View source for Parklife

{{About|the 1994 studio album by Blur|its title track|Parklife (song)|the annual music festival in Manchester, England|Parklife (festival)}}
{{Other uses|Parklife (disambiguation)}}
{{Use British English|date=September 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2022}}
{{Infobox album
| name       = Parklife
| type       = studio
| artist     = [[Blur (band)|Blur]]
| cover      = BlurParklife.jpg
| alt        =
| released   = 25 April 1994
| recorded   = August 1993 – February 1994
| studio     = *Maison Rouge, [[Fulham]], London
*[[RAK Studios|RAK]], London
| genre      = [[Britpop]]
| length     = 52:40
| label      = [[Food Records|Food]]
| producer   = {{hlist|[[Stephen Street]]|[[Stephen Hague]]|John Smith|Blur}}
| prev_title = [[Modern Life Is Rubbish]]
| prev_year  = 1993
| next_title = [[The Great Escape (Blur album)|The Great Escape]]
| next_year  = 1995
| misc       = {{Singles
 | name        = Parklife
 | type        = studio
 | single1     = [[Girls & Boys (Blur song)|Girls & Boys]]
 | single1date = 7 March 1994<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=[[Music Week]]|page=21|date=5 March 1994}}</ref>
 | single2     = [[To the End (Blur song)|To the End]]
 | single2date = 30 May 1994<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Music Week|page=25|date=28 May 1994}} ''Misprinted as 29 May on source''.</ref>
 | single3     = [[Parklife (song)|Parklife]]
 | single3date = 22 August 1994<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.radiox.co.uk/artists/blur/phil-daniels-talks-story-how-paid-parklife/|title=This how Phil Daniels got paid for Blur's Parklife single...|publisher=[[Radio X (United Kingdom)|Radio X]]|date=14 August 2020|access-date=6 March 2022}}</ref>
 | single4     = [[End of a Century]]
 | single4date = 7 November 1994<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Single Releases|magazine=Music Week|page=23|date=5 November 1994}}</ref>
 | single5     = Tracy Jacks
 | single5date = December 1994 (US)
}}
}}

'''''Parklife''''' is the third studio album by the English [[Rock music|rock]] band [[Blur (band)|Blur]], released on 25 April 1994, by [[Food Records]]. After moderate sales for their previous album ''[[Modern Life Is Rubbish]]'' (1993), ''Parklife'' returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "[[Girls & Boys (Blur song)|Girls & Boys]]", "[[To the End (Blur song)|To the End]]", "[[Parklife (song)|Parklife]]" and "[[End of a Century]]".

Certified four times platinum in the United Kingdom by the [[British Phonographic Industry]] (BPI),<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-27167392 |title=Damon Albarn on Blur's Parklife, 20 years on |publisher=[[BBC News]] |date=26 April 2014 |access-date=25 October 2016}}</ref> the album came to define the emerging [[Britpop]] scene in the year following its release, along with the album ''[[Definitely Maybe]]'' by future rivals [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]]. Britpop in turn would form the backbone of the broader [[Cool Britannia]] movement. ''Parklife'' therefore has attained a cultural significance beyond its considerable sales and critical acclaim, cementing its status as a landmark in British rock music.<ref>{{cite news |last1=McMillan |first1=Graeme |title=Parklife Is the Cornerstone of Britpop, But It Shouldn't Be |url=https://time.com/75615/parklife-blur-britpop-20th-anniversary/ |access-date=25 January 2021 |work=Time |date=28 April 2014 |quote="[''Parklife''] . . . was also the album many people point to as Ground Zero for what soon became known as Britpop. . . . "Cool Britannia" was a phrase uttered without sarcasm. Blur, and the Parklife album in particular, were the heart of that."}}</ref>

