10 Incredible Blur Songs You’ve Probably Never Heard
7. Far Out(Electric Version)
Most Blur fans will be familiar with Far Out from the band’s classic album Parklife. It’s a charming little tune written and sung by bassist Alex James that recalls the gently trippy feel of Syd Barrett’s solo records.
What they might not know is that another, arguably better, version was kept under wraps for years. The original version of the track is faster, with sections omitted from the released version. With bright electric guitars and a giddy sugar rush chorus it sounds like a lost Britpop classic.
While the slow, spacey version fitted the songs lyrics and helped add to the variety that made the album a success, the electric version should be mentioned in the same breath as Girls and Boys or Parklife. Instead it remains largely unknown.
It seems that inter-band jealousy is to blame. Andy Ross, who was boss of the band’s record company at the time, has claimed, “Damon was not to happy then about Alex getting credit for a song that didn’t have much to do with him and he applied a lot of pressure not to have it on the album.”
In 1999 a new version, closer to the original, was released to promote the Beagle 2 Mars probe but the original still has the edge.