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"Country House" is a song by British band Blur and is featured on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape. It was released 14 August 1995 as the lead single from that album (see 1995 in British music). It was the first of Blur's singles to reach #1 in the UK Singles Chart (a feat only achieved once more by the band, with "Beetlebum"). The song is about a man who lives a boring life in his expensive country house.
The video for the single was directed by Damien Hirst and featured Keith Allen and Matt Lucas. It was nominated for Best Video in the 1996 Brit Awards.
Blur vs. Oasis (The Battle of Britpop)
The song received a great deal of attention when Blur's label Food Records moved the original release date to be on the same day as Oasis' "Roll With It". The British media had already reported an intense rivalry between the two bands and this clash of releases was seen as a battle for the number one spot. "Country House" won Blur the battle ("Roll With It" coming in at No. 2) but they lost the war as The Great Escape was beaten by Oasis' album (What's the Story) Morning Glory on sales. Incidentally, "Country House" features the lines "He's got morning glory/And life's a different story" which may well have been a jab at Oasis.
Track listings
- 7" FOOD63, Cassette
- "Country House"
- "One Born Every Minute"
- CD1 CDFOOD63
- "Country House"
- "One Born Every Minute"
- "To The End" (with Françoise Hardy)
- CD2 CDFOODS63: Recorded at Mile End Stadium, 17 June 1995
- "Country House" (live)
- "Girls & Boys" (live)
- "Parklife" (live)
- "For Tomorrow" (live)
Trivia
- The song was written about former Blur manager Dave Balfe, as Damon had mentioned on the South Bank Show
- A giant candlestick, used as a prop in the video for "Country House" was sold on eBay in March, 2005 for £92 (though it had been valued at up to £500) *.
- The part in the music video where all members are singing in the dark is a reference to Queen's 1975 music video Bohemian Rhapsody.
- The image on the cover, of Bavaria's castle Neuschwanstein, is actually horizontally flipped.
- Director Damien Hirst later bought Toddington Manor, a Grade I country house located in the English county of Gloucestershire.
"Country House (song)"