In 2010, ''Parklife'' was one of ten album covers from English artists [[Great Britain commemorative stamps 2010–2019#2010|commemorated on a UK postage stamp]] issued by the [[Royal Mail]].<ref>{{cite news |date=7 January 2010|title=Royal Mail unveil classic album cover stamps |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/royal-mail-unveil-classic-album-cover-stamps-1860738.html |access-date=23 September 2022 |work=The Independent|author-first1=John|author-last1=Hall}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Royal Mail puts classic albums on to stamps|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/gallery/2009/nov/21/guidelines-rock-stamp-album-covers |access-date=23 September 2022 |work=The Guardian}}</ref> In 2015, ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]'' included the album in their list of "The 300 Best Albums of 1985–2014".<ref>{{cite journal|title=The 300 best albums of the past 30 years(1985-2014) |journal=Spin|url=https://www.spin.com/2015/05/the-300-best-albums-of-the-past-30-years-1985-2014/3/ |date=11 May 2015 |access-date=14 March 2021}}</ref> ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' magazine ranked the album number 438 in its 2020 list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]".<ref name=":0" />

To commemorate the album's 30th anniversary, it was released as a zoetrope [[picture disc]] for [[Record Store Day|Record Store Day 2024]].<ref>{{Cite web |last= |first= |date=2024-02-18 |title=blur's Parklife 30th Anniversary Special Edition Coming On Record Store Day |url=https://www.antimusic.com/news/24/0218blurs_parklife_30th_anniversary_special_edition_coming_on_record_store_day.shtml |access-date=2025-09-08 |website=www.antimusic.com |language=en}}</ref>

==Recording==
In 1990, a year before Blur's debut album, [[Damon Albarn]], the band's vocalist, had told a group of music journalists, "When our third album comes out, our place as the quintessential English band of the '90s will be assured. That is a simple statement of fact. I intend to write it in 1994."<ref>{{cite magazine |title=England's Dreaming |magazine=[[Mojo (magazine)|Mojo]] |issue=7 |date=June 1994 |last=Cavanagh |first=David |author-link=David Cavanagh |page=66}}</ref>

After the completion of recording sessions for Blur's previous album, ''[[Modern Life Is Rubbish]]'', Albarn began to write prolifically. Blur demoed Albarn's new songs in groups of twos and threes.<ref name="spl">{{cite magazine |title=How did they do that? – Parklife |magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |issue=59 |date=May 1995 |last1=Cavanagh |first1=David |author-link1=David Cavanagh |last2=Maconie |first2=Stuart |author-link2=Stuart Maconie}}</ref> Due to their precarious financial position at the time, Blur quickly went back into the studio with producer [[Stephen Street]] to record their third album.<ref>Harris, p. 97</ref> Blur met at the Maison Rouge recording studio in August 1993 to record their next album.<ref name="spl" /> The recording was a relatively fast process, apart from the song "[[This Is a Low]]".

While the members of Blur were pleased with the final result, Food Records owner [[David Balfe]] was not, telling the band's management "This is a mistake". Soon afterwards, Balfe sold Food to [[EMI]].<ref>Harris, p. 139</ref>

