BlurBalls - Throwing YOU the latest Blur, Gorillaz and Damon Albarn news

February 23, 2012

BBC Radio to celebrate Blur's victory at the Brit Awards 2012 with dedicated show

BBC 6's Will Gilgrass has contacted BlurBalls and asked us to let all you dedicated fans know that they are hosting a 2 hour BLUR RADIO SHOW, live on air at BBC Radio 6, on Friday 25th February 2012.

A show called Now Playing @6Music on BBC 6 Music will air this Friday between 7-9pm (GMT).

BBC are putting a special show together to honour Blur after their BRIT Award and the overall fantastic contribution to music, and want fans to submit comments on what they will play in this fantastic, very long show entirely devoted to Blur, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree.

Taken from their blog:

Whatever, anyone who was on Worthy Farm that evening or at Blur's shows in London’s Hyde Park which followed will know what a special place the British public hold in their hearts for Damon, Alex, Graham and Dave.

To commemorate their BRIT, this Friday night on Now Playing we want you to build the ultimate Blur inspired playlist - but we need your help and music suggestions, like:

* Their own tracks – from classics like Song 2, There’s No Other Way and Beetlebumthrough to forgotten singles.
* B-sides and rarities, maybe the To The End with Françoise Hardy, their cover of Elvis Costello’s Oliver’s Army or their stomping version of Maggie Amy?
* Other projects the band members have worked on or collaborating be it solo work fromGorillaz to DRC Music, Massive Attack, Elastica or Duffy
* Current bands who Blur have influenced.

Let us know by leaving a comment on the blog, Tweeting us using #Blur6Music, discussing it on our Facebook page, e-mail or add some tracks to our Spotify playlist – and listen to the show on Friday from 7pm.

Full information is on their blog (http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/nowplaying/2012/02/blur6music---help-build-the-ul.shtml) but essentially they want us fans to pick their favourite Blur tracks, collaborations they've been involved with, artists who inspired them and people they've inspired to make an awesome show celebrating the great man Damon Albarn and his gang.

Let's all join in ! We'll be submitting lots of songs that we want them to play, and you do so too!

Check out their Facebook page here - http://www.facebook.com/nowplaying6music.

BBC 6 also have a Spotify playlist people can suggest tracks on - http://open.spotify.com/user/bbcnowplaying6music/playlist/52zXqfK6dGx4IZUWHTEmR5.

Listen live HERE this Friday 7-9pm GMT.

***

And finally, three extra pieces of news.

Firstly, Blur's documentary from 2009 "No Distance Left To Run" is showing on ITV4 (Click to Watch) at 9pm GMT. Get ready with a Coffee and TV, sit back and relax.

Secondly, thank you to our reader Nick for submitting an exclusive Alex James home interview from 2000 - click here to read this funny, poignant Blur interview - before the Band reunited. This is a trip down memory lane and a great read for any fan!

Lastly, don't forget to get this week's NME magazine - Blur's featured exclusively with posters and interviews, and lots of cool new Olympics news.

Read all about Blur kicking Adele OUT of the Brits HERE,

Rehearsal for Brits HERE,

Olympics Gig HERE,

New potential album HERE

and check out their newest song HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.

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Blur gives Adele the boot and triumph with longest record set in Brits 2012

Blur @ the Brits '12 - Rating: 4/5 stars

BLUR'S COMEBACK PERFORMANCE at the Brit Awards 2012 was outstanding. No matter what teeny-boppers say, the press, the media and celebrities dancing their heads off at the Brits tables has got to admit, Blur rocked the stage.

Blur had their energy, their passion and their catchy tunes from the 90s all on set at the Brits 2012. Blur arrived on the red carpet with Damon in jeans, boots and a flatcap, Graham Coxon in a denim jacket and a signature mop-top (reminds us of the Leisure era) and Alex with mismatched buttons, a white t-shirt and blue suit piece. Dave also had on a pair of boots; it was the 90s all over again.

Damon Albarn also hugged and posed with Oasis's Noel Gallagher, who was nominated for an award. They said they were "over" the Britpop war and the feud between Oasis and Blur, who battled it out to reach No. 1 on the 1995 UK Singles.

After Lana Del Rey's award, Blur was called on stage to receive their Outstanding Contribution to Music award by Ray Winston. Damon Albarn made a long speech thanking everyone, including producer William Orbit (rumoured to produce their new album) and his crew. Adele was called onto stage by a sunglasses-donned George Michael. She won "Best Album".

