Post by -Big Dan- on Dec 9, 2008 12:59:29 GMT 1
From Sky News:
Blur have become the latest legendary band to announce they are reforming.
The act announced today that the original line up will perform together at London’s Hyde Park on July 3.
The four-piece have not played live since 2000 after guitarist Graham Coxon left the group after a series of arguments with lead singer and childhood friend Damon Albarn.
Blur carried on as a three piece, releasing the album Think Tank in 2003, but the momentum seemed to quickly drain from the band with all three members admitting they didn’t feel the same without Coxon’s presence.
However, rumours have been persistent that the band would reform if Albarn and Coxon, who met as school children in Colchester, could patch up their differences.
Coxon said: "There were several things I missed about being Blur’s guitarist.
"They’re probably really boring to everyone else but they were things I loved about the show, about playing with Dave and Alex."
The announcement today from concert promoters Live Nation does not announce any dates other than the Hyde Park show.
Lead singer Damon Albarn said they want to show people now what they meant back then.
Albarn said: "We’ve got an idea of a few songs we are going to play. But it’s just important to give a clear picture about what we were about and what got us excited and try to play to our strengths really."
However, rumours have already begun to spread that the band will play a string of dates.
There are strong suggestions that they will headline Glastonbury in 2009 but insiders told Sky News that the rumours were premature.
Headliners for the festival are not normally announced until late March or April and it’s understood that the Eavis family are still in negotiations to book the acts for next year.
While Blur would seem to be a perfect fit for the festival one source said that the rumours are "a case of people putting two and two together and coming up with five".
Organisers are understood to be particularly concerned that Glastonbury does not again become dominated by comment about one act – as happened with the controversy over Jay-Z headlining this summer.
They want to discourage festival goers from buying tickets in the expectation that a performer is booked when no acts have yet been confirmed.
Sky News Entertainment Editor Jon Bennett said the band’s pulling power is only likely to have increased during their time away.
"I think they will be able to headline any arenas or festivals that they fancy next year", he said.
"Blur may not seem that old an act since they were big in the ‘90s but like Take That they have a whole new generation of fans who have grown up hearing songs like Parklife that will want to see them play for the first time.
"They wore the clothes, Damon Albarn’s haircut was copied and liking Blur was like being in a gang," Mr Bennett said.
The songs stand up so Blur have the right to. Hits such as Girls & Boys, Country House, To the End and This is a Low have stood the test of time.
Blur have become the latest legendary band to announce they are reforming.
The act announced today that the original line up will perform together at London’s Hyde Park on July 3.
The four-piece have not played live since 2000 after guitarist Graham Coxon left the group after a series of arguments with lead singer and childhood friend Damon Albarn.
Blur carried on as a three piece, releasing the album Think Tank in 2003, but the momentum seemed to quickly drain from the band with all three members admitting they didn’t feel the same without Coxon’s presence.
However, rumours have been persistent that the band would reform if Albarn and Coxon, who met as school children in Colchester, could patch up their differences.
Coxon said: "There were several things I missed about being Blur’s guitarist.
"They’re probably really boring to everyone else but they were things I loved about the show, about playing with Dave and Alex."
The announcement today from concert promoters Live Nation does not announce any dates other than the Hyde Park show.
Lead singer Damon Albarn said they want to show people now what they meant back then.
Albarn said: "We’ve got an idea of a few songs we are going to play. But it’s just important to give a clear picture about what we were about and what got us excited and try to play to our strengths really."
However, rumours have already begun to spread that the band will play a string of dates.
There are strong suggestions that they will headline Glastonbury in 2009 but insiders told Sky News that the rumours were premature.
Headliners for the festival are not normally announced until late March or April and it’s understood that the Eavis family are still in negotiations to book the acts for next year.
While Blur would seem to be a perfect fit for the festival one source said that the rumours are "a case of people putting two and two together and coming up with five".
Organisers are understood to be particularly concerned that Glastonbury does not again become dominated by comment about one act – as happened with the controversy over Jay-Z headlining this summer.
They want to discourage festival goers from buying tickets in the expectation that a performer is booked when no acts have yet been confirmed.
Sky News Entertainment Editor Jon Bennett said the band’s pulling power is only likely to have increased during their time away.
"I think they will be able to headline any arenas or festivals that they fancy next year", he said.
"Blur may not seem that old an act since they were big in the ‘90s but like Take That they have a whole new generation of fans who have grown up hearing songs like Parklife that will want to see them play for the first time.
"They wore the clothes, Damon Albarn’s haircut was copied and liking Blur was like being in a gang," Mr Bennett said.
The songs stand up so Blur have the right to. Hits such as Girls & Boys, Country House, To the End and This is a Low have stood the test of time.
