Blur say upcoming Wembley gig nearly didn’t happen
And Damon Albarn says there will be no messing around with the classics
Yesterday Blur announced a huge reunion show at Wembley Arena for next summer.
It will be their first major show in seven years but, according to drummer Dave Rowntree, it nearly didn’t happen.
Speaking to Sky News, he said: “Turns out it’s incredibly difficult to arrange something like this, you know, the technical resources, the staff, the places to play.
“All of these things are in very, very short supply.
“So it went right up to the wire, but it’s very hard to turn something like that down.”
Watch: Blur Wembley Stadium announcement video
He added that getting to play Wembley was a ‘bucket list’ event, even for a band as successful as Blur.
“We’re a band that’s done almost everything it’s possible to do… what an iconic place, what an iconic venue. It’s just incredibly exciting,” he continued.
“It’s one of these iconic places that are secretly up on your bucket list, even though you pretend they’re not.
He added: “I sincerely hope we are a band that can fill a stadium like that. I don’t want there to be four people and a dog.”
It seems like there’s little chance of that with the band set to play a greatest hits set at the venue, which has a concert capacity of almost 100,000.
Talking about the reunion on Apple Music 1, frontman Damon Albarn said: “Blur was a massive part of my life and their lives. So we all cherish those memories, but we wouldn’t want to ruin them.”
When host Matt Wilkinson said that they hadn’t done that yet, Albarn replied: “To date, we haven’t. Well, I know they work, so I don’t have to worry about that.
“It’s just, can we play them with the integrity that they deserve because it’s kind of like time travel, isn’t it?"
Watch: Blur - 'Parklife'
He continued: “And people don’t really want to see you mess about with that stuff. It’s like, no, hey, we’re going to a whole concert, but there’s like re-imaginings of all our songs. No, no one’s interested in that.”
Blur will play Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8th July 2023, with support from slowthai, Self Esteem and Jockstrap.
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