Top 7 Updates from the Blurosphere - Blur

While Blur have been rehearsing feverishly (we hope!) for their Hyde Park Olympics gig, the Blur graphics design and PR team have been also working hard behind the scenes. 

There has been many changes on the http://blur.co.uk, the band's official site, and we bring you the 5 must-visit updates and pages this week. 

1. Blur iPad / iPhone App
is now out - download it from iTunes (free, compatible with iPhone and iPod Touch) for an awesome interactive experience to celebrate the Blur21 box set and the band's musical  contribution. Lots of rare new pictures and cool features to be explored. Definitely worth getting immediately - be prepared for many hours of Blur nostalgia! 
2. Official Blur Shop - this merchandise shop is now open, selling tees that were printed even from the 90s (Blur McNormal Vintage Red T-shirt and others). CDs, beer mat sets, Hyde Park lithograph, Blur's new 7 inch vinyl, box set and the new 'Under the Westway' single and even a Blur track jacket are in stock. 
3. Blur Timeline - well-designed little London tube map imitation widget for all to explore Blur's history, videos, cultural information, film, art, international, music and even all the Blur locations featured in their music videos and work. This new feature is Blur's discography and live history at it's best. What's more - YOU CAN CONTRIBUTE to the timeline by selecting "Add a Memory" on any stop, and following the instructions to submit your Blur note to the official site. 




4. Watch the BBC Maida Vale Gig - live on July 31st - to be broadcasted LIVE on the blur.co.uk official site. Great news for those who can't make it to the gig, or did not win the BBC Blur ticket lucky draw to the rare intimate show. 
5. Blur 21 Remastered tracks available - via iTunes. All the Stephen Street remastered albums including extra tracks and previously unheard demos, live versions and extra tidbits can be previewed for 90 seconds / downloaded on the music store. The tracks are in excellent quality and are much clearer than the album tracks currently available. 

Just two more interesting 'non-official site' related links: -  

1. Blurry Picture Game - There's huge support for Blur's comeback from BBC and BBC 6 Music - the latter is holding a game where fans have to guess the blurry Blur memorabilia or item posted each day leading up to the BBC 6 Maida Vale gig. Join in the fun and guess today's picture - we have to admit that today's picture is a tough one to guess. 
2. Blur21 Box Set Review - Read all about the Blur21 Box set that BBC reviewed positively. They even went so far as suggesting that "the absence of new single Under the Westway/The Puritan suggests that 21 is not a full-stop". Could this be true ? Could this mean there could be more Blur after the 'end' of 2012? 

With Blur back for the summer, it seems everything's in full swing. There's a new Blur exhibition, Blur game, Blur review, a new Blur CD and vinyl, a new Blur21 Box Set and some new gigs and shows.

Blur, Blur, Blur ... could this get any better ?

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Damon Albarn works on Mali Music amidst Blur rehearsals

Damon Albarn has been working on something other than Blur and Britpop- Mali Music. The Blur singer was featured on The Sunday Telegraph Magazine this July, with a special interview talking about African music, religion, being in Africa to visit a friend and many more related musical chit chat.

A new single 'Bamako' was also debuted live, and the video is streaming on Oxfam's official youtube channel. Damon joined up with Malian musician Afel Bocoum for a special performance from the album 'Mali Music', an album Damon produced in 2002 with collaborations with several Malian singers and musicians.

All scans Credit: damon4president from the official Blur forums

The scans for the magazine article can be accessed below. Funny quotes, Damon-isms, typical rants, philosophical debate and talk about Modern Life is Rubbish, Blur's second album, can also be found on the article.

 

Also, scroll down to check out the new videos of the frontman. Damon's perhaps taking some time off Blur rehearsals to do something meaningful and productive for his previous works, and also raise money for Oxfam's worthy cause.

Note the head bobbing, snappy outfit, summer heat and how he's so into the music he creates. Making new Blur songs and new Mali music? Rehearsing for their massive Hyde Park Olympics gig too? Planning African Express and the train tour?

Damon's hectic schedule may have just gotten a bit busier than usual!

  

Order the new Blur vinyl HERE
The Puritan- new track HERE

Damon Albarn says it's the End of Blur! Read HERE

Is Damon and Graham Coxon recording together? Find out HERE

Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE. 