==Music==
Blur frontman [[Damon Albarn]] told ''[[NME]]'' in 1994, "For me, ''Parklife'' is like a loosely linked concept album involving all these different stories. It's the travels of the mystical lager-eater, seeing what's going on in the world and commenting on it." Albarn cited the [[Martin Amis]] novel ''[[London Fields (novel)|London Fields]]'' as a major influence on the album.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Sweeney |first=Eamon |title=Damon Albarn interview: ‘I think my life has been a bit too colourful to be quite ready for an autobiography’ |url=https://www.businesspost.ie/culture/damon-albarn-interview-i-think-my-life-has-been-a-bit-too-colourful-to-be-quite-ready-for-an-autobiography-756231e5 |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=Business Post |language=en |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308224512/https://www.businesspost.ie/culture/damon-albarn-interview-i-think-my-life-has-been-a-bit-too-colourful-to-be-quite-ready-for-an-autobiography-756231e5 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Oasis (band)|Oasis]] guitarist [[Noel Gallagher]] was once quoted saying that ''Parklife'' was, "Like Southern England personified".<ref>{{cite magazine |title=We Can Be Eros Just For One Day |magazine=[[NME]] |date=5 March 1994 |last=Moody |first=Paul}}</ref> The songs themselves span many genres, such as the [[synthpop]]-influenced hit single "[[Girls & Boys (Blur song)|Girls & Boys]]", the instrumental [[waltz]] interlude of "The Debt Collector", the punk rock-influenced "Bank Holiday", the spacey, [[Syd Barrett]]-esque "Far Out",<ref name="bbc review">{{cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/q94h/ |title=Review of Blur – Parklife |publisher=[[BBC Music]] |date=23 April 2007 |access-date=4 December 2011 |last=Easlea |first=Daryl}}</ref> and the fairly [[New wave music|new wave]]-influenced "Trouble in the Message Centre". Journalist John Harris commented that while many of the album's songs "reflected Albarn's claims to a bittersweet take on the UK's human patchwork", several songs, including "[[To the End (Blur song)|To the End]]" (featuring [[Lætitia Sadier]] of [[Stereolab]]) and "Badhead" "lay in a much more personal space".<ref>Harris, p. 140</ref>

==Title and cover==
The album was originally going to be entitled ''London'' and the album cover shot was going to be of a fruit-and-vegetable cart. Albarn stated tongue-in-cheek, "That was the last time that [[David Balfe|Dave Balfe]] was, sort of, privy to any decision or creative process with us, and that was his final contribution: to call it ''London''".<ref>''Essential Albums of the 90s: Blur – Parklife'' BBC/6music. Aired on 10 November 2010.</ref> The cover depicts the British pastime of [[greyhound racing]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/1278/Blur-Parklife/ |title=Blur – Parklife (album review) |website=Sputnikmusic |date=16 January 2005 |access-date=24 January 2012 |author=}}</ref> Most of the pictures in the CD booklet are of the band in the greyhound racing venue [[Walthamstow Stadium]], although the actual cover was not shot there.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nme.com/news/blur/36730 |title=Dog track that inspired Blur's 'Parklife' album art to close |magazine=[[NME]] |date=20 May 2008 |access-date=24 December 2011}}</ref> The [[album cover]] for ''Parklife'' was among the ten chosen by the [[Royal Mail]] for a set of "Classic Album Cover" postage stamps issued in January 2010.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=32300674&mediaId=112400790 |title=Classic Album Covers: Issue Date – 7 January 2010 |publisher=[[Royal Mail]] |access-date=8 January 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219004400/http://www.royalmail.com/portal/stamps/content1?catId=32300674&mediaId=112400790 |archive-date=19 February 2012 |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2010/jan/08/coldplay-album-stamp-approval |title=Coldplay album gets stamp of approval from Royal Mail |newspaper=[[The Guardian]] |date=8 January 2010 |access-date=8 January 2010 |last=Michaels |first=Sean}}</ref>

