63. ‘Badhead’

On ‘Parklife’. Produced by Stephen Street.

In its understated way, ‘Badhead’ is a minor triumph. It is full of musical treats like the modal horn arrangement at the start (which reappears in the background on each chorus) and the baroque organ twirl, which occurs at 0.28 and then at intervals throughout. Although Blur make extensive use of the Vintage Keys keyboard module (a collection of obsolete keyboard samples), the Mellotron in the instrumental bridge is a real one. “It’s good for a hangover,” Graham says of ‘Badhead’, “like Nick Drake is good for a hangover. There’s nothing abrasive about it.” “Nice tune,” concurs Alex.