behind the scenes.
Here you will find names of people they work/have worked with and various other snippets of information. See also "Solo projects" under each band member.
The "Blur camp".
Influences.
Musicians.
Producers.
Stage-warmers.
Remixers.
Addresses.
Artwork.
Studios.
Cheers to Lainey Prince, Miyuki Kuronuma and Cathrin Haller for info on support bands! There's a lot of info missing here, if you can help me fill in the gaps I'd be greatful! flicka@kent.nu.
Manager: Chris Morrison
Record company: Food Records (Andy Ross), owned by Parlophone Records, owned by EMI. In America: Virgin Records. Previously SBK.
Publishers: EMI Music (Mike Smith). Previously MCA Music.
influences.
(according to themselves but also other people, so you may not agree with everything)
Adam and The Ants, Allen Klein, Augustus Pablo, Beck, Bob Dylan, bob hund, Can, Chapterhouse, David Bowie, Dinosaur Jr, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, Ian Hunter, Julian Cope, Keith Moon, Madness, Marc Bolan, Mott the Hoople, My Bloody Valentine, Neu, Nick Drake, Pavement, Pink Floyd, Sebadoh, Slint, Soft machine, Sonic Youth, Squeeze, Syd Barrett, The Beatles, The Cardiacs, The Fall, The Human League, The Jam, The Kinks, The Pastels, The Pixies, The Pretty Things, The Small Faces, The Smiths, The Specials, The Staples Singers, The Stone Roses, The Stranglers, The Teardrop Explodes, The Walker Brothers, The Wedding Present, The Who, Tony Allen, Tortoise, Vaughan Williams, Weill and Brecht's 'Die Drei Groschen Oper' (The Threepenny Opera), Wire, XTC.
musicians.
Jason Cox (additional drums) "Battle"
Phil Daniels (vocals) "Parklife" (the song) and "Me, white noise" (bonus track on "Think tank")
Teresa Jane Davis (vocals) "The Universal"
Duke Strings Quartet, The:
John Metcalfe (viola and string arrangement)
Louisa Fuller (violin)
Rick Koster (violin)
Ivan McCermoy (cello)
"Modern Life is Rubbish", "Parklife" and "The Great Escape".
Also Helen Kamminga (viola) "Modern Life is Rubbish"
Mark Pharoah (violin) "Parklife".
Cathy Gillat (vocals) "Yuko and Hiro"
Diana Gutkind (keyboard) has played with them live since 1995.
Stephen Hague (accordion) "To the End"
Terry Hall (keyboard, guest vocals) "This is a low" and "Nite Klub" at the Dublin RDS show 969622
Francoise Hardy (vocals) "To the end (La commédie)" (Country House B-side)
Kick Horns, The:
Simon Clarke (baritone and alto saxophone)
Tim Sanders (tenor saxophone, also soprano saxophone on "The debt collector")
"Modern Life is Rubbish", "Parklife", "The Great Escape".
Also Roddy Lorimer (trumpet) "Modern Life is Rubbish", "Parklife", "The Great Escape" except "The debt collector"
Neil Sidwell (trombone) "Modern Life is Rubbish", "Parklife", "The Great Escape" except "End of a century"
Paul Spong (cornet) "Modern Life is Rubbish".
Ken Livingstone, M.P. (vocals) "Ernold Same"
The London community gospel choir (vocals) "Tender" and "Black book"
Angela Murrell (vocals) "The Universal"
Laetitia Sadier (vocals) "To the end" (album version)
Mike Smith (saxophone) "Jets"
Kate St. John (oboe, cor anglais, soprano saxophone) "Starshaped"
Stephen Street (S1000, typewriter bell, handclaps) "Colin Zeal", "Starshaped", "Turn it up"
String quartet: Chris Tombling, Audrey Riley, Leo Payne, Chris Pitsillides "To the End"
producers.
Blur: "Sing", "Down", "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm all over", "Mace", "Badgeman Brown", "Young and lovely", "Es Schmecht", "My ark", "Daisy bell", "Let's all go down the Strand", "Threadneedle Street", "Got yer!", "I'm just a killer for your love", "Trailerpark".
Blur with Langer and Winstanley: "Chemical world" (version on CD1 single)
Blur and John Smith: "Into another", "Hanging over", "Peach", "Bonebag", "Beachcoma", "Beard", "Supa Shoppa", "Oily Water", "Intermission", "Commercial break", "Miss America", "Resigned", "One born every minute", "The man who left himself"
Blur, John Smith, Steven Hague: "To the End"
Blur and Ben Hillier: "Music is my radar" and all tracks on "Think tank" except 3, 10 and 12.