==Reception==
{{Music ratings
| subtitle = Initial reviews (in 1994)
| rev1      = ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''
| rev1score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref name="chicagotribune">{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/1994/07/07/brilliant-brits/ |title=Brilliant Brits |newspaper=[[Chicago Tribune]]|date=7 July 1994 |access-date=18 November 2015 |last=Kot |first=Greg |author-link=Greg Kot}}</ref>
| rev2      = ''[[Los Angeles Times]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|3.5|4}}<ref name="latimes">{{cite news |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1994-06-19-ca-5736-story.html |title=Blur, 'Parklife,' SBK/ERG |newspaper=[[Los Angeles Times]] |date=19 June 1994 |access-date=18 November 2015 |last=Hochman |first=Steve}}</ref>
| rev3      = ''[[Music Week]]''
| rev3score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine|first=Martin|last=Aston|url=https://www.worldradiohistory.com/UK/Music-Week/1994/Music-Week-1994-04-23.pdf|title=Market Preview: Alternative - Pick of the Week|magazine=[[Music Week]]|date=23 April 1994|page=20|access-date=28 April 2025}}</ref>
| rev4      = ''[[NME]]''
| rev4score = 9/10<ref name="nme">{{cite magazine |url=http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000313reviews.html |title=Blur – Parklife |magazine=[[NME]] |date=23 April 1994 |access-date=17 June 2020 |last=Dee |first=Johnny |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000817222943/http://www.nme.com/reviews/reviews/19980101000313reviews.html |archive-date=17 August 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev5      = ''[[Q (magazine)|Q]]''
| rev5score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.qonline.co.uk/reviews/server.asp?id=13148 |title=Blur: Parklife |magazine=[[Q (magazine)|Q]] |issue=93 |date=June 1994 |access-date=11 April 2019 |last=Maconie |first=Stuart |author-link=Stuart Maconie |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000422092623/http://www.qonline.co.uk/reviews/server.asp?id=13148 |archive-date=22 April 2000 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
| rev6      = ''[[Rolling Stone]]''
| rev6score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref name="RS">{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/parklife-19940630 |title=Parklife |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=30 June 1994 |access-date=24 May 2012 |last=Evans |first=Paul}}</ref>
| rev7      = ''[[Select (magazine)|Select]]''
| rev7score = {{rating|5|5|full=U+25A0.svg|empty=U+25A1.svg|rating=medal}}<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://selectmagazinescans.monkeon.co.uk/showpage.php?file=wp-content/uploads/2013/02/albums6.jpg |title=Yobs for the Boys |magazine=[[Select (magazine)|Select]] |issue=48 |date=June 1994 |access-date=31 December 2016 |last=Harrison |first=Andrew |pages=84–85}}</ref>
}}
{{Music ratings
| subtitle = Retrospective reviews (after 1994)
| rev1      = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1score = {{Rating|5|5}}<ref name="allmusic">{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/parklife-mw0000624951 |title=Parklife – Blur |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=1 November 2007 |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |author-link=Stephen Thomas Erlewine}}</ref>
| rev2      = ''[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music]]''
| rev2score = {{Rating|4|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Blur |title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |title-link=Encyclopedia of Popular Music |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]] |edition=5th concise |year=2011 |isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>
| rev3      = ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]''
| rev3score = 9.5/10<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/16877-blur-21/ |title=Blur: Blur 21 |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=31 July 2012 |access-date=18 November 2015 |last=Zoladz |first=Lindsay}}</ref>
| rev4      = ''[[The Rolling Stone Album Guide]]''
| rev4score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Blur |last=Randall |first=Mac |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=t9eocwUfoSoC&pg=PA89 |access-date=26 March 2017 |title=The New Rolling Stone Album Guide |title-link=The Rolling Stone Album Guide |editor1-last=Brackett |editor1-first=Nathan |editor2-last=Hoard |editor2-first=Christian |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |edition=4th |year=2004 |isbn=0-7432-0169-8 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/newrollingstonea00brac/page/89 89–90]}}</ref>
}}<!--List Automatically Moved by DASHBot-->
''Parklife'' was met with critical acclaim. Johnny Dee, reviewing ''Parklife'' for ''[[NME]]'', called it "a great pop record", adding "On paper it sounds like hell, in practice it's joyous."<ref name="nme"/> Paul Evans of ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' stated that with "one of this year's best albums", the band "realize their cheeky ambition: to reassert all the style and wit, boy bonding and stardom aspiration that originally made British rock so dazzling."<ref name="RS"/> Conversely, [[Robert Christgau]] of ''[[The Village Voice]]'' indicated that the only good song on the album was "Girls & Boys".<ref name="christgau">{{cite news |url=http://www.robertchristgau.com/xg/cg/cgv595-95.php |title=Consumer Guide |newspaper=[[The Village Voice]] |date=6 June 1995 |access-date=18 November 2015 |last=Christgau |first=Robert |author-link=Robert Christgau}}</ref>

