Damon Albarn on his Manchester Comeback

Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has described his return to the stage as "kind of like getting back into a dating game". 

Albarn performed as part of the Manchester International Festival 2 weeks ago for the first time since the start of the coronavirus pandemic. Speaking at Manchester Central, he said: "These places need to be alive and if it's OK for Wembley to have 60,000 people, then it's definitely alright for this to have 10,000 people."

Watch a video below for an interview before his Manchester performance. 

How To Clean While Listening to Blur Music- LeJoy Robot Vacuum Cleaner Review

With the amount of time spent at home listening to Blur music, my house is getting pretty dirty and messy. Working from home isn't easy, but today I want to share a robot vacuum cleaner that I used to speed up my cleaning process.

LeJoy is a new brand selling robot vacuum cleaners, something that I've always wanted to try. Seriously, vacuuming takes me a long time and these gadgets have been around for years. I've never quite managed to save up enough to buy one, but this LD20 Robot Vacuum Cleaner is affordable (only around 290 GBP on Amazon) and shipping only took a day for Prime members.

This is my honest review of the robot vacuum cleaner, which came in a compact, beautiful box. Take a look below! 

For starters, this vacuum cleaner is ultra quiet. It enables me to listen to Damon Albarn singing while it cleans- yes it's that quiet. My normal vacuum cleaner was cheap and inefficient, and was so loud that it hurts my ears. This little device saved me from so much time! In terms of the power, the vacuum cleaner is strong enough to suck up all the dust from my carpets, and the hairs lying around. The rotating brushes picks up small pieces of dirt and does really well with cleaning crumbs and little bits of food on the floor.

This cleaner doubles up as a mop too, so it's fantastic if you have hard floors. Living in the UK means that there are lots of dust and dirt around the air, especially being in a city- vacuuming is such a chore. Overall, I'd rate this cleaner a 9/10 and would recommend it as an addition to any house. Note that it can't clean the whole house by itself as it's quite a compact package, so you'd probably add it to a cleaning routine rather than use it to replace your existing vacuum. 

Use FLOW15 for 15% off Lejoy! 

Note: this is a sponsored post. Blurballs may have received compensation for the review but all opinions are completely honest and genuine. 

Graham Coxon Revisits Modern Life Is Rubbish in 2021

Watch Graham Coxon talk about his love for Modern Life is Rubbish in a little snippet of nostalgia! Hope you Blur fans enjoy this gem of a video!  

Damon Albarn performs Aries Live

 Old news, but gold news nonetheless. Watch Damon Albarn perform "Aries" in one of his best live performances in a long time.

Interview with Veikko from Veikko's Blur Page - vblurpage.com

For long-time fans of Blur, we all know that there has been a host of Blur fan sites that have come and go over the last 10-12 years since the Internet began to bloom. Some pages have stayed (like this one!) but most Blur fan sites have disappeared off the internet. We are fortunate to talk to the founders of one of the biggest Blur fan sites in existence- Veikko's Blur Page. 

Founded by Veikko, the Blur site is regularly updated with Blur news plus the band's latest musical offerings and discography. The best part of the site is that it hosts a Blur forum where fans can gather and share their love of the band. Some fans may remember that the official Blur website used to contain a discussion forum which was shut down after Blur announced their comeback a few years ago. 

Read on for an exclusive interview with Veikko, who talks about his love for Blur and what inspires him to run one of the biggest Blur fan sites out there. 

1) How did you get into Blur? 

I first saw the videos of "Girls & Boys" and "Country House" on MTV, and a few months later my mum bought me The Great Escape album as a Christmas present. I got hooked to the album's diverse music style and started to explore the band's back catalogue with a wide smile.

2) Name your 3 favourite Blur songs and why! 

1. The Universal - a perfect song with a great arrangement. 

2. Tender - another beautiful classic. 

3. Beetlebum - a magical and brave tune. Love the guitar work!

3) How do you think the Blur fans community has changed over the years? 

I don't think it has changed at all, and that's a good thing! 

4) What inspires you to keep running VBlurPage? 

New releases and live shows from Blur and related artists like Gorillaz, feedback and support from fans, contributions (pictures, setlists etc.) that I can add to my site.

I want to say huge thanks to Moritz, Ewa, Diego and Vítek for providing me with a huge amount of material over the last few years. 

5) How do you encourage people to use your forums and what kind of blur fans are there? 

I try my best to keep the forums a nice and safe place for discussion. Forums may be out of fashion, but I think they are still the best platform to have discussions. It helps that most of the people on my board are very nice and moderation is very rarely needed. 

6) What do you think Blur will do in the future? 

My guess is that they will do a few live shows in 2022 or 2023. 

7) What do you think Blur fan sites should focus more on? 

There are no bosses in this hobby, so just do what you enjoy to do! :)

VBlurpage: http://www.vblurpage.com

Damon Albarn Confirms New Solo Album in 2021

Breaking news- Damon Albarn has announced that he has signed a record deal with Transgressive Records for a second solo album to be released in 2021 or 2022. The last time Damon has made a solo album was in 2014 when he released the critically acclaimed album titled "Everyday Robots".

“Damon has recently put the finishing touches to his much-anticipated, second solo album, full details for which will be released soon,” Transgressive announced recently on their social media outlets. 

The indie label was initially founded by Tim Dellow and Toby L in 2004 and produces records for artists such as Arlo Parks, Alvvays, Foals and Johnny Flynn.

