Think Tank (Blur Album) - Background

Background

Although Blur had been associated with the Britpop movement, they had experimented with different musical styles more recently, beginning with Blur (1997) which had been influenced by Indie rock bands under the suggestion of guitarist Graham Coxon. Since the mid to late 1990's, Blur's members had been working on other projects as well as Blur: Albarn had co-created Gorillaz, a virtual band in 1998 with comic artist, Jamie Hewlett whom Albarn had met through Coxon. Gorillaz' 2001 debut was financially sucessful and received critical acclaim. Since composing the Blur song, You're So Great, Coxon had started a solo career and as of 2001 had released three solo albums. The members differing musical interests had alienated some of the band members, with Coxon explaining, "we're all very concerned for each other and we do genuinely like each other an awful lot. Because we're into so much different stuff, it becomes daunting." Nevertheless, Coxon, along with Alex James and Dave Rowntree were keen for a new album, whilst Albarn was more reluctant.

Blurs latest album, 13, had made heavy use of experimental and electronic music under the guise of producer William Orbit. Despite the success of the album and its associated singles, the overall sound of the album had been deemed as "deliberately uncommercial" compared to their previous efforts. Despite the broader musical landscaping which Blur were engaging in, Albarn revealed in a January 2001 interview that he wanted to make a more accessable album again, stating "I'm trying to go back to the kind of songwriting esthetic I had on (hit album) Parklife. They won't be arranged in the same way at all -- they'll just be songs that are accessible to the public." He also revealed his reasoning for this approach, stating that "it's too complicated being anything other than mainstream with Blur. That's where it belongs. We still feel that the mainstream in Britain is not represented well enough by intelligent musicians."

After the September 11th Attacks, a series of contoversial military campaigns were launched, known as the War on Terror. In November 2001, shortly after the Invasion of Afghanistan, the MTV Europe Music Awards were held in Frankfurt, where Gorillaz won an award for Best Dance Act. As Albarn and Hewlett walked onto stage to make a speech, Albarn sported a t shirt with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo on it. In Albarns speech, he said "So, fuck the music. Listen. See this symbol here, this the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Bombing one of the poorest countries in the world is wrong. You've got a voice and you have got to do what you can about it allright?"

In 2002, Iraq was under threat of invasion from western nations. Opposition from the public led to protests being organised by a number of organisations. Albarn, who has described himself as being anti-war, spoke out against the invasion, citing the lack of democratic process as an issue. Anti-War views had been shared with Albarn's Parents and Grandparents. His Grandfather, Edward Albarn, had died after going on a hunger strike the previous year.

Albarn teamed up with Robert "3D" Del Naja of Massive Attack and various campaigns to raise awareness of the potential dangers of the UK’s involvement in the war. Albarn was due to speak in Hyde Park on the rally in March 2003 when a million people took to the streets of London in protest at the imminent war. In the event, he was too emotional to deliver his speech.