The band consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree.

Following a stylistic change influenced by English guitar pop groups such as the Kinks, the Beatles and XTC, Blur released the albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995).

Their seventh album, Think Tank (2003), continued their experimentation with electronic sounds and was shaped by Albarn's growing interest in hip hop and world music, featuring more minimal guitar work.

[5][7] The group performed live for the first time in summer 1989 in the goods shed of the East Anglian Railway Museum at Chappel & Wakes Colne.

[12] 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".

[13] NME magazine wrote in 1991, "[Blur] are [the] acceptable pretty face of a whole clump of bands that have emerged since the whole Manchester thing started to run out of steam.

Featuring "a rush of punk guitars, '60s pop hooks, blaring British horns, controlled fury, and postmodern humor",[18] "Popscene" was a turning point for the band musically.

[24] By that time, Blur had undergone an ideological and image shift intended to celebrate their English heritage in contrast to the popularity of American grunge bands like Nirvana.

[25] Although sceptical of Albarn's new manifesto for Blur, Balfe gave assent for the band's choice of Andy Partridge (of XTC) to produce their follow-up to Leisure.

The announcement of the album's release included a press photo which featured Blur, dressed in a mix of mod and skinhead attire, posing alongside a mastiff with the words "British Image 1" spraypainted behind them.

"[40] The release of the album's lead single "Country House" played a part in Blur's public rivalry with Manchester band Oasis termed the "Battle of Britpop".

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

[44] The NME hailed it as "spectacularly accomplished, sumptuous, heart-stopping and inspirational",[45] while Mojo argued "Blur are the very best that '95 Britpop has to offer and this is a most gong-worthy sound, complete with head-slicing guitars, catchy tunes and very funny words".

"[50] 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".

[50] The guitarist struggled with drinking problems and, in a rejection of the group's Britpop aesthetic, made a point of listening to noisy American alternative rock bands such as Pavement.

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".

Pointing out lyrics such as "Look inside America/She's alright", and noting Albarn's "obligatory nod to Beck, [and promotion of] the new Pavement album as if paid to do so", reviewers felt the band had come to accept American values during this time—an about-face of their attitude during the Britpop years.

Among the tracks, the band were most impressed by Orbit's effort and enlisted him to replace Street as producer for their next album,[57] citing a need to approach the recording process from a fresh perspective.

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

In an otherwise highly enthusiastic review of the best-of for the NME, Steve Sutherland criticised the band's "sheer disregard" for their earlier work; "Just because these songs embarrassed them once they started listening to broadsheet critics and retreated wounded from the big-sales battle with Oasis doesn't mean that we're morons to love them.

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.

[70][71] Recording for Blur's next album began in London in November 2001, but concerted work started in June 2002, with the sessions moving to Marrakech, Morocco soon after, and then to Devon back in the UK.

[77] Early in 2002, Blur recorded a song that would be played by European Space Agency's Beagle 2 lander once it touched down;[78] however, attempts to locate the probe after it landed on Mars were fruitless.

[79] Think Tank, released in May 2003,[80] was filled with atmospheric, brooding electronic sounds, featuring simpler guitar lines played by Albarn, and largely relying on other instruments to replace Coxon.

After Coxon significantly thawed on the subject of rejoining Blur,[86] in 2007 band members announced that they would reunite, and that they intended to record together first in August, with the date later being pushed back to September, then October.

[117] Awarding the album a full five stars, The Daily Telegraph called The Magic Whip "a triumphant comeback that retains the band's core identity while allowing ideas they'd fermented separately over the past decade to infuse their sound with mature and peculiar new flavour combinations".

"[139][140] However, the band accepted a late night phone call offer to play 2024's Coachella, with management giving them five minutes to decide, prompting Albarn to postpone the hiatus.

[142] The band's first week Coachella performance on 13 April drew significant media attention for the lack of crowd interaction during "Girls & Boys" and Albarn's visible frustration.

[158] Some of the band's influences include David Bowie, Bobby Womack, William Onyeabor, the B-52's, the Kinks, Pink Floyd, the Jam and Depeche Mode.

[159] In their days as Seymour, they were a "shambolic" avant-pop band, whose early concerts exhibited their art school background; meanwhile, Albarn "took cues" from Syd Barrett and Julian Cope.