M.O.R.

For other uses, see MOR (disambiguation).

"M.O.R." is a song by English rock band Blur from their eponymous album. Released on 15 September 1997, "M.O.R." reached number 15 in the UK Singles Chart on its release as a single in September 1997. Worldwide, it reached number 45 in New Zealand and also charted in Australia, Canada, and the United States.

"M.O.R."
Single by Blur
from the album Blur
B-side	"Swallows in the Heatwave" "Movin' On" (remix) "Beetlebum" (remix)
Released	15 September 1997 (1997-09-15)
Length	3:27 (album version)
Label	Food Parlophone
Songwriter(s)	Damon Albarn Graham Coxon Alex James Dave Rowntree David Bowie^[1] Brian Eno^[2]
Producer(s)	Stephen Street
Blur singles chronology
"On Your Own" (1997) "M.O.R." (1997) "Tender" (1999)
Music video
"M.O.R." on YouTube

Composition and lyrics

The song's chord progression was borrowed from David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage". On the album Lodger Bowie and collaborator Brian Eno carried out a musical experiment in which multiple songs were written with the same chord progression, of which "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage" were the two that surfaced. "M.O.R." is both a continuation of, and tribute to that experiment, as its chorus also lifts the melody and call-and-response vocals from "Boys Keep Swinging" (Bowie and Eno both received credit for "M.O.R." after legal intervention).^[3] "M.O.R." itself stands for "middle of the road", which appears in the lyrics.

Music video

The song's music video was directed by John Hardwick. It was shot in Sydney, Australia, and follows the misadventures of the band members (or rather, stuntmen in balaclavas pretending to be them) as they try to escape from the police. It was intended that the stuntmen wear masks of the band members to make it appear that the band were performing their own stunts, but the masks created for the video were such poor representations that the decision was made to use balaclavas instead.^[4] The video also features cameos by stunt choreographer Grant Page as a helicopter pilot, and actor Noah Taylor as a truck passenger. It is included in the Blur: The Best of DVD/VHS released on 30 October 2000. The 'actors' in the video are all anagrams of the member of the band they play. They are as follows:

• Dan Abnormal – Damon Albarn
• Trevor Dewane – Dave Rowntree
• Morgan C. Hoax – Graham Coxon
• Lee Jaxsam – Alex James

"Dan Abnormal" was an alias also used by Albarn whilst playing keyboards on the first Elastica album, as well as the title of a track on The Great Escape.

Track listings

All lyrics were written by Albarn. All music was composed by Albarn, Coxon, James, and Rowntree.

UK and European CD single^[5] "M.O.R." (road version) "Swallows in the Heatwave" "Movin' On" (William Orbit remix) "Beetlebum" (Moby's minimal house remix) UK cassette and limited-edition orange 7-inch single^[6]^[7] "M.O.R." (road version) "Swallows in the Heatwave" German limited-edition live CD single^[8] "M.O.R." (live at Peel Acres) – 2:59 "Beetlebum" (Viva Niteclub live acoustic) – 4:32 "On Your Own" (Viva Niteclub live acoustic) – 4:10 "Country Sad Ballad Man" (Viva Niteclub live acoustic) – 4:34 "This is a Low" (Viva Niteclub live acoustic) – 3:29

US CD single^[9] "M.O.R." (road version) – 3:12 "Popscene" (live at Peel Acres) – 2:58 "Song 2" (live at Peel Acres) – 1:53 "Bustin' + Dronin'" – 6:30 Australian CD single^[10] "M.O.R." (road version) "Dancehall" "Country Sad Ballad Man" (live acoustic version) "Popscene" (live at Peel Acres) "On Your Own" (live acoustic version) Japanese CD single^[11] "M.O.R." (road version) "M.O.R." (karaoke version) "I Love Her" (demo version) "Death of a Party" (live at MC Vredenburg, Holland, 24 April 1997)

Personnel and credits

• "Bustin' + Dronin'" and "Swallows in the Heatwave" produced by Blur
• "M.O.R." (road version) and "Dancehall" produced by Stephen Street
• Damon Albarn – vocals
• Graham Coxon – guitar, vocals
• Alex James – bass guitar
• Dave Rowntree – drums

Charts

Chart (1997)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[12]	68
Canada Rock/Alternative (RPM)^[13]	11
New Zealand (Recorded Music NZ)^[14]	45
Scotland (OCC)^[15]	15
UK Singles (OCC)^[16]	15
US Bubbling Under Hot 100 Singles (Billboard)^[17]	14

Release history

Region	Date	Format(s)	Label(s)	Ref.
United States	28 July 1997	Alternative radio	Virgin	^[18]
United Kingdom	15 September 1997	7-inch vinyl CD cassette	Food Parlophone	^[19]
Japan	11 February 1998	CD	EMI Food Parlophone	^[20]

References

1. . Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
2. . Archived from the original on 10 February 2015.
3. Azad, Bharat (14 August 2007). "Is Damon Albarn the new David Bowie?". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 February 2018.
4. Conversation with the director, 1997
5. M.O.R. (UK & European CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1997. CDFOOD107, 7243 8 84656 2 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
6. M.O.R. (UK cassette single sleeve). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1997. TCFOOD 107, 7243 8 84656 4 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
7. M.O.R. (UK limited 7-inch single sleeve). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1997. FOOD 107, 7243 8 84656 7 0.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
8. M.O.R. (German limited CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Spin Records, Electrola. 1997. 7243 8 84710 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
9. M.O.R. (US CD single liner notes). Blur. Virgin Records America. 1997. V25G-38611, 7243 8 38611 2 5.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
10. M.O.R. (Australian CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, EMI Music Australia. 1997. 8844322.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
11. M.O.R. (Japanese CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, EMI Music Japan, Parlophone. 1998. TOCP-40081.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
12. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia: Moonlight Publishing.
13. "Top RPM Rock/Alternative Tracks: Issue 7914." RPM. Library and Archives Canada. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
14. "Blur – M.O.R.". Top 40 Singles. Retrieved 6 June 2014.
15. "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
16. "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
17. "Blur Chart History (Bubbling Under Hot 100)". Billboard. Retrieved 4 March 2019.
18. "Be on the Lookout". Gavin Report. No. 2164. 18 July 1997. p. 48.
19. "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 13 September 1997. p. 33. Retrieved 5 July 2021.
20. "M.O.R. | ブラー" [M.O.R. | Blur] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 18 September 2023.