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.
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.