There's No Other Way

The song utilizes a beat and tambourine sound typical of songs of the Madchester and baggy scene.

The video for the song (released 1991) was directed by David Balfe, the former keyboardist for The Teardrop Explodes and owner of Blur's label Food Records. The video was produced by Anita Staines through Radar Films. The video stars John Humphrys as the husband.

The video begins with a close-up shot of a worm inching through the grass. A pink ball is dropped next to the worm and a young girl picks it up, throwing it to her identical sister nearby. The scene cuts inside the dining room/kitchen of a suburban house, with Albarn and the rest of the band sitting down at a table. A woman, assumed to be the mother, sets out dishes on the table with the help of the girls, including a chicken pie, carrots, broccoli, soup, rolls, gravy and new potatoes.

The family is then joined by a man assumed to be the father, and the whole group digs into the meal. During the meal, Albarn will occasionally stop eating, look up at the camera, and sing along to the lyrics.

After dinner has ended, the mother gets up from the table and retrieves a trifle from a cabinet, which she holds up in front of her face. The camera then gets distorted and jerky, the view filling up with a variety of colorful, loud filters applied to the film. The family looks at the mother with a mixture of apprehension and excitement as the film gets more distorted and layered with effects. As the song ends, the camera cuts back to a clear shot of the worm crawling in the grass again.

A U.S. Promo version was released too. It contains the single version of the song which differs from the LP version in the length of the first and second chorus.

The song was the band's first top 10 in the UK, reaching number 8 in the UK Singles Chart.[2] The single was also a minor hit in the US, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot 100, and number five on the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart.[3]

Alan Jones of Music Week awarded the song his 'Pick of the Week', writing: "Blur are bound to break big with this organ-bleeding, guitar-powered, post-psychedelic delight, a dancefloor and radio-friendly monster in the making."[4] Linda Ryan of the Gavin Report called it a "trippy pop song with breathy vocals set to a groovin' housebeat... It's a perfect '60s meets '90s vibe with an undeniable hook that begs for another play."[5] In Smash Hits, Miranda Sawyer said: "[The] song is fab! Lots of guitars and it sounds like the '60s, with a tune that's so catchy that it was very nearly Single Of The Fortnight."[6]

A playable version of the song is available for the Rock Band video game series, and it is available to download for Guitar Hero 5.[7] Kurt Cobain of Nirvana told NME that "There's No Other Way" was his favorite British song of 1991.[8]

All songs were written by Blur.

7" and cassette

1. "There's No Other Way" – 3:14
2. "Inertia"

12"

1. "There's No Other Way" (Extended Version) – 4:04
2. "Inertia" – 3:51
3. "Mr Briggs" – 3:59
4. "I'm All Over" – 2:00

CD

1. "There's No Other Way" – 3:14
2. "Inertia" – 3:51
3. "Mr Briggs" – 3:59
4. "I'm All Over" – 2:00

Remix 12"

1. "There's No Other Way" (Blur Remix) - 5:09
2. "Won't Do It" - 3:19
3. "Day Upon Day" (Live) - 4:02

Blur

• Damon Albarn – lead vocals, organ, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"
• Graham Coxon – guitar, backing vocals, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"
• Alex James – bass guitar, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"
• Dave Rowntree – drums, production on "Inertia", "Mr Briggs", "I'm All Over" and "Won't Do It"

Additional personnel

• Stephen Street – production on "There's No Other Way"

• "There's No Other Way" at MusicBrainz (list of releases)
• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics
• There's No Other Way official video on YouTube