Songfacts®:

• "End of a Century" describes a relationship gradually losing its spark as the couple ages and grows apart. In an interview with Select in 1995, frontman Damon Albarn explained that the song is about "how couples get into staying in and staring at each other. Only, instead of candlelight, it's the TV light."
• The opening line of this song, "She says there's ants in the carpet, dirty little monsters/Eatin' all the morsels, pickin' up the rubbish," was written by Justine Frischmann, the lead singer of Elastica and Albarn's girlfriend at the time. Frischmann came up with the line after their London flat became infested with the critters.
• "End Of A Century" was produced by Stephen Street. Prior to Blur, Street made a name for himself working with The Smiths, producing Morrissey and co.'s final album, Strangeways, Here We Come. Street loved this song, believing it showcased Albarn's potential for greatness. As he told Select in 1995, "End of a Century" was "Damon getting the art of songwriting really sorted."
• The official video was shot at Alexandra Palace in London on October 7, 1994. Directed by Matthew Longfellow, it's part of a larger concert film called Showtime. Initially it was exclusively released on VHS, but the concert went on to gain a cult following and fans successfully campaigned for its release on DVD in 2012.
• "End Of A Century" is a live staple for Blur. As part of a Parklife listening party on X (formerly known as Twitter) in 2020, drummer Dave Rowntree shared: "I love playing this live because of the big, anthemic brass section in the chorus."
• During a performance of "End Of A Century" at Hyde Park in London as part of the 2012 Summer Olympics celebrations, Albarn made a subtle lyrical alteration. Instead of singing the original line, "The mind gets dirty as you get closer to 30," the 44-year-old frontman was heard modifying it to, "As you get closer to 50." This version of the song can be found on the live album Parklive.
• "End Of The Century" served as the final single from Parklife. With its Star Trek-referencing cover art, the song reached #19 on the UK chart, making it the album's lowest-charting single. Albarn subsequently revealed he'd have preferred to have released "This Is A Low" as the last single.
• Parklife is Blur's third album. It's considered by the band to be the second part of a loose trilogy, with Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993) as the first part and The Great Escape (1995) as the third part. Blur's manager at the time, Dave Balfe, suggested calling the album London and featuring a fruit-and-vegetable cart on the front cover. "That was the last time that Dave Balfe was, sort of, privy to any decision or creative process with us," Albarn commented to BBC Radio 6 Music in 2010.