BLUR Released ‘THE GREAT ESCAPE’ Album 30 Years Ago Today
Significant longplayers from yesteryear
11 September 2025
Former Britpop heroes BLUR released their 4th LP
THE GREAT ESCAPE on 11 September 1995, today
30 years ago.
It was a major commercial success in the UK and Europe, becoming the band’s second consecutive album to debut at number one on the UK Albums Chart and being certified triple platinum in the UK in less than a year.
It received widespread critical acclaim upon its initial release, with praise for its songwriting and eclectic themes, though some retrospective reviews have been
more negative, viewing it as a less cohesive, uninspired follow-up to Parklife (1994).
BBC said: “The album’s release saw NME award the record 9/10, Q gave it perfect
marks, while Melody Maker broke their rating scale to score the record a wacky 12/10.
It was critical euphoria that would prove to be short-lived – truth be told, about as long as it took publishers to realise Oasis would probably shift more magazines for them. It’s not a record the band think particularly fondly of either. In 2007, Damon Albarn mused that it was “messy.”
The single we all know, but
hated by guitarist Graham Coxon.
ALBUM