''Parklife'' remains one of the most acclaimed albums of the 1990s. In a retrospective review, [[AllMusic]]'s [[Stephen Thomas Erlewine]] commented: "By tying the past and the present together, Blur articulated the mid-'90s zeitgeist and produced an epoch-defining record."<ref name="allmusic"/>

===Commercial performance===
Upon release, ''Parklife'' debuted at number one on the [[UK Albums Chart]] and stayed on the chart for 90 weeks.<ref name="ukchart">{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/19177/blur/ |title=Blur |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref><ref>Harris, p. 142</ref> It reached number six on the ''[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]'' [[Top Heatseekers]] album chart in the United States.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/parklife-mw0000624951/awards |title=Parklife – Blur – Charts & Awards |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref> In the UK it sold 27,000 copies in its first week and would see a resurgence in sales the week before Christmas of 1994, with weekly sales of 40,000.<ref name="OCC">{{cite web |url=https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/official-charts-flashback-1994-blur-parklife__4770/ |title=Official Charts Flashback 1994: Blur – Parklife |publisher=[[Official Charts Company]] |date=2 May 2014 |access-date=14 November 2018 |last=Myers |first=Justin}}</ref> ''Parklife'' is Blur's bestselling studio album in the UK, with just over a million copies sold.<ref name="OCC"/>

===Accolades===
''Parklife'' has received accolades since its official release and is largely seen as one of the best albums of the 1990s. The album was nominated to the 1994 [[Mercury Prize]], but it lost to [[M People]]'s ''[[Elegant Slumming]]''.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/cries--whispers-1449544.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220525/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/cries--whispers-1449544.html |archive-date=25 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Cries & Whispers |newspaper=[[The Independent]] |date=18 September 1994 |access-date=10 June 2009 |last=Hughes |first=Jack}}</ref> Blur also won four awards at the 1995 [[Brit Awards]], including Best British Album for ''Parklife''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1995 |title=The BRITs 1995 |publisher=[[Brit Awards]] |access-date=4 December 2011 |archive-date=12 November 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111112052136/http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/1995 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The album was listed as one of the ''[[1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die]]''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/1001Albums.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100307071743/http://www.rocklistmusic.co.uk/1001Albums.htm |url-status=usurped |archive-date=7 March 2010 |title=1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die |publisher=rocklist.net |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>

In 2000 it was voted number 95 in [[Colin Larkin]]'s ''[[All Time Top 1000 Albums]]''.<ref name="Larkin">{{cite book |title=All Time Top 1000 Albums |title-link=All Time Top 1000 Albums |last=Larkin |first=Colin |author-link=Colin Larkin |publisher=[[Virgin Books]] |edition=3rd |year=2000 |isbn=0-7535-0493-6 |page=73}}</ref> He stated "''Parklife'' was a stunning album of high-quality, undeniably English pop."