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Blur to be special headliners for 100 club gig

GIG NEWS: After a few weeks of speculation, the truth about who is the secret guests for a Converse-hosted special gig is revealed. And obviously, the very special guests that night are none other than Blur, who will headline REPRESENT at the legendary 100 Club (Oxford Street, London) on August 2nd 2012. 

The background image of the poster is from Blur's 'No Distance Left to Run'

This will be the first official warm up gig ever for Blur in 2012, just before their massive Hyde Park Olympics gig a few weeks after this show. There are around 200 pairs of tickets available for this performance, so it is definitely going to be an intimate and close-up gig for the few chosen lucky fans!


To get a chance to watch Blur live in this special event, register for tickets on the official Converse website (www.converse.co.uk/blur) from 9:00am - 6:00pm (UK time) on Wednesday, August 1st 2012. 


Order the new Blur vinyl HERE

The Puritan- new track HERE

Damon Albarn says it's the End of Blur! Read HERE

Is Damon and Graham Coxon recording together? Find out HERE

Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE. 

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Blur: Under the Westway (William Orbit Version) Lyrics

Blur - Under the Westway (William Orbit Version) 

Lyrics 

The sky won in my city today

She was so blue she swallowed the Monday

On the 52

As the traffic grew

Upon the Westway

Here I sat watching comets lonesome trails

Shining up above me

The jet fuel it fell

Down to earth where the money always comes first

And the chorus sings

Where is the day they switch off the machines

The men in yellow jackets put adverts in my dreams

Government why do you always lie

But I soon know

Captain hit the rocks so he had to fall

Throwing you love would

Suffer the rising 
Call for radical change 
'cause your mind's deranged

If you think I want to be like that

I ain't cruel

You're as tied to me

As I am to you

All aboard

Take the lifeboats home

that may defend us

It's pouring out of us today

La la la la la la la la

And it's pouring out us today

La la la la la la la la

Sold the world like everyone else does

Cock and Bull

I downed a rum or two with you

I dream of the sun

I dream the sun like everyone else does

Work's done

On Friday night in public houses

We are wonderful, Pathetic, or just

Plain gone

So it's magic arrows hitting the bull

Doing one eighty while sounding the call

And the flags coming down

And the last post sounds just like a love song

For the way I feel about you

Forgetting paradise, it's with you

On a permanent basis I apologise

But I am going to sing hallelujah

Sing it out loud, sing it to you

Always lost in the sea

'Till the tide it washes over me

Thanks D for compiling the lyrics ! 

New Blur Exhibition in London - July to August 2012

Heads up - there's a new Blur event in town. Blur will be holding a band exhibition to celebrate the band's new 'Blur21' box set and their 21 years in music.

Spotify presents Blur 21: The Exhibition will take place in London at the Londonewcastle Gallery, East London.  

It will run from July 27th to August 14th 2012, and entry is free for all. 

Memorabilia and other items of the band will be shown for all to enjoy. Images of the band, taken by famous photographers Pennie Smith (who took the Blur black and white 2009 comeback photos) and Kevin Cummins will also be shown. 

Will the props from Blur's music videos, or some their early apparel will be there?

Will the milk carton from Coffee and TV will make a special appearance?

Here is what is in store for all visiting, according to the venue's official site:

21 years after the release of their debut albumLeisure (1991), Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree will return to the heart of London in an exhibition of rare photographs, artwork and never-before-seen images of this great British band.

Presented by Spotify and EMI Music, the retrospective celebrates Blur’s era defining music, documenting their career as one of the most successful and influential bands of the past two decades, through the lens of legendary and iconic music photographers Pennie Smith, Kevin Cummins, Tom Sheehan and Paul Postle, among others. Previously unseen artwork will also be on display.

Spotify presents Blur 21: The Exhibition documents the band’s story from the early days as Seymour through the 1990s and the height of Britpop, the performance at Alexandra Palace in 1994, seven chart topping studio albums, and eleven top 10 singles, including Country House, Song 2 and Beetlebum, to a historic Sunday night appearance at Glastonbury.

Bringing us right up to 2012 - a year that has seen Blur awarded the BRIT for Outstanding Contribution to Music and the release of two new songs - Under The Westway and The Puritan - ahead of a sold out show at London’s Hyde Park on 12th August, before the upcoming release of career spanning Blur 21: The Box on 30th July.

Curated by leading expert on music photographyDave Brolan, all the key moments of the band’s career are illustrated – on the road, live on stage, in the studio, as well as formal portrait sessions. Additional Blur 21 material will be made available to Spotify users globally over the coming weeks.

