On 5 December, Albarn announced that Blur would enter another hiatus, saying, “[It’s] time to wrap up this campaign. It’s too much for me.” However, the band accepted a late night phone call offer to play 2024’s Coachella , with management giving them five minutes to decide, prompting Albarn to…
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On 18 May 2023, Blur released ” The Narcissist “, the first single from their ninth studio album The Ballad of Darren . The next day, the band played their first concert in eight years on 19 May 2023 at the Colchester Arts Centre in Colchester . Following the warmup…
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On 14 November 2022, Blur announced that they would perform at Wembley Stadium on 8 July 2023 – their first headline performance since 2015. On 10 February 2023, in line with the reunion, the band collaborated with clothing brand PLEASURES to release a line of items commemorating their 1997 album…
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Blur went on hiatus following the 2015 Magic Whip tour. They briefly reunited in March 2019 for a surprise performance at an Albarn-organized Africa Express event in London.
In April 2015, Blur released their first studio album in twelve years, The Magic Whip . Conceived over five days in Hong Kong after a cancelled Japan tour in 2013, the album was inspired by the city as well. “There’s nothing pastoral about it”, Albarn said, “it’s very urban”. The…
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The Magic Whip received positive reviews. Awarding the album a full five stars, The Daily Telegraph called The Magic Whip “a triumphant comeback that retains the band’s core identity while allowing ideas they’d fermented separately over the past decade to infuse their sound with mature and peculiar new flavour combinations”.…
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In February 2012, Blur were awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the 2012 Brit Awards . Later that month, Albarn and Coxon premiered a new track together live, ” Under the Westway “. In April, the band announced that a box-set entitled Blur 21 —containing all seven Blur…
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In January 2010, No Distance Left to Run , a documentary about the band, was released in cinemas and a month later on DVD. The same month, their 1994 album Parklife was one of ten classic album covers from British artists commemorated on a UK postage stamp issued by the…
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Blur also headlined at other summer festivals, including Oxegen 2009 in Ireland, and the Scottish outdoor show of T in the Park . Their T in the Park headline slot was put in jeopardy after Graham Coxon was admitted to hospital with food poisoning. Ultimately, the band did play, albeit…
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In December 2008, Blur announced they would reunite for a concert at London’s Hyde Park on 3 July 2009. Days later, the band added a second date, for 2 July. A series of June preview shows were also announced, ending at Manchester Evening News arena on the 26th. All the…
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