In 2003, ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'' placed the album at number 54 on their ''Top 100 Albums of the 1990s'' list.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/staff-lists/5923-top-100-albums-of-the-1990s/5/ |title=Top 100 Albums of the 1990s |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=17 November 2003 |access-date=1 May 2015 |page=5}}</ref> In 2006, ''[[British Hit Singles & Albums]]'' and ''[[NME]]'' organised a poll of which, 40,000 people worldwide voted for the 100 best albums ever and ''Parklife'' was placed at number 34 on the list.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/oasis-678-1355677 |title=Best album of all time revealed |magazine=[[NME]] |date=1 June 2006 |access-date=17 June 2020}}</ref> The album has been hailed as a "Britpop classic".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.metacritic.com/feature/gorillaz-contributors-and-discography |title=Inside the Gorillaverse: A Look at Alt-Rock's Best Cartoon Band |publisher=[[Metacritic]] |date=2 March 2010 |access-date=24 December 2011 |last=Dietz |first=Jason |archive-date=30 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201030075919/https://www.metacritic.com/feature/gorillaz-contributors-and-discography |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In April 2014, American [[LGBT]] magazine ''[[Metro Weekly]]'' ranked the album at number 29 in its list of the "50 Best Alternative Albums of the 90s".<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.metroweekly.com/2014/04/50-best-alternative-albums-of-the-90s/ |title=50 Best Alternative Albums of the '90s |magazine=[[Metro Weekly]] |date=4 April 2014 |access-date=31 December 2016 |last=Gerard |first=Chris}}</ref> In July 2014, ''[[Guitar World]]'' placed ''Parklife'' in its "Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994" list.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994 |title=Superunknown: 50 Iconic Albums That Defined 1994 |magazine=[[Guitar World]] |date=14 July 2014 |access-date=14 July 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140715053900/http://www.guitarworld.com/superunknown-50-iconic-albums-defined-1994 |archive-date=15 July 2014 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The album was ranked at number 171 on ''[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]]''{{'}}s "The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014)" list.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.spin.com/2015/05/the-300-best-albums-of-the-past-30-years-1985-2014/3/ |title=The 300 Best Albums of the Past 30 Years (1985–2014) |magazine=[[Spin (magazine)|Spin]] |date=11 May 2015 |access-date=6 August 2015 |last=Unterberger |first=Andrew |page=3}}</ref> In 2017, ''Pitchfork'' listed the album at number two in its list "The 50 Best Britpop Albums".<ref>{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/lists-and-guides/10045-the-50-best-britpop-albums/?page=5 |title=The 50 Best Britpop Albums |website=[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]] |date=29 March 2017 |access-date=30 May 2017 |page=5}}</ref> In 2020, ''[[Rolling Stone]]'' ranked the album at number 438 in their list of the "[[Rolling Stone's 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|500 Greatest Albums of All Time]]".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|work=Rolling Stone|date=22 September 2020|title=The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-lists/best-albums-of-all-time-1062063/|access-date=22 September 2020|language=en-US}}</ref>

==Track listing==
{{Track listing
|all_lyrics = [[Damon Albarn]], except for "Far Out" by [[Alex James (musician)|Alex James]]
|all_music = Damon Albarn, [[Graham Coxon]], Alex James and [[Dave Rowntree]]
|title1 = [[Girls & Boys (Blur song)|Girls & Boys]]
|length1 = 4:50
|title2 = Tracy Jacks
|length2 = 4:20
|title3 = [[End of a Century]]
|length3 = 2:46
|title4 = [[Parklife (song)|Parklife]]
|note4 = featuring [[Phil Daniels]]
|length4 = 3:05
|title5 = Bank Holiday
|length5 = 1:42
|title6 = Badhead
|length6 = 3:25
|title7 = The Debt Collector
|length7 = 2:10
|note7 = instrumental
|title8 = Far Out
|length8 = 1:41
|title9 = [[To the End (Blur song)|To the End]]
|length9 = 4:05
|title10 = London Loves
|length10 = 4:15
|title11 = Trouble in the Message Centre
|length11 = 4:09
|title12 = Clover Over Dover
|length12 = 3:22
|title13 = Magic America
|length13 = 3:38
|title14 = Jubilee
|length14 = 2:48
|title15 = [[This Is a Low]]
|length15 = 5:07
|title16 = Lot 105
|length16 = 1:17
| total_length = 52:40
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Japanese edition bonus track
| title17  = Girls & Boys
| note17 = [[Pet Shop Boys]] 12" remix
| length17 = 7:16
| total_length = 59:56
}}
{{track listing
| headline = ''[[Blur 21]]'' box set (2012) – ''Parklife'' bonus material disc
|all_lyrics = Albarn, except "Red Necks" written by Coxon, and "Alex's Song" written by James
|all_music = Albarn, Coxon, James and Rowntree, except "Alex's Song", written by James
| title17 = Magpie
| length17 = 4:16
| title18 = Anniversary Waltz
| length18 = 1:23
| title19 = People in Europe
| length19 = 3:28
| title20 = Peter Panic
| length20 = 4:22
| title21 = [[Girls & Boys (Blur song)|Girls and Boys]]
| note21 = Pet Shop Boys 12" remix
| length21 = 7:17
| title22 = Threadneedle Street
| length22 = 3:18
| title23 = Got Yer!
| length23 = 1:48
| title24 = Beard
| length24 = 1:45
| title25 = [[To the End (Blur song)|To the End]]
| note25 = French version
| length25 = 4:06
| title26 = Supa Shoppa
| length26 = 3:02
| title27 = Theme from an Imaginary Film
| length27 = 3:35
| title28 = Red Necks
| length28 = 2:54
| title29 = Alex's Song
| length29 = 2:45
| title30 = Jubilee 
| note30 = acoustic BBC live version
| length30 = 2:33
| title31 = [[Parklife (song)|Parklife]] 
| note31 = acoustic BBC live version
| length31 = 3:00
| title32 = [[End of a Century]]
| note32 = acoustic version
| length32 = 2:44
}}
{{Track listing
| headline = Japanese edition bonus track
| title33 = [[Girls & Boys (Blur song)|Girls & Boys]]
| note33 = demo version
| length33 = 4:54
}}
;Bonus disc notes
*17 to 20 from "Girls and Boys" single (March 1994)
*21 to 23 from "To the End" single (May 1994)
*24 to 27 from "Parklife" single (August 1994)
*28 and 29 from "End of a Century" single (November 1994)
*30 and 31 previously unreleased BBC Radio 1 – [[Simon Mayo]], 1994
*32 from "End of a Century" Spanish CD Promo
*33 is previously unreleased

