Songfacts®:

• This song is about a drug (perhaps Prozac) that provides artificial happiness. >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Tiffani - Winnipeg, Canada
• At the time of the release of this song, "Britpop" was attempting to encapsulate all things British in its music and thus create a sort of soundtrack for the time. John Harris said in his book The Last Party: "Blur's 'The Universal' identified a condition of tranquilized (and very British) denial as the illness of the modern age."
• The title came from the name of an 'Imagined successor to Prozac,' meaning one that reduces the suspicion that anything has gone wrong.
• The video was based on the film A Clockwork Orange. However, at the time, guitarist Graham Coxon was becoming increasingly uncomfortable with Blur's success and the direction in which their music was going. There was also some discord between him and the other bandmembers. When the video was being filmed he would frequently arrive for the shoot several hours late and rarely stayed for more than an hour. Alex James (bass) said: "We didn't think Graham was going to turn up. In most of that video, all the long shots Graham's in, it's not actually him." >>>

  Suggestion credit:
  Radhika - Melbourne, Australia, for above 3
• The song was used to soundtrack British Gas' 2009 Planets advertising campaign and has since been used by the company for multiple commercials.