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Charmless Man

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"Charmless Man"
Single by Blur
from the album The Great Escape
B-side
  • "The Horrors"
  • "A Song"
  • "St. Louis"
Released29 April 1996 (1996-04-29) (UK)
Genre
Length3:34
LabelFood, Parlophone
Songwriter(s)Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree
Producer(s)Stephen Street
Blur singles chronology
"Stereotypes"
(1996) 		"Charmless Man"
(1996) 		"Beetlebum"
(1997)
Music video
"Charmless Man" on YouTube

"Charmless Man" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is the fourth track on their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 29 April 1996 in the United Kingdom as the fourth and final single from that album, reaching number five on the UK Singles Chart and also charting in Australia, France, Iceland, and Ireland.

The accompanying UK B-sides, "The Horrors", "A Song" and "St. Louis", continued the dramatic change in style for Blur first evidenced on the "Stereotypes" single, being stark and raw, foreshadowing the stylistic shift that would realize itself on their eponymous follow-up album.

Background

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The inspiration for the song was a visit by Damon Albarn to his grandmother in Lincolnshire. He stopped off at Grantham railway station and when inside the gentlemen's toilet, he noticed a piece of graffiti on a similar theme to the song's title.[3][4]

Critical reception

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British magazine Music Week rated the song five out of five, picking it as Single of the Week. They wrote, "The fourth and final single from The Great Escape is probably its best track. This should restore Blur's status as a more-than-convincing chart band."[5]

Morrissey stated that he liked the song in an interview at the time.[6]

Promotional video

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Jean-Marc Barr (pictured 2002) played the Charmless Man in the music video

The video was directed by Jamie Thraves. It starts with a man (the Charmless Man, played by Jean-Marc Barr) running down a dark street with a makeshift bandage or wrapping on his right hand, while cross cut edits show Blur playing in a music hall. After the verse which is accompanied by piano, the band are playing in the man's apartment in his bathroom, whilst the man uses an electric toothbrush and uses some red wine as mouthwash. After becoming fully dressed, the man goes out into the corridor, where the band are again. After pushing Damon Albarn out of the way, he enters a lift. The band once again are there. They are also there in the foyer when the man leaves the lift. The members of the band hang around outside, when the man, frustrated at the band following him anywhere he goes, pushes Albarn over and kicks him.

After collecting his car from the valet, the man drives off, hoping to be free from the band. They appear at the roadside twice as the man drives down the street. At the third time, the band are standing in the middle of the road and the man drives straight into them, knocking them all over. Following this latest appearance by the band, he smashes the car windows with his fists in anger. He is then seen again running on the dark street, with his badly cut hand wrapped, at which point it becomes clear that the earlier scene of him running was out of time sequence. He staggers into the hall, once again finding it his fate to see the band performing in front of him. He can escape neither the band nor his own nature. In the final shot, the camera zooms in onto Albarn's face as the final notes are sung and played and he has a contemptuous smile on his face.

Track listings

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

Personnel

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Charts

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Certifications

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

‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

Release history

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Region Date Format(s) Label(s) Ref.
Australia 1996 CD
France EMI Music France
United Kingdom 29 April 1996
  • 7-inch vinyl
  • CD
  • cassette
  • Food
  • Parlophone
 [22]

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. ^ Shipley, Al (21 July 2023). "Every Blur Album, Ranked". Spin. Retrieved 16 December 2024. Such self-explanatory titles as 'Charmless Man' are supported by serrated, droll lyrics and irony-filled baroque-pop music...
  3. ^ Zoë Ball, The Radio 1 Breakfast Show, BBC Radio 1, December 1998
  4. ^ Ashurst, Sam (2 July 2009). "Songs That Could Be Movies: Blur". GamesRadar+. Retrieved 1 August 2022.
  5. ^ "Reviews" (PDF). Music Week. 20 April 1996. p. 10. Retrieved 15 August 2021.
  6. ^ Woods, Paul A. (1 October 2017). Morrissey In Conversation: The Essential Interviews. Plexus Publishing. ISBN 978-0-85965-874-4.
  7. ^ Charmless Man (UK 7-inch single sleeve). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1996. FOOD 77, 7243 8 82884 7 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ Charmless Man (UK cassette single sleeve). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1996. TC-FOOD 77, 7243 8 82884 4 6.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  9. ^ Charmless Man (UK CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1996. CDFOOD 77, 7243 8 82884 2 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  10. ^ Charmless Man (European CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1996. 7243 8 82708 2 3.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  11. ^ Charmless Man (French CD single liner notes). Blur. EMI Music France. 1996. 7243 8 82757 2.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  12. ^ Charmless Man (Australasian CD single liner notes). Blur. Food Records, Parlophone. 1996. 8827092.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  13. ^ "Blur – Charmless Man". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  14. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles" (PDF). Music & Media. Vol. 13, no. 20. 18 May 1996. p. 24. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  15. ^ "Blur – Charmless Man" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  16. ^ "Íslenski Listinn Topp 40 (13.4. – 19.4. '96)". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 13 April 1996. p. 38. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
  17. ^ "The Irish Charts – Search Results – Charmless Man". Irish Singles Chart. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  18. ^ "Official Scottish Singles Sales Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  19. ^ "Official Singles Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  20. ^ "Árslistinn 1996". Dagblaðið Vísir (in Icelandic). 2 January 1997. p. 16. Retrieved 30 May 2020.
  21. ^ "British single certifications – Blur – Charmless Man". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 10 September 2021.
  22. ^ "New Releases: Singles" (PDF). Music Week. 27 April 1996. p. 35. Retrieved 29 June 2021.
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