Blur to play gig in Dublin, Ireland - World Tour 2013 News

Blur have announced yet another date for their world tour 2013. The band announced their Ireland gig on March 4th 2013 and will perform at the Irish Museum of Modern Art (IMMA) in Kilmainham, Dublin, on Thursday August 1 2013. 

This is Blur's first gig in Ireland in four years. Blur announced that they are playing in Turkey last week as part of their new world tour, where the band are set to tour in Europe, Asia and America.

The IMMA is a 17th century Irish landmark commonly used as a venue for theatrical and musical events. For Blur fans in Ireland, this is a golden opportunity to see the band play, in what may be their best year yet - Blur have been fuelling rumours of a new album and new release after their 2013 world tour.

According to Blur's official facebook page, this gig will be the band's only UK/ Ireland date for 2013. That means the hotly contested Reading / Leeds festival in the UK is ruled out for this round of Blur gigs. UK fans - take this chance to travel to Ireland if you can to watch the band live.

Tickets costing 62.50 euros each will be available for sale on Thursday via Ticketmaster. 

See our Blur World Tour page for all the dates in a convenient table.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

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Tender is the night... New Blur Lullabies Album to be released

Want your newborn or baby to listen to Blur without any adult content? Worried about the adult innuendos in Blur songs? Think 'Beetlebum' is a bad influence on the kids? Have no more fear - American baby music company Rockabye Baby will record and re-release Blur's hit singles as baby-friendly tunes in a new album to cater especially for parents to play "during those long night feeds". 

Blur's biggest hits will be re-recorded into instrumental lullabies for children as part of the famous Rockabye Baby music series. The album will include some of the band's most famous songs including 'Country House', 'Parklife', 'Song 2' and the "sexually ambitious" 90s disco hit 'Girls and Boys', all covered using gentle sounds, slow melodies and percussion instruments like glockenspiels and harps.

Rare picture: Damon Albarn as a baby 

Blur is not the only artist that have had their songs re-made by Rockabye Baby. The company has already created 37 similar albums that are adjusted for younger listeners, covering songs by bands like The Beatles, Nirvana, The Smiths, Rolling Stones, U2 and Bob Marley.

According to the Independent, "the firm has a celebrity following including Victoria Beckham, whose footballer husband David downloaded an album of Beatles songs in lullaby form for their daughter Harper Seven. Also fans are Elton John and David Furnish, who play not only the Fab Four’s songs, but also the versions of the Rolling Stones and Green Day in their nursery".

The adult-to-kid conversion of songs has become a popular phenomena in the last few years. Website kidzbop.com also has softened versions of adult songs that are suitable for children. A line from Katy Perry's "Hot n Cold" for example, would be changed from "We kiss, we make up" to "We hug, we make up". 

The album, titled Rockabye Baby Lullabye Renditions of Blur will be released on March 26th 2013. This will mark the first UK release by the USA company. 

The tracklisting for 'Rockabye Baby Lullabye Renditions Of Blur' is: 

1.Tender 
2.Song 2 
3.Coffee & TV 
4.Girls & Boys 
5.There's No Other Way 
6.Country House 
7.Beetlebum 
8.Parklife 
9.Popscene 
10.End of a Century 
11.Sing 
12.The Universal

For more information about Rockabye Baby, visit their official website. 

Blur Baby-fied: Which is the best line change?
	Song 2- "Woo Hoo" to "Goo Goo"
	Tender- "Tender is the night, playing by your side"
	Coffee and TV- "So give me Cuddles and TV..."
	Beetlebum- "She'll smile at you, she'll make you laugh"
	Parklife- "All the babys, so many babys"
	None / Other

Blur wins Best Reissue at NME Awards 2013

Although this year is full of blurry excitement for the 2013 Blur world tour and it's upcoming gigs, last year wasn't quite as extravagant. 2012 was a rather special and touching year for Blur, having headlined the London Olympics closing ceremony concert and playing in front of many for the landmark event. Coupled with the Olympics, Blur also released their new single 'Under the Westway' / 'The Puritan' together with a re-issue of the band's entire collection in a special box set to mark their 21st anniversary.

Now in 2013, Blur finally gets recognition for their subtle new releases last year. The band have received the award for 'Best Reissue' at the 2013 NME Awards held on February 27th for the 'Blur 21' boxset. Unfortunately they did not win the award for 'Best Live Band', which was given to The Rolling Stones.

In his acceptance speech, Graham Coxon said that "This was the box set that was in my cupboard for about twenty years but it was on cassette in a shoebox". Graham was joined onstage by Alex James. Scroll down for the video of Blur at the awards.



Check out this funny rundown of the awards night. And since the awards were voted for by fans online, a big congratulations to everyone who voted and to Blur!


Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

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

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Blur headlines gig in Turkey - One Love Festival 2013

New Blur tour date: Blur will play at Istanbul's One Love Festival on June 21 2013. One Love Festival takes place in Istanbul, Turkey. Blur is confirmed to headline the One Love Festival, one of the premier music events in Europe and one of the most famous festivals in the world.

The large music festival draws 20,000-30,000 visitors annually, and has previously attracted top music acts like Manic Street Preachers and a host of British bands like Suede, Editors and Happy Mondays to perform in earlier years. Blur is the latest addition to the One Love Festival, as part of their mega-tour of 2013 where the band are set to tour in Europe, Asia and America.

