Girls & Boys (Blur song)
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| “Girls And Boys” | |||||
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| Single by Blur from the album Parklife |
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| Released | 7 March 1994 | ||||
| Format | 7" vinyl, 2 x CD, cassette | ||||
| Recorded | October 1993-January 1994 | ||||
| Genre | Britpop | ||||
| Length | 4:50 (album version)
4:18 (single version) |
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| Label | EMI, Food Records | ||||
| Producer | Stephen Street | ||||
| Blur singles chronology | |||||
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"Girls & Boys" is a song by the English alternative rock band Blur. It was released as the lead single from the band's third album Parklife, on 7 March 1994. Charting at number five in the UK Singles Charts, "Girls & Boys" was Blur's first Top 5 hit. In the United States, it reached number fifty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 and number four on Modern Rock chart.
Lead vocalist Damon Albarn's withering putdowns of trendy pansexuality and aimless hedonism satirise the party culture in the UK, where groups of youths go on holiday to places like Faliraki and Kavos with the sole intention of getting drunk in the local night-clubs. Ironically, it was a huge hit among them, as the electro-pop noise imitated by Graham Coxon gave it regular play among the clubs. Damon considered the song "as rude as Frankie's Relax" and, in writing it, may have been influenced by 60s counterculture film-maker Peter Whitehead's Pink Floyd documentary, which features the famous "Boys who do girls who..." lyric as a written poem. The video, directed by Kevin Godley featured Blur performing this song to a backdrop of people on 18-30 package holidays (which the band interspersed into the video). Kevin branded the video as "Page 3 rubbish" while Blur found it "perfect". The front cover of the single was taken from a pack of Durex condoms.
The single release also includes a remix of the track by Pet Shop Boys, who later covered the track live on tour in 1994.
In 2007, electronic band Blaqk Audio released a cover of the song as a Hot Topic exclusive bonus track for their debut album CexCells. Around that time, perhaps beginning in mid 2006, the song saw a resurgence in popularity in the American Indie Music Scene, being played a lot at dance clubs. The song was also covered by another group Fear Cult with a more upbeat electronic sound.
Upon the song's release it was a comeback for the band, who had had a lean commercial period for a couple of years. The song even surpassed the band's past commercial peak by 3 spots.
Contents |
[edit] Track listings
[edit] In the UK
- 7" FOODS47, Cassette TCFOOD47
- "Girls & Boys"
- "Magpie"
- "People In Europe"
- CD1 CDFOODS47
- "Girls & Boys"
- "Magpie"
- "Anniversary Waltz"
- "Girls & Boys"
- "People In Europe"
- "Peter Panic"
[edit] In the US
- "Girls & Boys"
- "Girls & Boys" (Pet Shop Boys Radio Edit)
- "Girls & Boys" (Pet Shop Boys 12" Mix)
- "Magpie"
- "Peter Panic"
- "Maggie May"
- Cassette 4KM-58155
- "Girls & Boys"
- "Girls & Boys" (Pet Shop Boys Radio Edit)
- "Maggie May"
- 12" Y-58155
- "Girls & Boys" (Pet Shop Boys 12" Mix)
- "Girls & Boys" (Album Version)
- "Girls & Boys" (Pet Shop Boys 7" Mix)
[edit] In Japan
- "Girls & Boys" (Pet Shop Boys 7" Mix)
- "Girls & Boys" (Pet Shop Boys 12" Mix)
[edit] Chart positions
| Year | Single | Chart | Position |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | UK Singles Chart | #5 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | US Hot 100 | #59 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | US Modern Rock Tracks | #4 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | US Hot Dance Music/Club Play | #21 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | US Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales | #23 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | US Top 40 Mainstream | #40 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | US Hot 100 Airplay | #61 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | US Hot Singles Sales | #63 |
| 1994 | "Girls & Boys" | Sweden | #34 |
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