THE 1000 BEST SONGS IN THE WORLD EVER.

256-Blur starring Phil Daniels-Parklife.

1994-Number 10 single.

Best Bit-At 0.21. This song is as quintessentially British as Fish N’ Chips, or the BBC, or making a cup of tea in response to a crisis, or of course talking about the weather.

‘Parklife’ is one of the songs that defined the genre of music that is known as ‘Britpop,’ ‘Britpop’ was a UK based music and culture movement in the mid-1990’s which emphasised ‘Britishness,’ and produced brighter catchier ‘Alternative Rock,’ partly in response to the darker lyrical themes of the United States led ‘Grunge’ music. There were many bands around at that time who were placed under the ‘Britpop’ banner, but the ones who were considered as the ‘big four’ were Oasis, (see also best songs 1006-758 and 15) Blur, (see also best songs 21) Suede, (see also best songs 695 and 244) and Pulp (see also best songs 605 and 285.) The ‘Britpop’ sound was influenced from the music of the 1960’s, the ‘Glam Rock,’ and ‘Punk Rock’ of the 1970’s, and the ‘Indie Pop’ of the 1980’s. For example Blur were obviously heavily influenced by the Kinks, (see also best songs 1014 and 770) and Oasis were heavily influenced by the Beatles (see also best songs 599-319-238-218-141-80-51-10 and 5.)

Blur (see also best songs 21) were formed in 1988, in London, England, by Damon Albarn, (vocals) Graham Coxon, (guitar) Alex James, (bass) and Dave Rountree (drums.) They were originally called ‘Seymour,’ but became Blur in March 1990. They were active between 1988-2003, then went on hiatus, they were then active again between 2009-2015, then again going on hiatus, until becoming active again in 2023. For the discography of Blur see best songs 21. It was the after the release of their third studio Album ‘Parklife’ in 1994 that Blur finally made their major commercial breakthrough, and at the time of writing the Album is now certified four times platinum in the UK, with sales in excess of 1,200,000, and a further 1,000,000 in Europe. The Album came to define the emerging ‘Britpop’ scene in the year following its release, along with the Album ‘Definitely Maybe’ by future rivals Oasis. Blur and Oasis were later involved in one of the most memorable chart battles in Pop music history. On August 14th, 1995, Blur released the single ‘Country House,’ and Oasis released their single ‘Roll With It,’ with the group who sold the most singles being crowned the most popular band in the country. The public’s imagination was sparked by the contrast between the ‘working class’ Oasis and the ‘middle class’ Blur. In the end, Blur’s ‘Country House’ single sold 274,000 copies to Oasis’ 216,000 copies of ‘Roll with It.’ The singles charted at Number 1 and Number 2 respectively, but what has never been admitted, as far as I know, was that in order to entice customers, at least one of the singles was issued on different coloured vinyl, and in differing sleeves, to entice the customer to buy two or more copies. The singles were also sold in different record shops at different prices, at the retailers discretion.

‘Parklife’ was the third of five singles released from Blur’s third studio Album of the same name, from August 1994. The songwriting is credited to all four members of Blur, although Damon Albarn wrote the lyrics, with the production being by Stephen Street, (see also best songs 940-595-464 and 21) and John Smith, who is a long term Blur collaborator. Damon Albarn who sings the songs chorus, had originally tried to perform the verses as well, but felt he couldn’t get into character. It was Graham Coxon who suggested the actor Phil Daniels, as Coxon was a big fan of the 1979 film ‘Quadrophenia,’ (see also best songs 265) which had starred a young Phil Daniels. At that time Daniels was not familiar with Blur, but after talking with Albarn he accepted the job. Daniels recorded his spoken lyrics in around 40 minutes, and opted for a share in the royalties rather than being paid a set fee. Graham Coxon has said, ‘A lot of people thought it was a celebration of Englishness, but it was actually very sarcastic. 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 (Maison Rouge in Fulham.) It epitomises what Blur were about, having fun, and doing exactly what you want to do. Phil Daniels who has frequently performed ‘Parklife’ live with Blur has said, ‘I’ve been all over the world doing it, because Damon always said, ‘Look, do it when you like. I’ll tell you when I’m going to an interesting country, and you can come along if you want.’ So I’ve been to Japan, South America, America. All over the place.’

Damon Albarn has said that inspiration for ‘Parklife’ came to him after reading the 1989 novel ‘London Fields,’ written by Martin Amis (1949-2023.) When introducing the song in 2009 at a concert in Hyde Park, London, Damon Albarn told the audience, ‘I came up with the idea for this song in this park. I was living in Kensington Church Street, and I used to, you know, watch people, and pigeons.’ In 1995 ‘Parklife’ won ‘British Single of the Year,’ and ‘British Video of the Year’ at the 1995 ‘Brit Awards.’ ‘Parklife’ also won ‘British Album of the Year.’

‘Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as… and morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as…’