The Great Escape

The Great Escape is the fourth studio album by the English rock band Blur. It was released on 11 September 1995 on Food and Virgin Records. The album reached number one on the UK Albums Chart and charted in the top 10 in more than ten countries around the world. Less than a year after the album was released, it was certified triple platinum in the UK. The album received near-universal acclaim on release. The album continued the band's run of hit singles, with "Country House", "The Universal", "Stereotypes" and "Charmless Man" all reaching the top 10 of the UK Singles Chart. "Country House" was Blur's first number one hit in the UK, beating Oasis' "Roll with It", in a chart rivalry dubbed "The Battle of Britpop". The Great Escape is often considered to be the final album of a trio of Britpop albums released by Blur in the mid-1990s, after Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) and Parklife (1994). With Blur's 1997 self-titled album, the band would change direction and move away from Britpop in favour of a more lo-fi and alternative rock sound. Background and recording