Blur 'Parklive' Hyde Park CD - New Release & Pre-order

Great news - Blur's live CD from their Hyde Park 2012 performance in the London Olympics is set for release very, very soon. The live CD, cleverly titled 'Parklive' is being made into a 5 CD / DVD disc set which will be available from December 3rd 2013.

“Blur felt as apt an emblem as any of British culture. Contradictory, creative, and capable… of truly transcendent moments.” THE TIMES

“…park life at its brilliant best.” EVENING STANDARD

As stated on Blur's official website: Blur's Hyde Park show, part of the closing ceremony celebrations for the London 2012 Olympics, will be available on DVD, double CD and digitally on December 3rd. Titled Parklive, the deluxe edition will comprise the whole show, with extras, presented in best-quality audio over 2 CDs with a DVD of the 12-camera shoot directed by Mathew Amos.

Also included is an exclusive CD, 'Blur – Live At The 100 Club' recorded at the legendary London venue in August as part of Converse Represent, with a further CD of special live tracks recorded this summer, including Under The Westway and The Puritan performed live on Twitter from a London rooftop, and recordings from the Wolverhampton warm-up show and BBC Radio Maida Vale sessions.

The discs are housed in a 60-page hardback book containing exclusive photographs from both Hyde Park and the 100 Club and is available from the Blur Store.

Watch the trailer for Blur's ultimate CD 'Parklive: Live at Hyde Park 2013' below. To pre-order a copy  of this deluxe CD/ DVD now, visit blur.co.uk's official page.

What's more - check out the newest merchandise on the Blur official store - it's blue, white, shaped like a rectangle and has eyes, a nose and a mouth. And this little character also features on arguably the most famous Blur video of all time!






Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE
Order the new Blur boxset HERE

Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE

Blur for Spain and Porto HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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Alex James flies Spitfire

What has Alex James been up to recently ? Well, for starts, he's been flying on a Spitfire plane, making videos, and writing for the Telegraph. 



According to Telegraph, Alex "was given the chance to join the Boultbee Academy, a Goodwood-based flying school that compresses as much as possible of what actual trainee spitfire pilots learned, into a two-day course."

"Probably all men dream of being a pilot at some time or another and all pilots want to fly a Spitfire," said Alex. "And it is one of those rare things that is even better than it sounds on paper. 

"Or you could possibly imagine it would be."

Read Alex's personal account of his flight in the Life section of The Sunday Telegraph Magazine in stores this week.

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

Order the new Blur boxset HERE

Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE

Blur for Spain and Porto HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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A Blurry Present

On a slightly Blurry tangent - here's what we here at BlurBalls got for a recent birthday present. 

 (thanks D!)

Blur World Tour 2013 - What's On

The long-awaited hopes that Blur will do a world tour may just be on the horizons. According to a band touring company, Blur is going to play a massive world tour for 2013 - and this time it's going to be truly global. 

In a recent INTERVIEW , Ian Huffman off X-Ray Touring revealed that "Blur is planning a relatively extensive world tour next year, including Europe, Japan, South America and Australia."

Huffman also said that the European dates will “likely run through to mid summer”. This means that a visit to Australia in the second half of 2013 is  very likely, meaning a new festival to headline: Splendour In The Grass.

Splendour In The Grass music festival is held in Byron Bay, and has featured many famous British bands  in recent years including Britpop band Pulp in 2011 and Happy Mondays in 2009. Hence, Blur is highly likely to be playing there with their fellow UK bands in late July. 

Oh, and Oasis may also play in Australia this summer. Liam Gallagher’s BEADY EYE is likely to make a visit to the music festival- a place on the Fuji rock festival makes him a decent chance for Splendour. 

Blur recently tweeted (official Twitter here) plans to play in places where they didn't toured for a long time. The last time Blur was in Australia was 16 years ago - and so, again Blur are most probably going to head to Australia next year. 

Apart from rumours about Australia, Japan, Blur has just announced that they will headline Spain and Portugal's Primavera Sound Music Festival in May 2013, then the Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium next July 2013. 

They're also rumoured for UK's Glastonbury, Reading, Leeds and Japan. Looks like it's not just Europe after all.

Blur Tour 2013 Summary 

2013 Dates	Country	Description
22nd May - 26th May30  MAY–02 JUNE July 4th - July 7th	Spain Portugal Belgium	Barcelona Primavera Sound Festival Primavera Sound Festival Porto Rock Werchter Festival

Stay tuned for the latest updates on Blur's massive World Tour 2013. 

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

Order the new Blur boxset HERE
Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE

Blur for Spain and Porto HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  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 to head to Portugal and Spain - 2013 Tour

Blur alert , Blur alert - Blur has announced 3 more dates for their 2013 tour, and it's beginning to sound like the band's planning another massive return for next year's summer. 