Shortly after Adele began to spoke, the host had to interrupt her and cut her short, as Damon's speech was a bit longer than expected. She made a rude gesture and raised her middle finger to the audience, and apparently stormed out of the O2 saying "This is a Low". We think this is quite inappropriate of her, as her awards is much smaller compared to Blur's Outstanding Contribution Award, after all Blur had to work for nearly 20+ years to get to this point- give them some credit!

Watch Adele being booted by host James, flips, and Blur rolls on!

The stage was lit, the Blur sign sparkled and glowed. Spotlights shone and the music immediately started with Girls and Boys' signature tune blaring out. Dave rocked the drums, and there was a moment when Graham's guitar strap broke, but all went well. Damon's Woo Hoo's were simply powerful.

Blur then started playing their medley. They played all the hits that made them rise to the top of the charts- Girls and Boys, Parklife, Song 2, followed by Tender and finally This is a Low. The music's energy was great, though Damon made small errors on Tender. He jumped up and down, but the crowd didn't sing along for Girls and Boy's "Oh Oh Oh"s.

The highlights were the hits Tender and This is a Low, Damon's personal favourites, which he sang with all his heart. It was emotional and rang out onto the entire stage. Blur also played for the longest set in record for Outstanding Contribution Award - 11 minutes, and a bit more than that! They played:

1) Girls and Boys

2) Song 2

3) Parklife

4) Tender

5) This is a Low

Comments on youtube and various social networking sites seems to suggest that Blur made Adele cut off her speech - in fact, we think this is bollocks - the shows have time constraints, and Blur were there to perform the LONGEST set, so it's all fair to cut off Adele, who has won many awards already, for the main performances of the night from Blur.

Blur were the guest of honour, they won the award when everyone was waiting anxiously to see if they won. It would be like being the centre of the show, only to be rushed out of your own party. After all, how much effort has Blur put into making music for the world and many times a year do they do this ?

Their publicity, gained from performing the smashing Song 2 (Fifa 98 song) made Blur, Damon Albarn and Woo Hoo trend worldwide on twitter for a long time.

When was the last time Blur trended ? Fans , be PROUD!

No Adele on the trends, hey, except being cut off!

Outstanding gig. Amazing energy and Adele - you were given the boot by the Brits and Blur! Blur had raw emotion, albeit some slip ups, but true fans will simply love the performances, no matter what they were like. And give them a break - it's been a few years since the 2009 reunion gigs, and since then Damon's produced Gorillaz and the others has had solo works/ projects out.

Damon's long speech was nice - this is probably Blur's best bet at gaining publicity again after their long hiatus and side-projects. Now Blur's got new fans, new younger fans, and will be ready if they launch any new record.

In fact, record sales of Blur went up 2700% since last night - yes you read that right - 2700%! It really seems that Blur's getting publicity again, and now even tweens who watched the Brits know about this epic band. Perhaps this is another act to get Blur back to the charts!

Watch the entire set below here, on BlurBalls:

Read all about Blur's rehearsal for Brits HERE, Olympics Gig HERE, new album HERE and check out their newest song HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.

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February 22, 2012

Blur prepare for big announcement on future plus exclusive Brits rehearsal footage

BLUR ALERT: Blur are set to appear in an exclusive NME feature piece to talk about their future. Speculations are that they're going to make a new album with producer William Orbit.

The news about Blur headlining the London Olympics 2012 Closing ceremony concert came on midnight yesterday, just a day before the Brit Awards at 8:00pm tonight at the O2 Arena.

Dave Rowntree tweeted a picture of Phil Daniels backstage at the Brits - they WILL be playing Parklife with Daniels doing the vocals.

Blur is set to perform, Girls and Boys, Song 2, Beetlebum and many other huge hits, and also from the Brit Awards twitter : "Exclusive! Outstanding Contribution winners @blurofficial will perform "Tender" (with 32-piece choir) on ITV2 at 10pm tonight"

See some scans of pictures here of Blur's NME magazine feature this week. It will feature an article, posters, exclusive pictures and talks about "new album plans".

