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.

Table of contents

1 Track listing
2 Personnel
3 Chart positions

Track listing

"Girls & Boys" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:51
"Tracy Jacks" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:20
"End of a Century" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 2:45
"Parklife" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:05
"Bank Holiday" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 1:42
"Badhead" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:25
"The Debt Collector" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 2:10
"Far Out" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 1:41
"To the End" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:05
"London Loves" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:15
"Trouble in the Message Centre" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 4:09
"Clover over Dover" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:22
"Magic America" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 3:38
"Jubilee" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 2:47
"This Is a Low" (Albarn/Coxon/James/Rowntree) - 5:07
"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
Far Out - Guitar (Bass), Crowd Noise
John Smith - Engineer

Chart positions

United Kingdom - album

1994  Parklife                                                 No. 1

United Kingdom - singles

1994 Girls and Boys No. 5 1994 To the End No. 16 1994 Parklife No. 10 1994 End of a Century No. 19

Billboard Music Charts (North America) - album

1994	Heatseekers	                                        No. 6

Billboard (North America) - singles

1994	Girls and Boys The Billboard Hot 100	                No. 59
1994	Girls and Boys Modern Rock Tracks	                No. 4
1994	Girls and Boys Top 40 Mainstream	                No. 40
1994	Girls and Boys Hot Dance Music/Club Play	        No. 21
1994	Girls and Boys Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales	No. 23