Reformed Britipop legends Blur are well and truly on the comeback trail after playing a show in London Gioldsmith’s College.
Blur went a long way to defining British pop in the 90s. After their baggy origins the band forged the Britpop template with their celebrated album ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’, going on to find fame as the emblems of Southern working class life.
However the band soon tired of this and, led by guitarist Graham Coxon, turned towards underground American rock for inspiration. Their 1997 album ‘Blur’ was a stunning reinvention and spawned ‘Song 2’ – their biggest Stateside track.
But the creative partnership that drove the group could not continue. Amid increasing solo projects Graham Coxon walked out of the band he helped form in 2002, leaving Blur to stumble on for just one more album.
Yet the band surprised everyone by putting aside their differences at the tail end of last year. Announcing two enormous shows in London’s Hyde Park the Blur re-union was a major talking point, with the band also confirming a number of small shows.
Having played the East Anglian Railway Museum in Colchester – scene of their first ever show – the band played a sensational in store at Rough Trade East. Launching their new ‘Best Of’ collection, Blur hopped onstage to give fans a taste of what they had been missing.
Last night (June 22nd) the band played a show in London Goldsmith’s College, the school where Graham Coxon and bass player Alex James met. Opening with debut single ‘She’s So High’ singer Damon Albarn was keen to look back.
“I remember this place being cavernous,” he recalled, “running around when there were bands on. It seems a lot smaller now.”
After playing ‘Country House’ the frontman paused to say “it’s truly what it used to be like”. He then referenced the dry ice effects, adding: “Except we never used to be able to afford that excessive smoke.”
Blur ended with ‘This Is A Low’ before returning for a five song encore. The band are gearing up for a headline slot at the Glastonbury festival this weekend (June 24th – 28th).
