Parklife songs
So we decided Phil should have a go at Parklife instead. Phil Daniels was first approached to recite a poem over a song called The Debt Collector, but in the end it became an instrumental because Damon couldn't come up with a poem he liked. In fact, a lot of football teams play it. I knew Parklife would connect with people, and I still often hear it played at Loftus Road. I definitely recommend the demo, which is harder and faster than the album version. It was the same with Blur: they could put their hands to anything, and it would still sound like Blur.Įach song had its own sound and direction: End of a Century is completely different from Girls & Boys, and different again from Bank Holiday. I never knew Alex is the singer of Far Out until recently. I felt the way I had when I produced the Smiths: that as long as Morrissey was singing on it, it would be the Smiths. The style of Girls & Boys was unlike anything Blur had done before, but I thought it would be Top 5 – it was so downright basic. The album was made piecemeal: we did a few songs, then they were on the road again, then back in the studio. We went into the studio to do Parklife soon after.ĭamon was directing his attention to a very English kind of inspiration: great records made by the Kinks, and also imaginary characters like Tracy Jacks. Original artist Blur From the release Parklife (Album) Total plays 368 times by 19. Modern Life hadn't been a commercial success, but the band were still drawing a big touring crowd so the fear of being dropped had gone. Setlist song statistics for Parklife by Blur played in concert. Oasis were accused of being Chas'n'Dave, but we weren't far away ourselves. I play a bit of the German national anthem on saxophone in the "vorsprung durch technik" line. At the line "There was a piece of my heart", Phil said, "Should I drop the 'h'? If I pronounce it, it'll sound more adorable." We didn't want to use a forced mockney accent, so he pronounced the "h". He thought it would be better to get in a celebrity, so I suggested the actor Phil Daniels because we were big fans from Quadrophenia. It epitomises what Blur were about – having fun and doing exactly what you want to do.īut Damon wasn't comfortable doing the verses – he just couldn't get into character. The Parklife single wasn't about the working class, it was about the park class: dustbin men, pigeons, joggers – things we saw every day on the way to the studio.
The instrumental "The Debt Collector" serves as an intermission before the creepiness of "Far Out." Bonus cuts on the Special Edition include a Pet Shop Boys remix of "Girls and Boys," an acoustic version of "End of a Century" and the bizarre, countryfied "Red Necks.A lot of people thought it was a celebration of Englishness, but it was actually very sarcastic. It's his playful sense - melodically and lyrically - that brings brisk joy to the cheery pop of "Tracy Jacks" and the decline of the British Empire punk of "Bank Holiday." The title track plays out like a football chant (that's soccer here in the States). Albarn's wit and insight elevated the group beyond the myopic effects of 1990s grunge. Shades of Eurodisco inform the gender-bending "Girls and Boys," adding a fresh attack to a group whose singer, Damon Albarn, pulled greatly from the tradition of the Kinks and the Jam. It's a concept album in the best sense of the word, with the songs playing off one another while exploring a number of musical styles. audiences were either befuddled or entranced by this alien culture. The album is so deliberately British in its celebration of a lad's life that U.S. Their third album, Parklife turned Blur into superstars throughout Europe.