Speculations for the NME announcement tomorrow is best summed up by dannn, a forum member, who said:

My take on recent developments:

• Blur are active again and that’s what we have been craving for years.
• The new song sounds really good and a studio version may not be a piano based ballad and could well be in the same vein as For Tomorrow.
• The gig is a unique opportunity for the band to be part of history. I am sure if it wasn’t for the Olympics they wouldn’t be going anywhere near Hyde Park.
• Expect some intimate warm up gigs.
• The intention at the Brits (and the Olympics gig) could be to put a line in the sand and celebrate the band’s past, whilst looking towards the future as Blur Mark II. I think the band have the desire to continue and produce new music, but I guess we’ll find out tonight / tomorrow.
We couldn't agree more - with William Orbit on board, what else can happen ? Here's our best guess -

- Under the Westway is the Record Day promo

- They're back "in full" as the article says

- Playing Olympics with some intimate warm up gigs

- Then possibly an album towards December with Orbit

Also, watch an exclusive Blur rehearsal video 2012 for the Brits below:

Read all about Blur's new album HERE and check out their newest song HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.

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February 21, 2012

Blur to headline London Olympics Closing Ceremony gig - 2012

BREAKING NEWS: Blur announced via their official Facebook page that they will be be headlining the Olympic Closing Ceremony gig in 2012, 12th August, at Hyde Park.

Graham Coxon tweeted some revealing information 15 minutes before their big announcement was due:

He said "Looking forward to the Brits tomorrow night... Should be well good! Oh and August..." implying that August will mean something big in the realm of Blur. And it is - Olympics! Representing Britain to the world!

The band is set to receive the Outstanding Contribution Award in the Brit Awards 2012. They will play a record-long 11 minute set, consisting of 5 songs. This was revealed by tweets and sources from the band's official social networking sites.

Blur also posted this picture of their band logo on stage at the Brits stage on their facebook page:

This is BIG NEWS! Blur's representing Britain's music scene yet again, for their big comeback, as Britain's top band! Watch Blur rehearse for Brits 2012 below:

We speculate that NME's announcement this week regarding Blur "in the studio" and all the William Orbit business (read about it in the News Archive section) will mean that all these events, plus the new Blur song that debuted yesterday, and the fact that Orbit is dropping hints means there WILL BE A NEW ALBUM ANNOUNCED SHORTLY.

Stay tuned, we bring you the news as it comes. You heard it first on Blurballs.com.

Reserve tickets for London Olympics Live 2012 HERE

Read all about Blur's new album HERE and check out their newest song HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.

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Blur debuts new song at Pre-Brits show - gig review

Blur - War Child 19th Feb 2012
GIG REVIEW:

Blur has gone back to their old ways, old days and old looks - Graham Coxon sported a Leisure-esque hair cut with a thick mop of hair, and Damon Albarn wore a parklife-esque zip up, complete with stripes, and was clean-shaven and clean-cut, and stepped on stage way over scheduled time (due to 35 minute delays) and sang.

These two musicians, only one half of Blur, looked the part -the seemed like they were ready to perform and give us some tunes from the Britpop era, or at least, their signature songs about all things British, London and little Britain.

The piano was rolled in, and Graham's guitar was checked several times. Then the two appeared on stage and said a few words; Damon was at his piano, and Graham stood in the center of the stage, where he and Damon exchanged looks, smiled at each other and began. All throughout the performances, smiles were exchanged, and the two seemed to really have renewed their friendship after a long time hiatus.

Alex James watched from the balcony above, hidden in the blue hazy spotlights and the generally dim seating area. The atmosphere was great, but hushed, somehow it seems like we're all waiting for something to happen.

The "War Child" sign shone at the background. Damon and Graham sang, with Damon doing the leads, and Graham doing backups. Some of the tunes sounded a little off, but for the most part, it was enjoyable purely because of the two presence on stage. There was a moment when Graham's voice slipped and he played a wrong chord - but then everything went smoothly afterwards.

We filmed all 3 songs that they performed on stage - they were on there a mere 15 minutes or so, and performed 3 acoustic songs, one of them a brand new track called "Under the Westway". The track is melodic, with no bass and drums it sounds almost like a ballad. Fans cheered and Damon sang.

Shortly after their third and final song - the new track "Under the Westway", Damon and Graham cleared the stage fast - ran and scooted away. Fans shouted "Encore" but soon it was time for the next act. They left the stage like a bullet speeding away.

Overall: 3.5 / 5 stars - for the short performance time but kudos for the new track.

Listen to all three performances below:

Download the track HERE (right click, save as) *credit to Marcia

Read all about Blur's new album HERE and find out who's producing the album HERE and check out the other rumours and articles reported by us HERE, HERE and HERE.

