Beetlebum
"Beetlebum" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It was released on 20 January 1997 as the lead single from the band's eponymous fifth album, "Blur" (1997). Written about Blur frontman Damon Albarn's experiences with heroin, the song features Beatles-influenced music and a mood that Albarn described as "sleepy" and "sexy." Despite fears of the song's uncommercial nature, the single debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart, becoming Blur's second track to reach the top of the charts. It has since appeared on several Blur compilations. Background. "Beetlebum" was inspired  by heroin and the drug experiences Damon Albarn had with his then-girlfriend, Justine Frischmann of Elastica. Albarn reflected, "That whole period of a lot of people's lives was fairly muddied by heroin for a lot of people. And it's sort of, it's in that place. And a lot of stuff was at that time." He has stated in an interview with MTV that the song describes a complicated emotion, sort of "sleepy" and sort of "sexy". "Rolling Stone" hypothesises that the song's title is a reference to the phrase "chasing the beetle," further linking the  song to Albarn's experimentation with drugs. Albarn commented, "I'm not sure what a Beetlebum is. It's just a word I sang when I played the song to myself. I asked the others if I should change it, but they said no. If it felt right, we decided that we wouldn't tidy it up like we've done in the past. It's about drugs basically." Bassist Alex James explained of the song, "I think 'Beetlebum' is representative of the fact that as the band's got older, the songs have become more simple. Now we can  play them with a lot more feeling." Producer Stephen Street similarly pointed to the song as a pivotal one for the band, commenting, "Listening back to Damon Albarn’s vocals on 'Beetlebum' for the first time, I had tears in my eyes, thinking: 'This is special'." The song has been described as a "Beatles tribute" by several publications; Stephen Thomas Erlewine of Allmusic wrote that the song "[ran] through the White Album in the space of five minutes." Release. Because of its stylistic differences from Blur's previous singles, "Beetlebum" was expected to be a commercial disappointment. As James recalls , "When we first took it around, 'Beetlebum' was perceived as commercial suicide." Despite these fears, "Beetlebum" was a chart hit in the UK, becoming the band's second number-one single (after "Country House"). The single also reached the top ten in several European countries as well as number 13 in Canada. In addition to its release on "Blur", the song has appeared on compilations such as "" and "". It was remixed by Moby for the remix album "Bustin' + Dronin'". Music video. The "Beetlebum" music video was directed by Sophie Muller. The downbeat video combines a performance of the song  in a room in a tall building with computer-generated zoom-outs from the set showing the Earth in the centre of kaleidoscopic patterns. Alex James' cigarette and Dave Rowntree's Coke can are censored, although in recent version both of them are uncensored. The video concludes with the camera zooming out of the room to show a shot of the River Thames and London's skyline. Track listings. All music was composed by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree. All lyrics were written by Albarn. UK CD1 UK CD2 UK limited-edition 7-inch red vinyl  single Japanese CD single