ZapGossip

Blur will reunite ‘when it’s wanted’

Damon Albarn says Blur will reunite “when it’s wanted”.

The Britpop legends haven’t toured together since their 2015 run in support of their comeback LP, ‘The Magic Whip’, but the 53-year-old frontman reunited with his bandmates Dave Rowntree, Alex James, and Graham Coxon at his Africa Express show in his hometown of Leytonstone in 2019.

And Damon has revealed the ‘Song 2’ hitmakers have an “idea” up their sleeves for a comeback but want to wait for the right moment.

Speaking to NME, he said: “Well, we did have a chat recently, but we haven’t really progressed further than that.

“We did have an idea though; I’ve just been a bit busy at the moment obviously. When it happens, I’ll be made up.

“When it’s wanted, I’ll do it. I don’t want to foist that stuff on anybody unnecessarily.”

The Gorillaz star previously revealed he turned down offers to reunite with Blur to mark the 25th anniversary of their seminal LP ‘Parklife’ because of Brexit.

The classic 1994 album, which turned 25 on April 25, 2019, was released in a time coined ‘Cool Britannia’ when there was a sense of optimism in the UK, following the tumultuous 70s and 80s, and Damon didn’t feel it was right to celebrate the record at the time when the country was facing leaving the European Union under the helm of then-Prime Minister Theresa May.

Asked if the band had been asked to play shows for the milestone year of ‘Parklife’ – which, along with rival band Oasis’ ‘Definitely Maybe’, was one of the most defining records of the Britpop era – he replied: “Yes, they have been. I’d only want to perform that if it was a positive thing. Say we got to the point of having a second referendum, then I would be happy to play that record as a celebration and as a way of reminding ourselves of a time when we had an idea of Britishness that wasn’t political.

“It was more about our music and culture. That was a bit naive, no question, but it had a funny side, it had a humour to it, and was satirical in some parts.

“So I’m not against performing that album, but I wouldn’t want to do it if I felt like it was just about money.”

The Good, the Bad & The Queen singer quipped that it would take a second referendum for the band to play songs from ‘Parklife’.

He laughed: “Well if you want to be that crude about it.”