13 is the sixth album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in March 1999. The album reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and number 80 in the US Billboard 200. 13 spawned three hit singles: Tender, Coffee & TV and No Distance Left to Run.
13 sees the band moving further away from their britpop past into more cerebral and denser musical territory. Some of the songs, however, are evocative of songs from their previous efforts, such as Bugman, Coffee & TV, 1992 and Optigan 1. Much of the album was inspired by Damon Albarn’s breakup with Elastica singer Justine Frischmann. Two of the singles, Tender and No Distance Left to Run, describe Albarn’s love for Frischmann and his struggle to move on. It is named after the band’s recording studio, and also is their first album without longtime producer Stephen Street, rather with electronic producer William Orbit. The cover is a portion of an oil painting by Graham Coxon called Apprentice. The album’s singles also have cover art by Coxon. The numbers 1 and 3 have been painted so they also form the letter ‘B’ – presumably for ‘Blur’.