Blur are back

It has been confirmed that they are reuniting for Hyde Park show

09 December 2008 - Rumours have been rife for months now, but now we know for sure that Blur will reform next summer.

For the first time since their Royal Festival Hall show in 2000, the original line-up of Damon Albarn, Alex James, Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree are joining forces.

They will play London’s Hyde Park on 3 July, and according to tabloid rumours, they are set to headline Michael Eavis' iconic festival in June.

However, the Glastonbury organisers said they cannot confirm or deny at this stage whether Blur are on the line-up for next year’s festival.

A statement to the BBC read: “There is lots of speculation about who might or might not be playing next year. We're confident it will be as good as Jay-Z. No headliners have been confirmed.”

They said they will not be announcing the festival headliners until next year at the earliest.

Spreading the love

Speaking about the comeback show, Albarn said: “I think we’ve got an idea of a few songs we’re gonna play, but I think it’s just important to give the clear picture next summer, about what we were about, what got us excited, try and play to our strengths, and spread a little happiness.”

And Graham Coxon said he never forgot the Blur classics: “A lot of the songs have been put into a safe really, in my mind, and I have listened to them occasionally over the years and sat and played them.

“It’s amazing how the memory of these songs is still there.”

"I think it’s just important to give the clear picture next summer, about what we were about, what got us excited...and spread a little happiness."
Damon Albarn

Coxon said it came about after a, “long period of thinking,” and detailed his reasons for climbing aboard the Blur reunion ship, “to play some shows and re-examine some of these live experiences and these songs, and how that all feels.”

The much-loved brit-pop quartet’s last material was their seventh album Think Tank, and it was during its recording in May 2002, that Graham Coxon left.

Albarn and Coxon recently patched things up after being estranged for six years, with arguments between the pair being the catalyst for Blur’s break up in 2003.

In that time, 39 year-old Graham Coxon continued his solo work, releasing two albums since parting ways with Blur.

Meanwhile, 40 year-old Damon Albarn masterminded the hit band, Gorillaz, and his new opera, Monkey Journey To The West with Jamie Hewlett, which is on at the 02 complex at the moment.

Bassist Alex James became a writer, residing at his cheese farm in Oxfordshire and Dave Rowntree, the drummer, had since turned his hand to politics.

Tickets, priced at £45, go on sale from 9am this Friday 12 December from Live Nation.

Georgie Rogers