February 11, 2017

From Blur To Dr Dee: My Fascination With Damon Albarn

Hi, my name’s Charlie – I am a 21-year-old Damon Albarn fanatic born in North Yorkshire, England. I discovered Damon Albarn only five years ago (in 2012), and I know this is relatively short in comparison to many of the BlurBalls readers. A lot of you probably fell in love with Albarn when he was young, when Blur were in their hey-day, but I wasn’t even born until 1995!

I think my discovery of Albarn is unique because it happened after a Blur performance that most of the country thought was terrible. Even BlurBalls (!) published a piece reflecting on its poor quality. But, for me, it was brilliant and unforgettable. I talk about this, and other stuff (including the big anniversary of ‘Blur’), in my article that Huffington Post were kind enough to publish for me. 

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Here’s a little excerpt:

“It was the 2012 BRIT Awards that sparked my Blur obsession into life. I was watching it with a sort of ‘love to hate’ attitude. I remember some pretty dreary performances from Ed Sheeran and Coldplay. At the end, Blur took to the stage, launching into an unforgettable performance of 'Girls and Boys'. Sporting red Doc Marten boots, Albarn was clearly a bit tipsy. He regularly entangled himself in the microphone wire, and those high-pitched ‘oh oh oh’s were strained and out of tune. Albarn encouraged the crowd to sing along but he reacted with disappointment when the suited, seated celebrities and swathes of teenage spectators barely responded. My sisters were horrified, but the energy of Blur’s performance and the charisma of Damon Albarn had me hooked. I bought The Best of Blur that night.

The next day at school, I learned that one of my best friends (with whom I shared a great love of Bowie) had hated the performance. He told me I’d become a fan of four middle-aged dads, which was true. I bought the Blur 21 boxset in July. I remember stacking crisps with such enthusiasm on my Saturday shift at a supermarket, knowing the box was waiting for me at home.”

Read the full article HERE




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