The new Blur shows for 2013 are:

• Primavera Sound Festival Porto 2013 in Portugal from THURSDAY 30 MAY 2013 – SUNDAY 02 JUNE 2013. 
• Primavera Sound Festival 2013 in Barcelona, Spain from WEDNESDAY 22 MAY 2013 – SUNDAY 26 MAY 2013
• Parc Del Forum, Barcelona, Spain, on WEDNESDAY 22 MAY 2013

No England dates have been announced just yet, but The Guardian reports that "a handful of British festivals", including Reading and Leeds, are competing for a Blur performance. 

The band announced a few days ago that they're going to tour Europe and also headlining Rock Werchter, a music festival in Belgium. "Thank you for waiting," said the band on their official Facebook page. "Rock Werchter is about to announce that Blur will headline next July. We're excited.. hope to travel in 2013 to play to more of our lovely fans who we haven't seen for a while. Don't know where yet, we'll tell as soon as we do." 

Rumours about Glastonbury 2013 are also in the midst. This can only mean one thing - Blur's going to still play in the future, and fans are going to be having a blast this summer!

Order tickets for Blur at Primavera, Barcelona, Spain HERE. Tickets for Blur in Belgium's Rock Werchter will go on sale on November 2nd (price not yet announced).

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

Order the new Blur boxset HERE
Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE

Blur Exhibition review and photos HERE

Margate Gig (2012) review and pictures HERE

Rumours: Blur still play live after Hyde Park? HERE

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

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Blur to tour Europe in Summer 2013

Latest Blur News - Blur has announced that they WILL be playing more shows in 2013 - and this time it's for the hot summer months!

Blur has just confirmed that they will headline Rock Werchter Festival in Belgium next year. "Thank you for waiting," said the band on their official Facebook page. "Rock Werchter is about to announce that Blur will headline next July. We're excited.. hope to travel in 2013 to play to more of our lovely fans who we haven't seen for a while. Don't know where yet, we'll tell as soon as we do."

This mysterious picture popped out on Blur's facebook a few days ago - now we know what it is for

The Belgium music festival runs between July 4th - July 7th 2013. It is a massive festival with an audience size of roughly 140,000 and many musicians playing live. Fans - keep your calendars marked up and ready! 

No further dates have been announced, but Blur are definitely headlining Rock Werchter (click for official website) in 2013. This means that next summer will also be a year of Blur and the gang, playing music for the fans.

This isn't the end of Blur after all, contrary to so many rumours and stories. Some say Blur will play Glastonbury next year; some say Blur for Dublin. Blur definitely has many possibile locations for shows to choose from in this coming year.

More on Blur's future tours coming soon - stay tuned. Watch the promotional video for Rock Werchter below.

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

Order the new Blur boxset HERE
Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE

Blur Exhibition review and photos HERE

Margate Gig (2012) review and pictures HERE

Rumours: Blur still play live after Hyde Park? 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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Damon Albarn wants to make Another Opera

Damon Albarn has spoken about his future plans - to possibly write and compose another new opera, following the success of his latest 'Dr Dee'. 

At the English National Opera (ENO) on October 3rd, Damon Albarn said: "I've got a really good idea. I'm not going to say what it is, but it's interesting". 

According to NME, Albarn was at the London Opera house to help launch "Undress For The Opera", a program to attract younger audiences to watch and enjoy opera by lowering prices and relaxing the usually strict dress code. 

Albarn supported this scheme, and said "I quite like dressing up, but I also like to have the choice. I like the ritual of dressing up to go and see something, but at the same time you don’t have to."

"I’m quite clearly not someone who had any form of opera education. I’ve done it entirely instinctively. The fact that the English National Opera is prepared to encourage that is a great sign of its health."

It seems that Damon treats opera as a more serious, heavy "long term study thing". "I was too busy jumping up and down on stages around the world when I should have been at college finishing my classical musical education." said the Blur frontman. Without jumping up and down stages, however, where would Damon Albarn be now ? 

Damon Albarn also said: "Opera as a form can go forward and allow people to use these incredible facilities to find something new. At some point I hope I can deliver something to the ENO that ticks every single box but doesn’t compromise where I come from as well."



Looks like we'll be getting a new Albarn opera soon, one that ticks every single box for the fans. 

Check out Telegraph.co.uk comprehensive article on "Undress for the Opera" scheme. 

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

Order the new Blur boxset HERE
Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE

Blur Exhibition review and photos HERE

Margate Gig (2012) review and pictures HERE

Rumours: Blur still play live after Hyde Park? HERE

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

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Graham Coxon celebrates at Reeperbahn Festival - Sep 2012

Graham Coxon recently played in Hamburg, Germany's Reeperbahn Festival. The festival is a club-run musical festival that runs from the 20th - 24th September 2012.  Graham said it was "historic, legendary and famous". He even said he enjoyed sightseeing the places where The Beatles played, Beatlemania museum and searching for the Beat shop. 

