Stereotypes (song) explained

Stereotypes
Cover:	Stereotypes 7 cover.jpg
Type:	single
Artist:	Blur
Album:	The Great Escape
Released:	^[1]
Genre:	Britpop
Length:	3:10
Label:	Food, Parlophone
Composer:	Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, Dave Rowntree
Lyricist:	Damon Albarn
Producer:	Stephen Street
Prev Title:	The Universal
Prev Year:	1995
Next Title:	Charmless Man
Next Year:	1996

"Stereotypes" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur and is the opening track to their fourth studio album, The Great Escape (1995). It was released on 12 February 1996 as the third single from that album, charting at number seven on the UK Singles Chart. It also charted in Australia, peaking at number 95 on the ARIA Singles Chart in June 1996. The accompanying UK B-sides—"The Man Who Left Himself", "Tame" and "Ludwig"—demonstrated a dramatic change in style for Blur, being stark and raw, foreshadowing the stylistic shift that would realize itself on their eponymous follow-up album.

Music video

The music video which was directed by Matthew Longfellow features live footage. Whereas the previous live video promo "End of a Century" was live in picture and sound, "Stereotypes" is simply live footage edited to fit the album track recording.

Track listings

All music was composed by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James, and Dave Rowntree. All lyrics were composed by Albarn.UK and Australasian CD single^[2]

1. "Stereotypes"
2. "The Man Who Left Himself"
3. "Tame"
4. "Ludwig"

UK 7-inch and cassette single^{[3] [4]}

1. "Stereotypes" – 3:11
2. "The Man Who Left Himself" – 3:21
3. "Tame" – 4:47

European CD single^[5]

1. "Stereotypes" – 3:09
2. "The Horrors" – 3:17

Italian CD single^[6]

1. "Stereotypes" – 3:09
2. "The Horrors" – 3:17
3. "A Song" – 1:45
4. "St. Louis" – 3:12

Personnel

• Damon Albarn – lead vocals, synthesizers, organ
• Graham Coxon – electric guitar, backing vocals
• Alex James – bass guitar
• Dave Rowntree – drums

Charts

Chart (1996)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA)^[7]	95
Europe (Eurochart Hot 100)^[8]	34

External links

• Lyrics

Notes and References

1. New Releases: Singles. Music Week. 27. 10 February 1996. 29 June 2021.
2. Stereotypes. Blur. 1996. UK & Australasian CD single liner notes. Food Records, Parlophone. CDFOOD 73, 7243 8 82319 23.
3. Stereotypes. Blur. 1996. UK 7-inch single sleeve. Food Records, Parlophone. FOOD73, 7243 8 82319 7 8.
4. Stereotypes. Blur. 1996. UK cassette single sleeve. Food Records, Parlophone. TCFOOD 73, 7243 8 82319 4 7.
5. Stereotypes. Blur. 1996. European CD single liner notes. Food Records, Parlophone. 7243 8 82888 2 8.
6. Stereotypes. Blur. 1996. Italian CD single liner notes. Food Records, Parlophone. 7243 8 82887 2 9.
7. Book: Ryan, Gavin. Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010. 2011. Moonlight Publishing. Mt. Martha, VIC, Australia.
8. Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Music & Media. 13. 9. 16. 2 March 1996. 14 September 2020.