Reformed Britpop giants Blur have posted new clips of themselves rehearsing online, with the band due to make their live return this weekend.
Blur ended years of arguments, rumours and back biting by reforming last year. Childhood friends Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon put aside their differences, after having been estranged for some time.
Guitarist Coxon walked out of Blur in 2002, mid-way through sessions for the band’s final album ‘Think Tank’. The band split shortly after, making only a handful of appearances without the guitarist.
Since then Graham Coxon has gone on to have a celebrated solo career, while Damon Albarn has formed the massively successful Gorillaz and even scripted his own opera.
The pair put aside their past problems at the end of last year. Since announcing their reformation Blur have only made one public appearance, with Albarn and Coxon playing at the recent NME Awards in London.
Blur are due to play their first show together in nearly a decade later this week, with the band due to take to the stage at Colchester’s East Anglian Railway Museum – the site of their first ever show.
Playing to just 150 people the band gave away the final tickets in a special competition, with all profits going to charity. After this the group are set to play a series of massive UK tour dates including Manchester MEN Arena and London’s Hyde Park.
Support on the tour has been hand picked by the band themselves with the likes of Florence & The Machine, Vampire Weekend and more set to tag along for the ride.
Blur have also been confirmed as one of the headliners for this year’s Glastonbury festival. The band will take to the stage at Worthy Farm alongside some stellar talent including the first performance by Bruce Springsteen at a British festival.
The band are hard at work rehearsing for these shows, and have whetted fans appetites by posting clips from their practice sessions. Hosted by YouTube the clips so far include Blur running through ‘Song 2’, ‘For Tomorrow’ and many more.
Meanwhile, Blur are planning to take a jaunt down memory lane with the release of ‘Midlife: A Beginners Guide To Blur’. A new 2-CD compilation the album contains many rare tracks not compiled before including their early single ‘Popscene’ which sees the band taking their first tentative steps towards Britpop.
Blur are due to release their new album ‘Midlife: A Beginners Guide To Blur’ on June 15th.
