Blur: 1 Hidden Gem On Every Album

Although Leisure found Blur peddling the prevailing musical trends, follow up single Popscene is the sound of a band finding their own voice. What’s more, it was a voice much sharper and more interesting than their debut had led us to expect.

A precision tooled, chrome plated pop song complete with a bracing brass riff, Popscene saw Blur shedding their Madchester influences like an old, ill-fitting skin. A cool, clever, call to arms, this defiant statement of intent went unheralded at the time, failing to trouble the upper reaches of the charts but it was the sound of Blur charting a roadmap to success.

Annoyed at mixed reviews and poor sales, Blur left the song of their next album and also 2000 compilation, The Best Of Blur. This was back before streaming services and YouTube made rare tracks and non-album singles easily available.

Popscene became a nightmare to track down but these days, the track is much more accessible and well worth seeking out.