Parklife (album)

Parklife is a Britpop album by the band Blur, released on April 25, 1994 (see 1994 in music). The album, along with Oasis' Definitely Maybe, launched the Britpop revolution in music in the UK and elsewhere. The bands' sketches of British life among ordinary men and women prompted many reviewers to compare the band to The Kinks. Another probable influence, especially on the title song, is The Small Faces. A surprising influence on the lyrics of "This Is a Low" is the BBC's Shipping Forecast. The songs themselves span many genres, such as the Pet Shop Boys-esque hit single "Girls And Boys", the jazzy interlude of "The Debt Collector", the Oi! punk of "Bank Holiday", and the hard rocking "Trouble In The Message Centre". Despite this, the album always sounds cohesive, and is rightly regarded as one of the best albums ever. At the time of its release it acquired full-on cultural phenomenon status in Britain, particularly in the context of the young middle classes' adoption of Estuary English (several newspaper articles about this tendency appeared during the singles chart run of the album's title track).

Track listing

1. "Girls & Boys" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:51
2. "Tracy Jacks" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:20
3. "End of a Century" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 2:45
4. "Parklife" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:05
5. "Bank Holiday" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 1:42
6. "Badhead" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:25
7. "The Debt Collector" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 2:10
8. "Far Out" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 1:41
9. "To the End" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:05
10. "London Loves" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:15
11. "Trouble in the Message Centre" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:09
12. "Clover over Dover" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:22
13. "Magic America" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:38
14. "Jubilee" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 2:47
15. "This Is a Low" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 5:07
16. "Lot 105" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 1:17

Personnel

• Phil Daniels - Trombone, Horn, Narrator
• Damon Albarn - Synthesizer, Strings, Harpsichord, Organ (Hammond), Programming, Recorder, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr), Melodica, Moog Synthesizer, Vibraphone
• Simon Clarke - Flute, Sax (Alto), Sax (Baritone)
• Graham Coxon - Guitar (Acoustic), Clarinet, Guitar, Percussion, Guitar (Electric), Saxophone, Vocals, Vocals (bckgr)
• Richard Edwards - Trombone
• Louise Fuller - Violin
• Kevin Godley - Director
• Stephen Hague - Piano, Producer, Engineer
• Alex James - Guitar, Vocals, Noise
• Richard Koster - Violin
• Roddy Lorimer - Trombone
• Ivan McCready - Cello
• John Metcalfe - Arranger, Viola
• Leo Payne - Strings
• Mark Pharoah - Violin
• Chris Pitsillides - Strings
• Audrey Riley - Strings
• Dave Rowntree - Percussion, Drums, Programming, Noise, Crowd Noise
• Laetitia Sadier - Vocals
• Tim Sanders - Sax (Soprano), Sax (Tenor)
• John Smith - Producer, Engineer
• Stephen Street - Keyboards, Programming, Sound Effects, Producer
• Bob Thomas - Photography
• Chris Tombling - Strings
• Brunskill - Photography
• John Smith - Engineer

Chart positions

United Kingdom - album

United Kingdom - singles

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

Billboard (North America) - singles