The history of Blur can be traced back to 1980 when
Damon Albarn (b.1968) and Graham Coxon (b.1969) met
as schoolboys at Stanway Comprehensive School in
Colchester, Essex, where they sang together in the
choir. Both were drawn to music. Damon, a Londoner
by birth, was the son of Keith Albarn, a former
luminary of England's late-1960's psychedelic rock.
Arriving in Colchester in the late '70's, young
Damon began studying music. Coxon, who was born on
an airbase in Germany, was also the son of a
musician. He moved to Colchester in 1977 and was
encouraged to learn the saxophone and guitar at
Stanway. Alex James grew up in Bournemouth on
England's south coast, coming to London in the late
'80's to study at Goldsmith's College, where he
first met Coxon.
