Girls and Boys

"Girls & Boys" was released as the lead single from the band's third album Parklife, on 7 March 1994. Charting at number five in the UK Singles Charts, "Girls & Boys" was Blur's first top 5 hit. In the United States, it reached number fifty-nine on the Billboard Hot 100 singles chart and number four on the Modern Rock songs chart. The video, directed by Kevin Godley, featured Blur performing this song to a backdrop of people on 18-30 package holidays (which the band interspersed into the video). Kevin branded the video as "Page 3 rubbish" while Blur found it "perfect". The front cover of the single was taken from a pack of Durex condoms. The single release also includes a remix of the track by Pet Shop Boys, who later covered the track live on tour in 1994. In 2003, Radiohead frontman Thom Yorke confessed that he wished he had written the song. In 2007, electronic band Blaqk Audio released a cover of the song as a Hot Topic exclusive bonus track for their debut album CexCells. Around that time, perhaps beginning in mid 2006, the song saw a resurgence in popularity in the American Indie Music Scene, being played a lot at dance clubs. Upon the song's release, it was a comeback for the band, who had had a lean commercial period for a couple of years. The song even surpassed the band's past commercial peak by three spots. The song is included on two compilations albums, Blur: The Best of and Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur. The song was covered by the French singer Mélanie Pain in her 2008 album My Name.

Then is here again It's  never been away so don't call it a comeback Happy  days of yore are all destroyed And now it's looking like a sad sack I can't believe that I couldn't see How  many dodgy men were on the TV While  I was growing to a man They took advantage of the fans When  I was a boy They were stars of prime time television But circumstances change And some of them ended up in prison Now,  when they re-run Top Of The Pops Some of the hosts have got the chop I'm sleeping soundly in my bed 'Cos Jimmy Savile's still dead The swinging seventies Used to sit on celebrities knees The nineteen seventies Sat on celebrities knees Speculation began to roam Like M.P.'s through a children's home "How many more", "what did they do" Where were the girls and boys in blue? Now the victims and their families Have retrospective apologies They're told, that was then It isn't now We've slaughtered all those sacred cows Then is here again It's never been away so don't call it a comeback Happy days of yore are all destroyed And now it's looking like a sad sack It's then again Then again