Don't miss this opportunity to visit the exhibition if you are in London this summer. Blur also did a Blur X Exhibition in 1999. It's a nice side-event to the Blur Olympics hyde park gigs. 

Visit the venue website for more details here.

Order the new Blur vinyl HERE
The Puritan- new track HERE

Damon Albarn says it's the End of Blur! Read HERE

Is Damon and Graham Coxon recording together? Find out HERE

Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE. 

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Graham Coxon talks about Orbit- Blur feud

Graham Coxon has finally spoken about the Blur and William Orbit feud in a recent press interview. The Blur guitarist did a short question and answer for Vulture, and spoke about the new Blur songs, new sounds, opening for Noel Gallagher of Oasis fame and why (or why not) Blur may do a new album in the future.

According to the article, Graham Coxon "personally seemed into the idea" of making a new Blur album. He said that the band were getting on "really well" these days, much better than during their comeback gigs in 2009. With regards to any possible new Blur album, here's what Coxon said: 

Plans for a new Blur album seem up in the air at the moment.
Up in the air, yeah.

What would you say is the biggest obstacle to the band recording a new album?
I don’t know. Maybe it’s time or the guts or pressing the fucking button and going, "Come on, let’s just bloody do it." It’s maybe the committing to it. It’s a frightening thought, because there’s kind of a pressure on us to record another one, and of course we quite like the idea. But what's stopping us is the pressure. People are saying they want [an album], and that’s making us panic. We like to create our stuff in a relaxed way. It’s no good trying to force stuff just because people want to hear it. It would be a big decision. Because we know what’d be coming after the recording: We’d have to do a lot of traveling and playing. Which is great fun, but it’s a big commitment, obviously. 

Who's the holdout? Which band member is the hardest to convince? It sounds like you're into the idea.
I tell you what — we’re all into the idea. There’s nothing wrong with the idea, it’s just the practicalities that get slightly scary. And if we do something, it’s got to be really good.

If you decided against an album, would you consider just releasing singles or EPs?
I think that’s probably not a very good idea, to keep doing that. I’m old-fashioned. I like an album to be a big slice of a time and place, and have a lot of development of ideas. These singles were recorded pretty quickly — too quickly for my liking — and I still get worried. I still come up with ideas for stuff after it's released. Taking our time on an album, that’s what I would like to do. I’d be really into making a record, but [sighs]. If people leave us alone to do it, I think it would be cool.

Coxon also talked about ex-Blur producer William Orbit's (album 13) recent angry tweets about Damon Albarn being a "pig" to the rest of Blur. The mystery of his twitter attacks is finally revealed - Orbit had a go at producing the band's new track 'Under the Westway' but it turned out to be "not what [Blur] were after". So, that was what happened back then.

Blur was in the studio a few months ago with William Orbit for a session that ended acrimoniously, at least according to his tweets. What happened?
We had a go at "Under the Westway." And we just didn’t like the way it turned out. We were just like, "Shit, this is not what we’re after." And we decided to go it alone.

What did it sound like?
I don’t know. [Laughs.] I don’t know what it sounded like, really. I didn’t hear it.

Click here to read the rest of the interesting interview, with more on Under the Westway, The Puritan, Noel Gallagher and also Graham Coxon's New York tour.

Also, check out William Orbit's version of 'Under the Westway' HERE and give it a listen. The producer posted this up on Soundcloud recently for all to hear. Like it or hate it - it's undeniable that both tracks sound and feel very different.

Order the new Blur vinyl HERE
The Puritan- new track HERE

Damon Albarn says it's the End of Blur! Read HERE

Is Damon and Graham Coxon recording together? Find out HERE

Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE. 

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook.

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Blur will play B-side show at Maida Vale - July 2012

BBC Radio's Steve Lamacq has confirmed that Blur will be playing an exclusive special session at Maida Vale Studios, London on Tuesday 31st July 2012, in which there will be a limited number of tickets to be won.

Blur will be playing a special set from their hits collection and some real fan’s set of b-sides, rarities and oddities, with a few surprises thrown in. They will also be in conversation with Steve who has also been digging through the archives to uncover some lost gems.

The deadline for registration is Friday 20th July. The maximum tickets per household is 2. The gig is free and hosted by Steve. To get a chance to see Blur live in this intimate gig, simply head to the BBC 6 Music website (click here) to register and enter the ticket draw. 