Blur, Ben Hillier and Norman Cook: "Crazy beat" and "Gene by gene".
Blur, Ben Hillier and William Orbit: "Sweet song".
Graeme Holdaway: "Dizzy", "Fried", "Shimmer"
Steve Lovell: "Popscene", "Sunday Sunday", "Villa Rosie"
Steve Lovell and Steve Power: "She's so high", "I know"
William Orbit: "13" except "Trailerpark".
Chris Potter: "Black book".
Stephen Street with assistance from Tom Girling and Julia Gardner: "The Horrors", "A song", "St. Louis".
Steven Street: All the tracks and b-sides from the six albums "Leisure", "Modern Life is Rubbish", "Parklife", "The Great Escape", "Blur" and "The Special Collectors Edition" which I have not mentioned, basically.
Mike Thorne: "Fool", "Birthday", "Wear me down"
stage-warmers.
I'm afraid I don't know when all of these people performed with them, it's just stuff I've gathered. I've missed loads of people, if you know of any of them, drop me a line!
Lush ("Leisure")
Pulp ("Leisure", "Parklife" - Birmingham, Ally Pally + the US)
Suede (with Justine Frischmann) ("Leisure")
The Keatons ("Leisure" tour 1990)
The senseless things (2nd American "Leisure" tour 1992)
31/2 minutes, Mega City Four and Suede (Shelter gig, Town & Country Club, Kentish Town, 1992)
Huggy Bear (Hibernian 921216)
Salad ("Sugary tea" U.K. tour 1993)
Supergrass (Ally Pally 1994)
The Cardigans (Cologne, Germany, about 1995)
Edgefest (Molson Amphitheatre 950513)
The Cardiacs, the Boo Radleys, Wire, the Sparks, Dodgy and the Shanakies. (Mile End 950617)
Black grape + Supergrass (Dublin RDS 960622)
Bloodhound gang ("Blur" tour")
Silt ("Blur", U.K. tour, January 1997)
Sneaker Pimps ("Blur", U.K. tour, January 1997)
That Dog ("Blur", U.S. tour, 1997)
Smashmouth ("Blur", U.S. tour, 1997)
The Dandy Warhols ("Blur", U.S. tour, 1997)
Super Furry Animals ("Blur", U.K. tour, December 1997)
The Shirehorses ("Blur", U.K. tour, December 1997)
The Warm jets ("Blur", U.K. tour, December 1997)
Idlewild ("Blur" - Glastonbury + Que Club FC 1998)
Ooberman (Paris, Theatre de la mutualité, 990915)
DJ Dan Lywood (Singles tour, UK, 1999)
Jonathan FireEater (?)
The Mercy Bell (?)
Ned's Atomic Dustbin (?)
Our Lady Peace (?)
They've supported: Five Thirty (as Seymour), Mega City Four and The Cramps (1990), New Fast Automatic Daffodils and Too Much Texas (1989) and R.E.M. (1995), and appeared with Jesus Jones, Diesel Park West, Sensitize and Whirlpool at the Brixton Academy in 1990, the Jesus & Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine, Dinosaur Jr and Suede (all in 1992) and Dodgy, Echobelly and Galliano (in 1995).
remixers.
There's probably loads missing here, please drop me a line if you can help!
Blur: Day upon Day (live), There's no other way
Pet Shop Boys: Girls and boys (b-side to Girls and boys, To the end)
William Orbit: Death of a Party, Movin' on, On your own (all on Bustin' and Dronin')
Adrian Sherwood and Simon Mundry: Death of a party (on the DOAP promo and Bustin' and Dronin')
Moby: Beetlebum (on Bustin' and Dronin')
Thurston Moore: Essex Dogs (on Bustin' and Dronin')
John McEntire: Theme from Retro (on Bustin' and Dronin')
Mario Caldato Jr.: Beetlebum, Movin' on, Song 2, Chinese Bombs, On your own (as far as I can tell, all unreleased)
Cornelius: Beetlebum (b-side to the Japanese verion of Coffee and TV), Tender (b-side to No distance left to run)
UNKLE: Battle (b-side to No distance left to run)
addresses.
Blur, P.O. Box 21, London W10 6BR, U.K.
Blur mercandise, P.O. Box 17, Lichfield, Staffs, WS14 OHE, U.K.
Food Records, First floor office, 172A Arlington Road, Camden, London NW1 7HL, U.K.
The official Blur fan club, P.O. Box 525, Stoke-on-Trent, ST7 2YX, U.K.