The Magic Whip

The Magic Whip (stylised in Chinese text as 魔鞭) is the eighth studio album by English rock band Blur. Recorded in Hong Kong and London, it was released by Parlophone in the United Kingdom on 27 April 2015 and a day later by Warner Bros. Records in the United States. It was the band's first studio album in 12 years, marking the longest gap between studio albums in Blur's career, and the first in 16 years since 13 (1999) to have featured the original line-up (Coxon featuring on only one song on Think Tank). The album also marked the return of the band's longtime producer Stephen Street following Blur (1997). The album received acclaim from music critics. It debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart, marking Blur's sixth UK number-one album. It was certified Gold by the British Phonographic Industry (BPI) for sales of over 100,000 copies. It was the first album by the band in North America under Warner Bros., after Blur were transferred from Virgin Records in 2013, following the purchase of EMI and its assets by the Universal Music Group in 2012.