Damon Albarn played in Istanbul in 2007 for his side album The Good The Bad And The Queen. The announcement came after heavy rumours surrounding where the next Blur date will be. There's still no news of whether Blur will tour UK or where the next warm-up gig will be, but the latest festival lineup adds to Blur's already very tight schedule.



Do not miss this outstanding chance to watch Blur live in Turkey. Visit the One Love Festival's official facebook page here.

Check out their official website for more information on live acts and ticketing information. Tickets should be available via Biletix shortly.

See our Blur World Tour page for all the dates in a convenient table.

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

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

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Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher rekindle at the Brits 2013

No more feud, no more Britpop war. It seems that Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher have both mellowed with age and put their past behind them. The two men, rivals in the 90s following the Britpop Battle, gave each other friendly smiles and posed for a manly shoulder-squeeze for the camera when the Brit Awards 2013 ceremony took place on February 21st 2013 in London's O2 Arena.

Damon Albarn went on stage to accept a special award. The pair probably has fond memories about this 90s incident...

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

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Damon Albarn accepts Brit Award for War Child (Video)

It wasn't for Blur or Gorillaz, but Damon Albarn appeared on stage at the Brit Awards 2013 to accept a distinguished award. Ben Knowles from British charity War Child and Damon Albarn collected a Special Recognition Award on behalf of War Child during the Brit Awards 2013 held yesterday at the O2 Arena, London.

Damon Albarn sported a toothy smile on stage- Brits 2013

Dressed in his signature leather jacket, the "legend of British music" Blur frontman made a short acceptance speech on stage. He praised the charity for having a "close relationship with the music business" and pleaded the audience to "get involved" with the charity's cause to alleviate and combat childhood suffering. The award marked War Child's 20th anniversary.

Damon was also nominated for Best Producer (Bobby Womack- 'Bravest Man In The Universe') in this year's award ceremony. Although a top favourite, he lost out to producer Paul Epworth whose productions included Adele, Florence and the Machine and Cee Lo Green.

For more pictures of the winners of this year's Brits, including pictures of celebrities like Jonathan Ross and diver Tom Daley presenting an award, this gallery is worth a visit.


Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

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Win limited edition Blur Parklife CDs !

Fans - you have less than 10 days to enter the new Blur official competition to be one of the five people who will win a  copy of the 'Parklife' 2 CD Special Edition. The Special Edition feature a bonus disc of extras and rarities, an expanded booklet and exclusive postcards.

The special CD was released in July 2012 to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Blur's debut release 'Leisure'. Blur’s most commercially successful album 'Parklife' was remastered and tuned by producer Stephen Street.

The 2 CDs contain a bonus disc of all the b-sides from Girls And Boys, To The End, Parklife and End Of A Century singles. Within them is also many rare Blur tracks - a Pet Shop Boys remix of Girls And Boys, the French version of single 'To The End', Graham’s funny country b-side 'Red Necks' and a rare appearance of a track written by Alex on 'Alex’s Song'.

Also included are previously unreleased acoustic versions of Jubilee and Parklife recorded for a BBC Radio 1 session in 1994 and the previously unreleased Cadena 40 Principales Acoustic Version of End Of A Century, which featured on a Spanish-only promo for the single.

As mentioned on the product description, the Parklife Special Edition is housed in a deluxe lift-off lid box with four exclusive Blur artwork postcards and an expanded booklet that includes previously unseen photos and liner notes based on a brand new interview with all the band members.

To join the contest - simply fill in the form here (Answer: Phil Daniels). 

Alternatively, visit the official Blur merchandise shop to purchase a copy of the Parklife 2CD Special Edition (£9.99). 

Good luck!


Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

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

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Poll: Blur 2013 Comeback

With the new 2013 World Tour almost taking full shape, Blur have once again generated rumours amongst fans. Everyone is asking the same question: Will Blur release new material in 2013 as part of their tour to surprise the audience? Or will Blur drop a brand new album after their worldwide tour after they fine-tune the sound ? 

Or perhaps Blur will follow the footsteps of bands that have reformed but will not release new material ? Speculations about whether the band are in it "for the money" have also been hot amongst music forums. However if that is the case, then why bother with playing numerous festivals all across the world ?

Some also say that Damon Albarn will go back to his Gorillaz project with cartoonist Jamie Hewlett and focus on releasing a fourth pop album. Others talk about the diverging paths of the four Blur members and how a new album will be incompatible and impossible. 

What do YOU think? Is 2013 the biggest year for Blur and fans alike? 

Vote in the poll below and let us know. Catch up on the Blur World Tour page for all the concert dates in one convenient table.  

Blur adds Mexican warm-up date - Vive Latino Festival 2013

Another new Blur 2013 date has been confirmed - this time Blur has announced their first warm-up gig in Mexico City just before their big gig in the Vive Latino Festival, which takes place from the 14th - 17th March 2013. The announcement came shortly after Blur announced a new tour date in Indonesia.

The warm-up date will begin at 8:00pm in El Plaza Condesa, Mexico City on March 15th 2013. The band will take the stage on the 16th March for the main concert.

Blur is set to be one of Vive Latino Festival's biggest main bands. Other featured artists in the festival include Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes, Morrissey and Underworld. The band last played in Mexico during their 2003 tours to promote album 'Think Tank'. They also visited Mexico and played for fans in the Metropolitan Theatre in 1999.

According to the information that has been released, tickets for this show will cost 780 Pesos and can be purchased from the pre-sale on February 18th through the Ticketmaster system.

Visit the official El Plaza Condesa website for more information about the concert and ticketing prices.

Check out our Blur World Tour page for all the dates in a convenient table. 

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

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