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Music

Rebirth of Blur

After months of speculation and typical Damon Albarn aloofness, the NME has officially confirmed the frontrunner for ‘09’s reunion of the year – Blur is back! Eat it Noel Gallagher.

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Albarn, Alex James, Dave Rowntree and original breakup-er Graham Coxon will be on stage together for the first time in nine years when they play London ‘s Hyde Park in July.

Other dates are expected in the UK , but have yet to be announced. As for North America, this shit seems tailor-made for that sunny California festival in the desert. But it’s not a lock, considering a performance at Coachella in the spring would trump Hyde by several months, and potentially piss off the Brits.

In 2002, Coxon left amid recording for their last album, Think Tank, which was a more cerebral effort compared to Blur’s Britpop roots. Though the band went on hiatus two years later, it wasn’t like everybody retreated to their castles in the country and sat by the phone waiting for each other to call. Each member has been productively busy in the last five-six years. Witness:

Albarn – The cherubic-faced singer has arguably found more success with his animated project Gorillaz than with his Blur mates, depending on of course whether you count record sales as a measure of success. Gorillaz sold more units and charted higher in North America than Blur ever did. But will we be asking about a Gorillaz reunion six years from now? Nope. Albarn also assembled super-group the Good, the Bad and the Queen, and wrote a well-received Chinese opera.

Coxon – If Think Tank proved anything it was that Coxon took Blur’s hooks with him when he left. But the guitarist needed Albarn’s melodic sense just as much, as his several solo albums made certain. Coxon’s post-Blur solo records were mostly high-energy punk and new wave blasts, but his “challenged” vocals could never take him above and beyond a fascination for wounded Blur fans.

Rowntree – Since the breakup it’s been all politics for the Blur drummer. Rowntree latest attempt to defend Labour Party seats in London and Westminster council failed last February. It was his second go at getting into Parliament. He also owns an animation studio and was studying to become a barrister.

James – The most stylish member of the group has been mostly busy raising a family, and has shown little interest in music outside of Blur. The bassist however has been laying the groundwork for a journalism career once Blur is finally put to bed. James has written for various Brit newspapers and magazines, as well as numerous TV appearances, including a BBC documentary called Cocaine Diaries: Alex James in Columbia (a subject he most likely researched thoroughly in the 90s). Oh, and he also makes expensive cheese.

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