010

XFM: Top 100 Songs

XFM:

Top 100 Songs

XFM is an alternative-oriented radio station out of London. Their top 1000 songs of all time list was presented online on 10/14/2010 and turned into a book. The list was based on an annual listeners’ poll, most requested songs, and suggestions from radio DJs and celebrity guests. However, since the list was unranked, the DMDB has taken the liberty of ranking the list for them.

To try to capture the distinct British flavor of the list (which means mostly, but not all, British-based acts), the DMDB averaged all British-based lists together, weeded out any songs not appearing on the XFM list, and then ranked the songs from most points on down. Here’s the resulting top 100 list:

Click here to see other lists from publications and/or organizations.

1. John Lennon “Imagine” (1971)
2. The Beatles “Hey Jude” (1968)
3. Nirvana “Smells Like Teen Spirit” (1991)
4. Oasis “Wonderwall” (1995)
5. The Verve “Bitter Sweet Symphony” (1997)
6. R.E.M. “Losing My Religion” (1991)
7. Oasis “Don’t Look Back in Anger” (1996)
8. The Kinks “Waterloo Sunset” (1967)
9. Pulp “Common People” (1995)
10. U2 “One” (1992)

11. Oasis “Live Forever” (1994)
12. The Rolling Stones “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction” (1965)
13. The Beatles “Strawberry Fields Forever” (1967)
14. The Beatles “Let It Be” (1970)
15. R.E.M. “Everybody Hurts” (1992)
16. Joy Division “Love Will Tear Us Apart” (1980)
17. The Undertones “Teenage Kicks” (1978)
18. Radiohead “Creep” (1993)
19. David Bowie “Heroes” (1977)
20. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “All Along the Watchtower” (1968)

21. U2 “With Or Without You” (1987)
22. New Order “Blue Monday” (1983)
23. The Who “My Generation” (1966)
24. David Bowie “Space Oddity” (1969)
25. The Stone Roses “Fools Gold” (1989)
26. The Smiths “How Soon Is Now?” (1985)
27. Massive Attack “Unfinished Sympathy” (1991)
28. The Sex Pistols “Anarchy in the U.K. ” (1976)
29. David Bowie “Life on Mars? ” (1973)
30. The Verve “The Drugs Don’t Work” (1997)

31. The Jam “Going Underground” (1980)
32. The Smiths “This Charming Man” (1983)
33. Guns N’ Roses “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (1988)
34. The La’s “There She Goes” (1989)
35. The Clash “London Calling” (1979)
36. Blur “Song 2” (1997)
37. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Voodoo Chile (Slight Return)” (1968)
38. The Stone Roses “I Am the Resurrection” (1989)
39. Oasis “Champagne Supernova” (1996)
40. Red Hot Chili Peppers “Under the Bridge” (1992)

41. The Rolling Stones “Jumpin’ Jack Flash” (1968)
42. Coldplay “Yellow” (2000)
43. The Rolling Stones “Paint It Black” (1966)
44. The Jam “A Town Called Malice” (1982)
45. The Kinks “Lola” (1970)
46. Pink Floyd “Wish You Were Here” (1975)
47. The Kinks “You Really Got Me” (1964)
48. Radiohead “Paranoid Android” (1997)
49. The Sex Pistols “God Save the Queen” (1977)
50. Radiohead “Fake Plastic Trees” (1995)

51. Manic Street Preachers “Motorcycle Emptiness” (1992)
52. Underworld “Born Slippy” (1995)
53. The Doors “Light My Fire” (1967)
54. U2 “Where the Streets Have No Name” (1987)
55. Lou Reed “Walk on the Wild Side” (1972)
56. The Specials “Ghost Town” (1981)
57. The Rolling Stones “Sympathy for the Devil” (1968)
58. The Jam “That’s Entertainment” (1981)
59. The Rolling Stones “Honky Tonk Women” (1969)
60. Manic Street Preachers “A Design for Life” (1996)

61. Paul Weller “Wild Wood” (1993)
62. Green Day “Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)” (1997)
63. Pink Floyd “Comfortably Numb” (1979)
64. Oasis “Supersonic” (1994)
65. The Killers “Mr. Brightside” (2004)
66. The Buzzcocks “Ever Fallen in Love” (1978)
67. The Who “Won’t Get Fooled Again” (1971)
68. James “Sit Down” (1991)
69. The Strokes “Last Nite” (2001)
70. The Smiths “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” (1986)

71. Radiohead “Street Spirit (Fade Out)” (1996)
72. Radiohead “Karma Police” (1997)
73. The Who “Substitute” (1996)
74. The Prodigy “Firestarter” (1996)
75. Manic Street Preachers “If You Tolerate This Your Children Will Be Next” (1998)
76. The Rolling Stones “Brown Sugar” (1971)
77. The Rolling Stones “Gimme Shelter” (1969)
78. Depeche Mode “Enjoy the Silence” (1990)
79. U2 “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” (1987)
80. Oasis “Some Might Say” (1995)

