The rumors had been circulating for weeks and on Monday Blur finally confirmed their authenticity: To mark the 30th anniversary of their landmark album PARKLIFE, the Britpop band will play a concert at Wembley Stadium on July 8, 2023. As part of the announcement, drummer Dave Rowntree and bassist Alex James gave an interview to BBC 6Music radio station on Monday (14 November) and talked about possible new music, among other things.
Fun and horror from Blur
Moderator Steve Lamacq explained that he couldn’t imagine the group sitting in a room with Damon Albarn and couldn’t think of anything new. “I literally never know what’s going to happen to Damon next,” Alex James replied. He continued, “It could be the last show, it could lead to a new album. It’s part of the fun. I literally never know what’s going to happen.” His bandmate Rowntree laconically added, “It’s part of the fear of being in Blur.”
Concerts prevented by the pandemic
The two also chatted about the upcoming Wembley concert. “We’ve been trying to do something for a while, but Covid’s got in our way – the shadow of Covid as all the venues have been booked for who knows how long,” said Rowntree. Now you want to go back to your roots.
Young people discover Blur for themselves
Elsewhere in the interview, James opened up about his surprising discovery that Blur is resonating with younger audiences. “What amazes me is how present Blur is on social networks.” He’s crazy how many 18-24 year olds love his band – after all, it shows in the data. “The multitude of people who come up to me and say, ‘Blur is my daughter’s favorite band’ or ‘My son is trying to learn to play bass on ‘Song 2’. The music seems to have found a new audience” , says the 53-year-old.