Graham has his roots in Germany - he was born in Niedersachsen, Germany in 1969 because his father had a job as the local army bandsman. The Coxon family lived in Germany for 5 years before moving to Derbyshire, England. It wasn't until a few years later that he met Damon Albarn when they moved again to Colchester. 

Check out his latest interview from the Reeperbahn Festival. He talks about Oasis/ Blur's feud, the Olympics closing ceremony gig, Noel Gallagher's tour and Germany. He was questioned a lot about what type of audience he preferred, and he even talks a bit about Blur. 

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

Order the new Blur boxset HERE
Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE

Blur Exhibition review and photos HERE

Margate Gig (2012) review and pictures HERE

Rumours: Blur still play live after Hyde Park? 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!

21 things you didn't know Graham Coxon said - Quotes

Graham Coxon, the quiet, shy guitarist from Blur. Contrary to what most people think, Graham has actually said a good many things that are hilarious, deep and memorable. Sometimes they are downright strange! Here's our list of the top 21 things you didn't know Graham Coxon has said.

1. "Watching Noel Gallagher play, he has too much fucking respect for the instrument. To get the best out of a guitar, you've got to fucking hate it as well."

2. "There we're so many weird things going on at that time, if Damon turned into a lizards with a mod suit I wouldn't have been surprised" - On Britpop 

3. "We can make good music together but God knows what might happen if we tried to make music individually, it'd be shit." 

4. " Alex used to say such awful things. When he would be booking a hotel he would say that his name was Alex Frombler and that depressed me and when we were doing Budokan he would tell me how much we were getting paid for the show. Those things ate away at me" 

5. " We rode the pop-horse until it dropped dead"

6. "Damon will always have extremes. When we were at school together, he would always be duffed up in the toilets. We used to go out on the town and he'd get beaten up by the New Model Army crew. We used to go to a pub called The Cups, and every time I went there with Damon he'd go to the bog and he'd have his beating up. And he'd go: 'Graham, Graham, I've just been beaten up.' And I'd go: 'Oh my God.' So he'd go: 'I'm going'. And I'd say: 'No, stay, have another drink.' And then he'd go, and I'd stay behind and get drunk with the people who beat him up."

7. "I used to have a cat called Bastard. He ran away."

8. "I like it when girls go "Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me." - a very young Graham

9. "It seems that Damon and I are going to be in each other's lives musically forever, in some way or other. Whether it's with Blur or without Blur or sort of like the Old Gits, probably. Which is quite an amusing thought. We just get on very well, especially musically." 

10. "I only eat beef when I'm in Texas." 

11. Dave is a mid-21st-century kind of guy. Alex is definitely late 20th. I can imagine Damon strutting about in the 18th century, wearing tall powdered wigs, lace ru es on his shirts. I'm quite medieval compared to them, especially about technology. I think most technology is rubbish. It's supposed to improve our lives but it just makes it worse. (on why the four members of Blur are from different centuries. )

12. Of course I'm a hedonist, what else is there to live for? The rest is just killing time.

13. Most of America don't even listen to music probably. They just go raccoon hunting or something.

14. He didn't really have any friends. He had it hard because of his name too, which people would make jokes about. 'All Bran' and stupid kids' stuff. The skins would kick him about in the toilets and hold him down and write '666' on his forehead. That's probably why he's so scared and such an emotional wreck. I thought he was a really great bloke. I'd never known anyone like him. That kinda happens with me except its chavs that do it to me and they draw glasses and a scar on my head because of my name Harry, and those 'smart' people call me Harry Potter. I can relate to Damon in many ways, its ashame that's one. I know how he feels...

15. 'Pikachu, it's just saying it's own name, like Craig David, over and over again. Little egoist' - MTV Cribs 

16. "My next album is only going to be understood by a certain race of elves." 

17. “Damon and I especially have done that. I’d give him lovebites and he’d give me lovebites. A cruel trick. But it’s never really soberly. And after kissing him… it’s a bit like when farmers force sheep into sheep dips. When they come out the other side they’re probably quite similar to how I feel after kissing him. To quote Justine, he’s a washing machine mouth. He’s got a very large tongue, you see, and I haven’t.”  - On Kissing Men

18. "I've never stuck with any particular look. I want long and short hair - at the same time" - on Looks 

19. “My new album, A+E, is very English. If it was an outfit, it would be some battered Oxford brogues with a toe cap, a Velvet Underground T-shirt and any old Levi’s.” - on A+E

20. “I’m one of those self-conscious people who needs drink before I can [dance]. I used to dance a lot to The Smiths when I was a teenager. And The Jam, I used to go to a lot of mod clubs and stuff. But as soon as I got mildly famous it just stopped. I got self-conscious, I dance at home…” - on Dancing and Shyness 

21. “My hobby is my job…. it’s a jobby!” - on being a musician 


More Blur quotes coming on this page! 

Check out our Top 30 Damon Albarn quotes HERE