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The Universal

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This article is about the Blur song. For the Small Faces song of the same name, see The Universal (Small Faces song).

"The Universal"
Single by Blur
from the album The Great Escape
B-side
  • "Ultranol"
  • "No Monsters in Me"
  • "Entertain Me" (remix)
Released13 November 1995 (1995-11-13)
GenrePop[1]
Length3:59
Label
Composer(s)
Lyricist(s)Damon Albarn
Producer(s)Stephen Street
Blur singles chronology
"Country House"
(1995) 		"The Universal"
(1995) 		"Stereotypes"
(1996)
Audio sample
"The Universal"
Music video
"The Universal" on YouTube

"The Universal" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is featured on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 13 November 1995 by Food and Parlophone as the second single from that album, charting at number five on the UK Singles Chart and number 12 in both Iceland and Ireland.

In keeping with the song's science fiction theme, the single's cover art is an allusion to the opening shot of 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the music video, directed by Jonathan Glazer, is a tribute to the movie A Clockwork Orange, with the band dressed up in costumes similar to Alex and his droogs.[2] Both films were directed by Stanley Kubrick.

Critical reception

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Simon Williams from NME named the song Single of the Week, praising it as "rather brilliant". He wrote, "A ludicrously grandiose ballad that weeps spiritual buckets and sweeps the same swish floor as 'This Is a Low'. It's exotic! It has strings and things! It will turn your hard bastard spine into vodka jelly when they play it in an arena near you at Crimbo! And — crucially — it ends like 'The Orinoco Song' by The Wombles. As all songs should."[3] David Cavanagh from Select said, "'Universal' (considered at one time as a possible album title) is a grandiose and sublime ballad that looks in on the citizens of the 21st century. Musically, 'Universal' is this album's 'To the End' — strings, brass, girl singers, languid vocal lines and a sweeping, epic feel. The song and the overall performances are breathtaking."[4]

Music video

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A scene from the music video for "The Universal" which was inspired from the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, featuring the band as quasi-Droogs in an all-white bar, complete with Albarn wearing an eyeliner similar to Alex DeLarge.

A music video for the song was directed by English film director and screenwriter Jonathan Glazer.[5] The band is presented in imitation of the opening scenes from the 1971 film A Clockwork Orange, in the Milk Bar. Blur star as the quasi-Droogs, complete with Damon Albarn wearing eyeliner similar to the character Alex DeLarge.[2] They perform in the bar in all-white. Though the band do not engage in their usual vibrant stage demeanour, Damon Albarn frequently turns to the camera and gives a sly, crooked smile. Graham Coxon spends the majority of the video sitting against the wall, while playing his guitar. They also spend some time during the video sitting at a table, watching the people around them.[2]

The bar patrons consist of different groups; a male with two females are openly kissing. The man has lipstick all over his face; a lone female entertains male business colleagues by exploiting their sexual interest in her; two men, one identified as a 'red man' (dressed entirely in red) who used to be 'blue', conduct a stilted (subtitled) conversation; two other men – one of them wearing a vicar's clerical collar – become increasingly drunk on cocktails, laughing more and more hysterically until the clergyman tells his friend something to which the viewer is not privy, causing his friend to withdraw into stunned silence (a device similar to that used in Radiohead's promotional video for the song "Just" in the same year). There are also two old men who make a few comments (again subtitled) marvelling at the scene. Blur then walk down the aisle to exit the building. Damon Albarn stops them, then the clergyman moves in to kiss his friend. There are also scenes outside, showing high rise buildings, where people are gathered around a golf ball speaker atop a roof, listening.

The golf ball-shaped speaker featured in the video was purchased by Garth Crooks in a charity auction in 1999.[6]

Track listings

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

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
United Kingdom (BPI)[21] Silver 200,000^

^ Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
United Kingdom 13 November 1995
  • CD
  • cassette
[22]
Japan 20 December 1995 CD
[23]

Cover versions

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References

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  1. ^ Erlewine, Stephen Thomas (4 May 2024). "The 25 most essential Blur songs". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 5 May 2024.
  2. ^ a b c "From Blur To Bowie, 18 Ingenious Music Moments Inspired By Stanley Kubrick Movies". NME. Retrieved 18 September 2019.
  3. ^ Williams, Simon (11 November 1995). "Singles". NME. p. 43. Retrieved 22 March 2024.
  4. ^ Cavanagh, David (October 1995). "New Albums". Select. p. 104. Retrieved 14 December 2024.
  5. ^ "Blur – "The Universal [version 1]"". mvdbase.com. Archived from the original on 14 May 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2010.
  6. ^ Auction takes Blur back to their roots – BBC News Online
  7. ^ The Universal (UK CD1 liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1995. CDFOODS 69, 7243 8 82554 2 4.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ The Universal (Australian CD single liner notes). Blur. EMI Records. 1995. 8 82554 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ The Universal (UK CD2 liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1995. CDFOOD 69, 7243 8 82557 2 1.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ The Universal (UK cassette single sleeve). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1995. TC FOOD 69.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ The Universal (European CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1995. 7243 8 82559 2 9.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ The Universal (Japanese CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, EMI Music Japan. 1995. TOCP-8770.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Blur chart history, received from ARIA on 16 February 2022". Imgur.com. Retrieved 21 June 2024. N.B. The High Point number in the NAT column indicates the release's peak on the national chart.
  14. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 12, no. 48. 2 December 1995. p. 11. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  15. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (9.12. '95 – 15.12. '95)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 9 December 1995. p. 58. Retrieved 5 November 2019.
  16. ^ a b "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Universal". Irish Singles Chart.
  17. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  18. ^ "Blur – The Universal". Singles Top 100.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company.
  20. ^ "Top 100 Singles 1995". Music Week. 13 January 1996. p. 9.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Blur – The Universal". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  22. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 11 November 1995. p. 31. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
  23. ^ "ユニバーサル | ブラー" [Universal | Blur] (in Japanese). Oricon. Retrieved 20 January 2024.
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