Blur To Go On Hiatus Again , Frustrating Fans

Following their latest reunion and the release of "The Ballad of Darren," their ninth studio album, Blur is entering another hiatus. Damon Albarn, the frontman of Blur, in a recent interview with Les Inrockuptibles, a French magazine reported by Far Out Magazine, remarked, “It is time to wrap up this campaign. It’s too much for me. It was the right thing to do and an immense honor to play these songs again, spend time with these guys, make an album, blah-blah-blah.”

This statement follows the band's final live performances in South America last month. Blur, which features Graham Coxon on guitar, Alex James on bass, and Dave Rowntree on drums, has been a significant presence in the music scene.

Despite this pause, Albarn left a window open for Blur's future, as he mentioned to Les Inrockuptibles, “I’m not saying I won’t do it again; it was a beautiful success, but I’m not dwelling on the past.”

For fans, the news of Blur's hiatus must be a mix of disappointment and frustration. Just when they were reveling in the band's resurgence and new rhythms, this pause feels like an abrupt halt to the euphoria. It's a rollercoaster of emotions, from high anticipation to a sudden, uneasy quiet.

The band initially disbanded in 2003 and has since reunited occasionally for shows in the U.K. and internationally, starting in 2009. Reflecting on their recent reunion and new album, Alex James told Rolling Stone, “Blur has always been an effortless, joyous, weightless kind of experience… All the years in the world fall away, and it’s just the four of us and the music in the room, and nothing’s changed since that first rehearsal 35 years ago.”

Who knows when Blur might pull another surprise album out of the blue? Their history of unexpected comebacks keeps fans on their toes, sparking a thrilling sense of unpredictability.

In addition to Blur's activities, Albarn shared with the French magazine his upcoming projects, including an opera set to premiere in Paris next year and a new collaboration with Jamie Hewlett in India for a forthcoming Gorillaz album.

Meanwhile, guitarist Coxon is preparing to tour the U.K. with The Waeve, his project with Rose Elinor Dougall. They are scheduled to open for Elbow during their 2024 U.K. arena tour.

Versace Mixes Up Blur and Blue For Fashion Show

If you have been a Blur fan for long enough, you'll understand the familiar problem: you search for "Blur" songs and out pops "Blue", another 90s boy band with several hit singles. We have certainly had this problem before, but this time one of the members of Blue has spoken up about just how often the two bands have been mixed up. 

Blue has recently admitted that they once "stole" Blur's golden tickets to the fashion show in Milan. Apparently, Blur was invited to fly via private jet to the esteemed fashion show and was invited to meet Donatella Versace personally. However, there was a huge mix-up which resulted in the band Blue getting chauffeured all the way to Milan- and back. 

Antony Costa from Blue has regaled a hilarious story about his band getting mixed up with Blur near 20 years ago. "In 2001 we released our first single ('All Rise'), it was going really well for us and we got invited to Milan Fashion Week by Donatella Versace.” Costa told Ben Hanlin's Ben Behaving Dadly podcast.

“So we got kitted out by Versace at Bond Street. We got a private plane out there, they flew us out there. We landed, went to the fashion show, and afterwards they were like 'Look, we want you to meet Donatella’.” 

He said: “So we lined up, like we were meeting the Queen, and she looked at us. I said to Simon (Webbe), 'This is a bit weird, we're supposed to be one of the guests. Why wouldn't she want to say hello?' "Anyway, to cut a long story short, when we get back to London, and she had invited Blur and not Blue."

Costa continued: "The mad thing was I meant Alex James years later and he was mucking about and was like 'Oi you. You took or tickets!' I was like 'Mate, I didn't know!'"

10 great photos of Blur

Picture Feature: Black and white photos of Blur the band, in various magazine and photo-shoots throughout their career.