According to Transgressive: “We have had the great pleasure of collaborating with Damon over the years via the incredible Africa Express project, which has introduced many gifted artists to the Transgressive world. His voracious passion for music and exploration knows no bounds and repeatedly defies convention or categorisation, whilst always remaining utterly inviting and intoxicating throughout. 

“Truly prolific, his latest solo work is amongst the finest of his career. We really couldn’t be more honoured to welcome Damon and his phenomenal team at Eleven Management into the Transgressive family, with an ongoing focus to break new ground and subvert expectations in a way that only he can.”

Damon is also scheduled to play at Edinburgh International Festival alongside the likes of Laura Mvula, Caribou and The Snuts in August 2021. 

It looks like this is the beginning of a new era for the musician and undoubtedly, Damon Albarn fans will be looking forward to lots more news to come. 

Back in 2012, Damon announced that he was releasing his first solo album of his career. titled Everyday Robots The album was made available via online streaming to the public. You can listen to the album in full below. 

Stay tuned for more and do subscribe to Blurball's Facebook page to get the latest news and updates on all things Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Blur and Gorillaz. 

The Real Reason Why Damon Albarn turned down Prince

Rumour has it, Damon Albarn turned down a meeting with Prince because of his love of cigarettes and drinking. In an interview from 2018, Damon told the interviewer that he was invited to go an play with Prince at the Purple One’s studio at Paisley Park, but he turned down the invitation after being informed that Prince didn’t want people smoking in his studio. 

Damon said: “I was having a drink and a fag—I don’t actually smoke anymore, knocked that one on the head—but if you can’t be who you... If I’ve invited someone to my studio, they’re my guest, and there aren’t any conditions like that.”

“Anyway, it’s like, I can have a cigarette outside if I needed it—I’d be fucking excited, right? Why the fuck would I not want to fucking go mad if I’m with Prince? I’d rather not do it and not get pissed off with the whole thing. It’s just one of those ‘could have been’... I’ve got a few of those.”

Damon is set to perform on stage in Glastonbury Festival in England on the 22nd May, as well as in the O2 London for his Gorillaz concert in August of the same year. 

Listen to Damon talk about his experience below! 

Damon Albarn On Playing To Cows At Glastonbury 2021

 Damon Albarn recently spoke out about playing to the "cows not the crowds" at this year's Glastonbury 2021. Damon was recently featured on ITV News talking about Brexit, Covid and playing at this year's live streaming event during Glastonbury 2021.

In response to what it was like playing to the cows instead of crowds, Damon responded that he quite "liked" playing to the cows. Dressed in a beanie cap, sunglasses and golden necklace, the singer gave a good-natured interview to the media and also discussed the challenges facing musicians during the pandemic outbreak. 

Damon also talked about Brexit. He talked about how a lack of travel and ties to Europe is hurting musicians' ability to travel to play. He concluded that if we can "meditate" on these serious issues during these tough times, then people can move forward and continue to create good music. 

On streaming culture, Damon said that the deals between the industry and artists has always been "outrageous" and "unbalanced". Damon empathised with how difficult it must be to have a livelihood when main source of income for musicians have evaporated. 

Watch the full interview below. 

Best Damon Albarn Quotes Of All Time

Damon Albarn has always had a way with words. He has said so many memorable things over his musical career. Here are some of the highlights from the man himself. 

1. "I must admit that I always found it incredibly easy to get off with girls. When you’re a teenager, picking up girls is a bit like getting run over by a large vehicle. You see a juggernaut approaching and you have to know when to throw yourself under it. I always seemed to know when to throw myself on the floor and get what I wanted." (on getting girls)

2. "I don’t feel anything with a passion. I’m not a very passionate bloke. I can’t bring myself to actually believe in passion." (on his interests)

3. "Life is very different in my home. My status is extremely different. I’m not taken very seriously, in a good way. I walk around in my pants, which my daughter finds highly embarrassing. I’m just a normal, down-to-earth dad." (on fatherhood)

4."I’m actually really passionate about puppets. I had these puppets made of me when I was in Jakarta. I originally wanted to use them in a video for a song on the album, 'Hollow Ponds', which has a strong dateline of me growing up. So now I’ve got these ten puppets of me at home – and one of Barack Obama. I may turn it into a puppet show for kids. I love puppets." (on his passions)

5."That’s just been lost this year. I think that, even though we’re not necessarily aware of it at the time, we all evolve when something like this happens." (on Covid lockdowns)

6."When you’re in an indie band it’s like a marriage, you know? You’re married to everything about it. I was just at the front being a fucking knobhead frontman for quite a long period of time." (on Blur)

7."I was always accused of being a bit of a dilettante back in the day. I never really saw it like that. I was just interested in lots of different things, and I wanted to see how I could somehow articulate my own thing through other things. No one actually comes up with something that reinvents music." (on music)

8."Rock is the easy option. You can write mediocre songs, mumble words, put a lot of attitude into it and be successful. But pop is so much more of an expose. If 'Girls and Boys hadn't had something to say and the sounds that we used hadn't been thought through, it would have been embarrassing." (on writing pop songs)

9. "I don't think anybody understood the irony. I seriously doubt it. Modern Life Is Rubbish [1993] and Parklife [1994] were angry records. The Great Escape [1995, number one in the UK, and Blur's biggest-selling album worldwide to date] was a rather cynical album, everything seemed to be going down hill, and I was cynical, too cynical." (on his albums)

10. "We were together for eight years. Eight years are a long time, a very long time. Especially if the relationship is as public as our relationship was. I went through a phase where I thought I've got to justify my feelings, everything I invested in that relationship. As a musician usually music is your way out." (on his ex-girlfriend Justine Frischmann)