81. The Jimi Hendrix Experience “Hey Joe” (1966)
82. Primal Scream “Loaded” (1990)
83. Blur “Parklife” (1994)
84. The Clash “White Man in Hammersmith Palais” (1978)
85. Oasis “Whatever” (1994)
86. Green Day “Basket Case” (1994)
87. The Killers “All These Things That I’ve Done” (2004)
88. The Rolling Stones “Get Off of My Cloud” (1965)
89. Oasis “Cigarettes and Alchol” (1994)
90. David Bowie “Starman” (1972)

91. The Beatles “Day Tripper” (1965)
92. Blur “Girls and Boys” (1994)
93. Snow Patrol “Run” (2004)
94. The Beatles “Eleanor Rigby” (1966)
95. Coldplay “The Scientist” (2002)
96. Led Zeppelin “Whole Lotta Love” (1969)
97. The Jam “Down in the Tube Station at Midnight” (1978)
98. New Order “True Faith” (1987)
99. Run-D.M.C. with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler & Joe Perry “Walk This Way” (1986)
100. John Lennon “Instant Karma (We All Shine On)” (1970)

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First posted 10/17/2010; last updated 3/31/2021.

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Monday, April 7, 1997

Blur released “Song 2”

Song 2

Blur

Writer(s): Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree (see lyrics here)

Released: April 7, 1997

First Charted: April 12, 1997

Peak: 55 US, 25 AR, 6 MR, 2 UK, 4 AU, 3 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): 1.2 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 191.3 video, 722.32 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

Blur was an English rock band formed in 1988 by singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, and drummer Dave Rowntree. The band became a major player in the Britpop movement of the 1990s. Blur, and Britpop in general, didn’t gain much attention in the United States.

“Song 2” is the “blaring anthem” from Blur that “sounds least like the rest of its Brit-pop catalogue.” CBC It started out as a joke WK thrown together “one murky, hungover day in the studio.” CBC Albarn recorded a slower, acoustic demo with the distinctive “woo-hoo” chorus in whistle form. Coxon suggested they amp up the speed and the volume, accompanied by a deliberately amateurish guitar sound. WK

Alban recorded a guide vocal with nonsense, stream-of-consciousness lyrics. According to producer Stephen Street, the words were “pure babbling” but at his suggestion the lyrics were left alone, considered perfect as they were. SF Between the cryptic lyrics and loud guitars, this was considered a song written as a parody of grunge. SF It has also been said that Blur were mocking radio-friendly songs and the record industry in general. WK

As the second song on the album, it was given the placeholder name of “Song 2,” but it ended up sticking. WK It was the second single released from the band’s fifth, self-titled album. It ran two minutes and two seconds with two verses and two choruses. It peaked at #2 on the UK charts and was ranked #2 on NME magazine’s year-end list of 1997’s singles. WK It has become a popular sports anthem for soccer and hockey.

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First posted 10/13/2021; last updated 8/25/2023.

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Saturday, August 26, 1995

On This Day in Music: The Battle of Britpop

August 26, 1995

The Battle of Britpop

1995 marked the pinnacle of Britpop in the U.K. The genre emerged from the British independent music scene in the early ‘90s and has been suggested to be the English response to the rise of grunge in the U.S.A. The form was characterized by its guitar-driven pop sound which recalled some of the country’s biggest bands from the 1960s and 1970s such as The Beatles and The Kinks. Groups from the 1980s and early 1990s such as The Smiths, The Stone Roses, and Happy Mondays were considered immediate predecessors to the movement. In the U.S., the genre was understandably less prevalent but many of the bands labeled as Britpop found homes on American alternative radio.

The genre’s two most popular bands were Blur and Oasis. In 1995, the former group was coming off the success of their highly acclaimed album Parklife while the latter band was coming off Definitely Maybe, which had set the record for the country’s fastest-selling debut album.

Both groups were prepping their follow-up albums and had grown antagonistic toward each other in the last year. By the time they were ready to release their new singles, the record companies made the most of the marketing opportunity and released the singles (“Country House” for Blur, “Roll with It” for Oasis) on the same day.

The release date, August 14, was cited by NME magazine as the day of the big chart showdown – or “The Battle of Britpop” as it was commonly referred to by the press. However, it wasn’t until the official UK chart for the week ending August 26, 1995, that an official winner could be declared. Blur debuted at #1 on the chart with 274,000 copies while Oasis’ sales of 216,000 landed them at #2. However, while Blur won the battle, Oasis won the war. Their album (What’s the Story) Morning Glory? became the third-best-selling album in British history and found much greater success in the U.S. than Blur.

