Song · Blur
“M.O.R.” by Blur
From the album Blur (1997)
“M.O.R.” by Blur appears on 6 radio countdowns from 3 stations between 1997 and 2022. It was first released in 1997 on the album Blur. Its best result is #101 on the Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1997. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #429 alternative song of 1997 and #6,978 alternative song of all time.
Blur released "M.O.R." as a single from their self-titled album in September 1997, and it's a sly piece of homage: the chords come straight from David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage", two songs that came out of an experiment Bowie and Brian Eno ran on Lodger, writing several tunes over one progression. Blur picked up where they left off and borrowed the chorus melody and call-and-response vocals of "Boys Keep Swinging" as well, and after legal intervention Bowie and Eno joined the writing credits. The title stands for middle of the road.
Stephen Street produced, with Damon Albarn singing lead and adding piano, Hammond organ and keyboards, Graham Coxon on guitars and backing vocals, Alex James on bass and Dave Rowntree on drums. It reached 15 on the UK Singles Chart, and Steven Wells made it the NME single of the week.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 101 | Q101 Chicago, IL | Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1997 | 101 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 1945 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2000 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) | 2000 |
| 2000 | 1947 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2001 Songs of All-Time (December 2000) | 2001 |
| 2001 | 1947 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (December 2001) | 2002 |
| 2002 | 1931 | CD101 | CD101 Top 2003 Songs of All-Time (December 2002) | 2003 |
| 2022 | 827 | The Colorado Sound | The Colorado Sound Top 900 Songs of the '90s | 900 |
Also listed as: M.o.r.; M.O.R.
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