Popscene

"Popscene"
Single by Blur
B-side	"Mace" (7") "I'm Fine", "Mace", "Garden Central" (12") "Mace", "Badgeman Brown" (CD)
Released	30 March 1992
Format	7" vinyl, 12" vinyl, cassette, CD
Recorded	1992
Genre	Alternative rock, Britpop
Length	3:15
Label	Food
Producer(s)	Steve Lovell
Blur singles chronology
"Bang" (1991) "Popscene" (1992) "For Tomorrow" (1993)
Music video "Popscene" on YouTube

"Popscene" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released on 30 March 1992 as a single. The low chart placing came as a confidence blow for the band, who were struggling financially at the time. It was intended to have been the first single from Blur's second album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, but was not included on the album due to the change in style they took after poor reception to the song's release.

The song is an attack on the homogeneous nature of the music industry and it represented a change in musical direction for Blur. The song has since become a fan favourite and is still performed live. It has been seen as one of the first Britpop singles to be released. The song had never been included on a UK Blur album, until 2009 when it was released on Blur's compilation album Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur.

In the documentary The Britpop Story hosted by John Harris, this song along with Suede's "The Drowners" was championed as being the first ever Britpop song, and a starting point for the movement.

Although the single did not appear on the audio version of 2000's collection Blur: The Best Of, the music video (which was mirrored in the video for their later hit "Song 2") for the track did appear on the accompanying DVD release.

As a double A-side with "On Your Own", the single was released in 1997 in Australia. The first appearance of this song on an album was the US promo album Blur-ti-go (1992) in live form.

Track listings

All songs written by Albarn, Coxon, James and Rowntree.

Production credits

• "Popscene" produced by Steve Lovell
• "Mace", "Badgeman Brown", and "Garden Central" produced by Blur and John Smith
• "I'm Fine" produced by Blur

Charts

References