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Leisure

"She's So High" dates back to March 1988 and was the first song that they wrote together.

Graham plays the drums in the middle section of "Fool".

"High Cool" got its name from the setting on the air conditioning unit at one of the studios they recorded in.

The US version has "I Know" on it instead of "Sing".

They came up with the album title in the lift on the way up to the printers, literally five minutes before the album sleeves were due to be printed.

 

Modern Life Is Rubbish

The "Food Processors Are Great!" at the beginning of "Advert" came from the Home Shopping Channel.

The Julian referred to in "Pressure On Julian" is Julian Cope.  Also the lyric, the "Magical Transit Children" comes from a piece of graffiti that the band saw near St. Pancreas.

At the end of "Star Shaped" Graham plays a Moog tone that can only be heard by cats and dogs.

The original title for "Chemical World" was "Americana".

"The Intro" was included on the album with the sole intention of annoying David Balfe, who hated it.

One night after a party Graham went back to the studio to record his guitar parts for "Miss America". When the rest of the band turned up they found a very drunk Graham banging a chair leg which can be heard throughout the track. The Michael that Graham is shouting to is Mike Smith. Dave is credited as being in the pub and therefore not playing on this track.

The title originated from a piece of graffiti in Bayswater Road, London. Two other possible album titles were "Solid Days" and "Whenever You Mind".

 

Parklife

The single "Parklife" was the first time that Graham had played Saxophone on a Blur record.

It is Graham that you can hear counting in "The Debt Collector" and you can also hear him tapping his foot and standing on a tambourine like a busker. This was because he wanted it to sound like a Tom Waits track. Phil Daniels was originally supposed to narrate this track but due to no words having been written at this stage, he narrated "Parklife" instead.

"Magic America" is about the supposed glamour of America. The title itself is the name of an Italian porn channel and thus is a symbol for fantasisers everywhere.

According to Alex "This Is A Low" was originally about "people taking smack" and had only four words, "we are the low", but during a family holiday in Cornwall Damon wrote the words using a handkerchief with a map of Britain and its shipping regions on it ( a present from Alex), and thus one of the most beautiful songs ever, was written.

"Lot 105" was to counteract the melancholy of "This Is A Low". It also began their shows during The Parklife Tour. The lyric at the end is "18 times a week girl ha ha ha ha ha", which was added at Graham's suggestion.

Other possible album titles included "Sport" and "Soft Porn".

 

The Great Escape

"Country House" was written about former Food  boss David Balfe.

"The Universal" was originally a ska song, before Alex rescued it. It is about a Prozac type drug of the future and the idea comes from the book "Brave New World".

The shouting at the beginning of "Ernold Same" is Damon pretending to be drunk outside a Shepherd's Bush pub.

"Yuko and Hiro" is thought to be about Damon and Justine Frischman's relationship, and the fact that Damon once claimed to only have seen his girlfriend 3 times one year.

 

Blur

"Country Sad Ballad Man" is about folk singer P J Proby who ended up in a caravan in a field in north Hamptonshire.

M.O.R. stands for middle of the road.

Due to Graham's shyness, he recorded "You're So Great" under a table in the studio with the lights turned off.

"Death Of A Party" was first demoed in 1992 and released as a fan club only CD. However, due to its popularity it was rerecorded for this album.

There are four drum kits playing on "Strange News From Another Star", and it features both Graham and Dave playing together on separate drum kits at the end of the song.

"Essex Dogs" was originally performed by Damon at the Poetry Olympics at the Royal Albert Hall in July 1996.

Another possible name for the album was "Five".

 

13

The drums in "Tender" are in fact Graham and Dave banging planks of wood on the studio floor.

"B.L.U.R.E.M.I." is basically a tribute song to their record label, EMI, for sticking by them for 10 years.

Damon wrote "Battle" all by himself on an island in Indonesia.

"Trailerpark" was originally named "South Park" and was supposed to be included on the South Park album "Chef Aid", but was turned down for it in the end. It is also the only song not recorded with William Orbit.

A "Trimm Trabb" is an old type of Adidas trainer that can no longer be found.

William Orbit comments that at the end of recording "No Distance Left To Run", "Damon was very charged up and weeping".

Graham designed the cover art for both the album and the singles.

Alternative album titles included "Blue" and the rather long winded title "When You're Walking Backwards To Hell, No One Can See You But God".

 

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