==Personnel==
===Blur===
* [[Damon Albarn]] – lead and backing vocals, piano, [[Hammond organ]], [[Mellotron]], [[Moog synthesizer|Moog synthesiser]], [[melodica]], [[vibraphone]], recorder, [[programming (music)|programming]], [[harpsichord]], [[string synthesiser]] 
* [[Graham Coxon]] – electric and acoustic guitars, backing vocals, clarinet, saxophone, percussion
* [[Alex James (musician)|Alex James]] – bass guitar, vocals on "Far Out", crowd noise
* [[Dave Rowntree]] – drums, percussion, programming, crowd noise

{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Additional musicians===
* [[Stephen Street]] – synthesiser (credited as "vintage" keys), sound effects, programming
* [[Lætitia Sadier]] – vocals on "[[To the End (Blur song)|To the End]]"
* [[Phil Daniels]] – narration on "[[Parklife (song)|Parklife]]"
* Stephen Hague – accordion on "To the End"

'''String quartet'''
* Chris Tombling
* Audrey Riley
* Leo Payne MBE
* Chris Pitsillides

{{col-2}}
'''Duke strings'''
* Louisa Fuller – violin
* Rick Koster – violin
* Mark {{Not a typo|Pharoah}} – violin{{citation needed|date=August 2012}}
* [[John Metcalfe (composer)|John Metcalfe]] – string arrangement, viola
* Ivan McCready – cello

'''Kick horns'''
* [[Richard Edwards (musician)|Richard Edwards]] – trombone
* [[Roddy Lorimer]] – flugelhorn, trombone
* [[Tim Sanders (musician)|Tim Sanders]] – tenor sax, soprano sax
* Simon Clarke – baritone sax, alto sax, flute<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.allmusic.com/album/parklife-r202255/credits |title= Parklife – Blur – Credits |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=4 December 2011}}</ref>
{{col-end}}

==Charts and certifications==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}