For more important days in music history, check out the Dave’s Music Database history page.

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First posted 8/26/2011; updated 8/24/2023.

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Monday, April 25, 1994

Blur released Parklife: April 25, 1994

Originally posted April 25, 2012.

In the summer after Parklife was released, Britpop reached a feverish peak with the Blur vs. Oasis battle. The only the thing the bands truly shared, “apart from their public loathing of each other, was their preoccupation with the sixties, with the former attempting to re-write the entire Beatles back catalogue while Blur revived the archetypical English whimsy and art school artifice of The Kinks.” PR

However, “Blur’s admiration of The Kinks isn’t as blatant as their rivals’ fixation for The Fab Four.” PR While previous album “Modern Life Is Rubbish established Blur as the heir to the archly British pop of the Kinks, the Small Faces, and the Jam” AMG, Parklife “revealed the depth of that transformation” AMG by serving up “more eccentricity and more focused evocations of everyday life than Oasis’s work.” TB “The ghost of Ray Davies can be heard on the character sketch Tracy Jacks and there are echoes of the similarly styled Small Faces in the title track,” PR a “mod anthem” AMG in which Phil Daniels, the star of Quadrophenia, “lends his broadest ‘sarf London’ accent.” PR

Parklife

However, the band doesn’t just utilize “Ray Davies’ seriocomic social commentary” AMG; “Parklife runs through the entire history of post-British Invasion Britpop in the course of 16 songs, touching on psychedelia, synth pop, disco, punk, and music hall along the way.” AMG “From the fairground-style dembellishments and novelty instrumentation to the flirtations with punk and psych-pop, Parklife constantly surprises with its diversity of material and infectious good humour.” PR “Damon Albarn even manages a fair stab at Syd Barrett on Far Out.” PR

Indeed, Albarn “intended these songs to form a sketch of British life in the mid-‘90s, and it’s startling how close he came to his goal; not only did the bouncy, disco-fied Girls & Boys and singalong chant Parklife become anthems in the U.K., but they inaugurated a new era of Britpop and lad culture, where British youth celebrated their country and traditions.” AMG However, it was still “a thoroughly modern record in that it bends genres and is self-referential.” AMG “And, by tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-‘90s zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record.” AMG

Girls and Boys

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Monday, March 7, 1994

Blur “Girls and Boys” released

Girls and Boys

Blur

Writer(s): Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree (see lyrics here)

Released: March 7, 1994

First Charted: March 19, 1994

Peak: 59 US, 59 CB, 38 RR, 4 MR, 5 UK, 19 AU 12 DF (Click for codes to charts.)

Sales (in millions): -- US, 0.6 UK

Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 49.8 video, 168.91 streaming

Awards:

Click on award for more details.

About the Song:

The rock band Blur formed in London in 1988 with singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James, and drummer Dave Rowntree. Their debut album, 1991’s Leisure connected to the Madchester and shoegazing scenes of the late ‘80s and early ‘90s while their second album, 1993’s Modern Life Is Rubbish, showcased them more as a guitar pop group. With their third album, 1994’s Parklife, Blur established themselves as one of the pillars of the Britpop movement of the 1990s.

It became their best-selling album in the UK with more than a million sold. It was their first of seven consecutive albums to top the UK charts. The album produced four top-20 singles in the UK, with the lead single, “Girls and Boys,” being the most successful. Blur didn’t generate as much of an audience in the United States, although this song was one of a handful to reach the alternative rock chart, becoming their biggest hit.

Damon Albarn was inspired to write the song while on vacation in Spain where he saw what he called “a rampant sexual scene among visitors.” WK Songfacts.com called it “a send-up of the hedonistic club culture of the ‘90s” SF which “deals with sexual roles, and freedom of sexual preference.” SF Radiohead’s Thom Yorke said it is one of the songs he wished he’d written. SF

Graham Coxon said audiences responded to “Girls and Boys” because “there’s nothing too complicated about it and it’s got a chanty sort of chorus.” SF Alex James described itas “disco drums, nasty gutiars and Duran Duran bass.” WK Billboard’s Larry Flick said it was “a detour into clubland with an amusing, word-twisting ditty fleshed out with a trance-like synth energy and a hard, syncopated beat, courtesy of the Pet Shop Boys.” WK Vibe’s James Hunter called it “a brilliant turn on new wave disco that boasts the year’s best bent guitars.” WK

British music magazines NME and Melody Maker both named “Girls and Boys” the single of the year. It was nominated for best song at the MTV Europe Music Awards. AllMusic.com’s Stephen Thomas Erlewine said the song was “undeniably catchy” and “one of the best Blur ever recorded.” WK

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First posted 8/24/2023.

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