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February 20, 2012

Blur debuts new song Under The Westway in War Child Gig - Feb 2012

Blur's Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon has debuted their new song "Under the Westway" at the War Child Charity Gig just an hour ago, 19th February 2012. The song was written "a few weeks ago". You can listen below to this acoustic number, filmed by Blurballs live at the stage:

We've filmed the video and it also cut it so its just audio. It will be up shortly. Watch and share the FULL LIVE PERFORMANCE!

The song's very similar to Fool's Day in style, and the main topic is the scenery whilst travelling back under the Westway in London, probably inspired by Damon's travels to and fro the city. He sings about the skies, the clouds, and the colours, and talks about the pollution and his feelings to a special somebody.

"It's got a lot of words, not as many as Ed Sheeran" said Damon Albarn, "It's got a lot of words. I'll try to remember all of them", as he smiled at Coxon from across the piano.

Graham and Damon performed 3 songs in total for the Pre-Brits gig - Graham looked like something out of Leisure, with his big uncut hair, and Damon was clean shaven and clean-cut, wearing a parklife-esque zip up. The setlist are as follows:

1) He Thought of Cars (The Great Escape)

2) Strange News from Another Star (from Blur)

3) Under the Westway - New song!

Blur recently revealed they will be working on a new album, enlisting William Orbit (who produced their 1999 album "13") on board. The War Child gig only featured the guitarist and the singer, but not Alex James (bassist) or Dave Rowntree (drummer).

Blur will perform live again in the Brit Awards 2012 - stay tuned for that!

It was a great gig, full of promise for something new from the Britpop mega-band. Blur have a long-standing relationship with Warchild, contributing the track Eine Kleine Lift Musik to the charity’s legendary 1993 album Help.

A special shout out to Katie and Hannah and their awesome dad for dropping me off after the exciting night of music, exchanges, sprints, chases and close encounters (wink wink).

Download the track HERE (right click, save as) *credit to Marcia

Read all about Blur's new album HERE and find out who's producing the album HERE and check out the other rumours and articles reported by us HERE, HERE and HERE.

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New blur song in War Child gig !!

See Warchild's twitter! Updating you from the venue! twitter.com/WARCHILD

February 19, 2012

Noel Gallagher would like to collaborate with Blur - Feb 2012

After the Brits, Noel Gallagher from Oasis would like to collaborate with Blur to record some tracks. Taken from an article from Metro.co.uk, Noel described Damon Albarn as "mad as a box of frogs".

The former Oasis guitarist, who has gone solo, told NME that he would prefer to work with Albarn rather than Radiohead's Thom Yorke.

He said: 'If I was gonna make a record, it would be with Damon. For a start, he's as mad as a box of frogs. Number two, he'd get loads of hip-hop dudes working on it, which itself would be f***in mental. And number three? It would be a better record.'

He revealed that he made his peace with the Blur frontman recently after bumping into a club a few months ago.

'It was quite a moment. We'd never been in the same room for maybe 10 or 15 years. And I always said to myself if I ever was, I'd go and say, 'F***ing hell, alright man?' and shake his hand and let bygones be bygones and all that.'

He added: 'It was a great relief. I'm glad I've seen him and shook his hand and apologised for all that s***.'

Asked if the feud between Oasis and Blur was finally over, Noel replied: 'Yeah. There you go - that's over and done with now.'

Looks like after Oasis's split, Noel is way over the feud of the Britpop superstars. Noel's always been the brother that was less public about the feud with Damon Albarn and Blur, so it's not a big surprise about what he says.

Noel is set to perform with Chris Martin from Coldplay in the Brit Awards. Damon Albarn and the band will also perform several tunes for the audience.

***

Here at BlurBalls, we've made some more posters to celebrate Blur back at the Brits. We've included a surprise appearance by Liam in these funny memes. Click to download them below!

Read all about Blur's new album HERE and find out who's producing the album HERE and check out the other rumours and articles reported by us HERE, HERE and HERE.

February 23, 2012

BBC Radio to celebrate Blur's victory at the Brit Awards 2012 with dedicated show

Blur gives Adele the boot and triumph with longest record set in Brits 2012

February 22, 2012

Blur prepare for big announcement on future plus exclusive Brits rehearsal footage

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February 21, 2012

Blur to headline London Olympics Closing Ceremony gig - 2012

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Blur debuts new song at Pre-Brits show - gig review

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February 20, 2012

Blur debuts new song Under The Westway in War Child Gig - Feb 2012

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New blur song in War Child gig !!

February 19, 2012

Noel Gallagher would like to collaborate with Blur - Feb 2012

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