===Weekly charts===
{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Chart (1994)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
{{album chart|Australia|45|artist=Blur|album=Parklife|rowheader="true"|refname=AUS}}
|-
{{album chart|Canada|41|artist=Blur|album=Parklife|chartid=2507|rowheader="true"}}
|-
!scope="row"|[[European Top 100 Albums|European Albums]] (''[[Music & Media]]'')<ref>{{cite book|url=https://archive.org/details/bub_gb_TAgEAAAAMBAJ|quote=blur.|title=Billboard|date=21 May 1994|via=Internet Archive}}</ref>
| 8
|-
!scope="row"|Finnish Albums ([[Suomen virallinen lista]])<ref>source:
Pennanen, Timo: Sisältää hitin – levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla vuodesta 1972. Helsinki: Kustannusosakeyhtiö Otava, 2006. {{ISBN|978-951-1-21053-5}}. page: 280</ref>
| 32
|-
!scope="row"|Icelandic Albums ([[Tónlist]])<ref>{{cite web|url=http://timarit.is/files/33257160.jpg|title=Tonlist Top 40|publisher=DV|language=is|access-date=8 June 2017}}</ref>
|align="center"|4
|-
!scope="row"|Irish Albums ([[Irish Recorded Music Association|IRMA]])<ref>{{cite web|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9A0EAAAAMBAJ&q=blur|title=Billboard|date=23 September 1995|via=Google Books}}</ref>
| 3
|-
!scope="row"|Japanese Albums ([[Oricon]])<ref name="JPN">{{cite web|title=パーク・ライフ {{!}} ブラー|trans-title=Parklife {{!}} Blur |url=https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/143957/products/265541/1/|publisher=[[Oricon]]|language=ja|access-date=16 October 2012}}</ref>
| 36
|-
{{album chart|New Zealand|27|artist=Blur|album=Parklife|rowheader="true"|refname=NZL}}
|-
{{album chart|Norway|37|artist=Blur|album=Parklife|rowheader="true"|refname=NOR}}
|-
{{album chart|Sweden|8|artist=Blur|album=Parklife|rowheader="true"|refname=SWE}}
|-
{{album chart|UK|1|artist=Blur|rowheader="true"}}
|-
|}

{| class="wikitable sortable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|-
!Chart (2024)
!Peak<br/>position
|-
! scope="row"| Hungarian Physical Albums ([[Association of Hungarian Record Companies|MAHASZ]])<ref>{{cite web |title=Album Top 40 slágerlista (fizikai hanghordozók) – 2024. 17. hét |url=https://slagerlistak.hu/album-top-40-slagerlista-fizikai-hanghordozok/2024/17 |publisher=[[Association of Hungarian Record Companies|MAHASZ]] |access-date=2 May 2024}}</ref>
| 10
|-
|}
{{col-2}}

===Certifications and sales===
{{Certification Table Top}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Canada|artist=Blur|title=Parklife|relyear=1994|type=album|award=Gold|certyear=1996}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=United Kingdom|artist=Blur|title=Park Life|relyear=1994|type=album|award=Platinum|number=4|id=5002-388-2}}
{{Certification Table Summary}}
{{Certification Table Entry|region=Europe|artist=Blur|title=Parklife|relyear=1994|type=album|award=Platinum|certyear=1996}}
{{Certification Table Bottom }}
{{col-end}}

==References==
* {{cite book |last=Harris |first=John |author-link=John Harris (critic) |title=Britpop! Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock |publisher=[[Da Capo Press]] |year=2004 |isbn=0-306-81367-X}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
<!-- This is a licensed stream for the album, which is allowed under Wikipedia polices -->
*[https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLq6LLq4DHMbvI_DTijYaVV4fnfEH_PwtU ''Parklife''] at [[YouTube]] (streamed copy where licensed)
* {{Discogs master|type=album|94761|name=Parklife}}

{{Blur}}
{{Brit British Album}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Albums produced by Damon Albarn]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Stephen Street]]
[[Category:Blur (band) albums]]
[[Category:Food Records albums]]
[[Category:1990s concept albums]]
[[Category:1994 albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Stephen Hague]]
[[Category:Albums recorded at RAK Studios]]
[[Category:Brit Award for British Album of the Year]]
[[Category:Record Store Day releases]]