For those who are not in London or live outside Britain, tune in on July 31, 11am EST, and listen online at www.bbc.co.uk/6Music. Good luck to all - this is a rare tread indeed!

Listen to William Orbit's Version of Under the Westway HERE 

Order the new Blur vinyl HERE
The Puritan- new track HERE

Damon Albarn says it's the End of Blur! Read HERE

Is Damon and Graham Coxon recording together? Find out HERE

Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE. 

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook.

Stay Tuned, leave us a comment below and Get The Latest Blur News delivered straight to you- BlurBalls is the most updated Blur fan site on the internet! 

William Orbit leaks his version of new Blur single

Fresh update: William Orbit has posted up his version of Blur's new single 'Under the Westway' for all to listen to. This followed several angry tweets about the band a few weeks ago, where the band and the ex-Blur producer's relationship seem to be on the rocks.

Gigwise reports:

Producer Orbit was working with Blur earlier this year but went his separate ways from Damon Albarn and co. after Tweeting about the secret sessions. It is perhaps ironic (or totally unsurprising?) then that Orbit has shown his indiscretion once more and placed an alternative version to the single on Twitter today.

The version is still recognisable as the song which was premiered via a live online stream earlier this month but features far more electronic production and a less epic, windswept feel.

Speaking to BBC's Steve Lamacq on a show yesterday, Alex James said that the band are on good terms and that they are "not having fist fights anymore". Alex also said that the band's future seems to be going well at the moment, although their future has remained undecided. 

"I've got no idea what happens next, or if it ever happens again," he said. Discussing the way in which he, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree work together, James added that "we click back into it like a family at Christmas."

Currently, Orbit's version of the track is unavailable off Soundcloud. However, many have heard the track and the general review from fans seems to be negative. Perhaps it is the fact that Orbit has publicly made his disappointment (for the band to not choose his track) about Blur's choice, or perhaps it is the auto-tuned vocals which made the song less hymn-like and more "13"/ single like.

Different lyrics, more bouncy chorus, the single is completely changed to a semi-electronic feel. It also has much more heavy sounds than the current version. It is definitely not bad, but the track definitely sounds very different to what the band has released. 

Download the track HERE (Sendspace) and give it a listen. *Note: The file may be unavailable 

Leave a comment below or vote in the poll - do you like this better than the official release, which Damon Albarn decided to self-produced?

Order the new Blur vinyl HERE
The Puritan- new track HERE

Damon Albarn says it's the End of Blur! Read HERE

Is Damon and Graham Coxon recording together? Find out HERE

Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE. 

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook.

Stay Tuned, leave us a comment below and Get The Latest Blur News delivered straight to you- BlurBalls is the most updated Blur fan site on the internet!

Blur to release exclusive CD of Under The Westway

Members of the official Blur forum have been petitioning for nearly a week for the band to release their new single via an official CD. After nearly five pages of posts filled with fans' excitement and desire for a potential release, the wish has finally been granted.

Blur and their management has announced that 'Under the Westway' and 'The Puritan' will be released in a CD format for all to buy. The CD will be limited to 5000 copies worldwide and is a Blur store exclusive product.

The new CD Cover promo

Furthermore, the CD will include extra bonus tracks. Yes, you read that right - Blur will be releasing instrumental versions of 'Under the Westway' and 'The Puritan', plus an acoustic version of the leading title track.

It's practically a new Blur EP! 

This new CD will be released on 6th August 2012, in time for the summer Hyde Park live gigs where Blur is leading the London Olympics closing ceremony. Blur released the two new tracks on July 2nd 2012, after performing them live on top of their West London studio, complete with a twitter live video stream. The 7 inch vinyl can also be purchased via the official store.

Click HERE to read the Blur forum thread which led to this rare and exciting development. Blur seems, these days, to be very fan- orientated, which is indeed what people need nowadays.

As it is only available via the Blur store, pre-order your copy of Blur's exclusive new CD (£3.99) by clicking HERE 

Order the new Blur vinyl HERE
The Puritan- new track HERE

Damon Albarn says it's the End of Blur! Read HERE

Is Damon and Graham Coxon recording together? Find out HERE

Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE. 

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook.

Stay Tuned, leave us a comment below and Get The Latest Blur News delivered straight to you- BlurBalls is the most updated Blur fan site on the internet!