Some people have said Alex James is being too ambitious by stating that he wants Blur to make one final album with their original line-up.

Guitarist Graham Coxon left the indie band in 2002 after being told his services were no longer required – and since then has frequently said that he has no plans to do anything with the rest of them.

But James, who covered for Nemone this afternoon (10 November) on 6 Music, says it’s looking likely that things will get going next year. James was joined on air with another fellow band member, David Rowntree, who claimed that if it was up to him then the band would already be back together:

“The days of Blur doing a tour will not happen, most of the band have kids now, and when you’re a touring band you have to make a choice, so there will never be a return to that, but we have been talking about doing an album next year, we have even set a date for it.”

Previously James said that Graham was also warming to the idea:

“I think we’d all like to make another record. We’d all like to do it with Graham, we may have to beg him a bit though.”

Blur’s members are known for their side projects. Damon Albarn has recorded as Gorillaz plus The Good, The Bad and The Queen, while Coxon has a solo career and James has worked with Stephen Duffy and Keith Allen among others; Rowntree reckons with all that going on it’s too difficult to say what a revived Blur will sound like these days,

“There’s no master sound for how a bands or albums will sound, it’s not like Harry Potter, we didn’t have the concept first and then go and write the books!”

via BBC – 6 Music

Damon Albarn has been speaking to Xfm about his plans for a brand new “aggressively laid back” Blur EP to be released before the end of the year, plus the possibility of some low key live dates.

Following reports that the new Blur material will be more lo-fi and stripped down than their previous work, Albarn spoke to Xfm and explained that fans will probably be able to hear new material from the band pretty soon (if they can find it).

“I think we’re gonna do an EP first, sometime by the end of this year,” he confessed, “But you probably won’t know about it. It’ll just ‘come out’. It’ll be so, sort of, underplayed. It’ll come out but you won’t know it’s us as it’ll be so, well, not us.”

“We’ve got the songs but we’re gonna record them in a few hours and just be very laid back about it. But not musically laid back. It’ll be aggressive. Aggressively laid back. It’s the total opposite of Gorillaz.

“I can’t really make another Blur record that’s a big landscape sort of thing, due to my very basic guitar ability. Cos I want to sing and play so it has to be three chords. I can only do three chords and not look at the guitar.”

Albarn also kyboshed the idea of getting a new guitarist to replace the long departed Graham Coxon saying, “What’s the point? We’d never be able to get one as good as Graham.”

He also admitted that Blur would be playing some live dates towards the end of the year, saying they’d, “Probably do a couple of pubs round Christmas. To be honest with you, it’ll be nice.”

Xfm

Blur have announced that they will record their next album as a trio after Graham Coxon decided to remain solo, with the lack of an extra guitarist meaning a change of sound.

Albarn is reported by NME.com to have said “There is a Blur record at the moment but it’s very basic.

“The reason why it’s so basic is we decided that if we’re going to make another record it’s just got to be the three of us and I’ve got to play guitar.

“And because I’m such a rudimentary guitarist it has to be really stupid and basic punk rock.”

But the follow up to ‘Think Tank’ will not be Albarn’s only concern. Already involved in the Gorillaz project, he is also currently working on his debut solo album, which will have a global element.

“I’m halfway through a record that I started in Nigeria last year,” he said.

“I suppose will end up being my first solo record, although I hate the term ‘solo record’.”

And speaking to Hong Kong station RTHK3, Albarn also said that Gorillaz will reveal their human identities during a five-night stint in Manchester in November.

Virgin.net

Blur are amongst the stars of fashion, film and music who have donated items of their clothing for an online auction to support Oxfam’s lifesaving work around the world. Several of the motorcyle helmets, motorcyle gloves and dancers’ costumes used in the band’s ‘Music is my Radar’ video, along with over a hundred other eminently collectable fashion items, will feature in an online auction during London Fashion Week – 18th to 25th September.

Celebrities were asked to donate their ‘favourite item of clothing’ to the project. These items, many of which were designed by top names, are made even more special by their unique history. Winning bidders will receive a handwritten note with the story behind the item, and details of why it was so important to its previous owner.

The project is a collaboration between top photographer Nick Knight’s SHOWstudio, and i-D magazine. Knight captured images of the items, which had been customised by a team of superstylists, in a fashion shoot featuring stars such as Naomi Campbell, Erin O’Connor, and Karolina Kurkova.

You can see a preview of the items going under the hammer on the SHOWstudio website at: www.showstudio.com/projects/bringandbuy/auction/. and for a chance to win these utterly unique fashion items, log on at: www.oxfam.org.uk/bringandbuy/

There is no reserve on any of the items and the auction begins at 8pm (GMT) September 18, and ends at 8pm September 25.

Thanks to Daisy @ Oxfam

Britpop nostalgia takes over BBC 4 on Tuesday 16 August, as they have a series of programmes entitled “Britpop Night”. It includes a repeat of “Britpop Now”, the Damon hosted show from 1995 in which he introduces performances from Pulp, Supergrass, Elastica, and Blur.

The full schedule can be seen here:
www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/listings/index.shtml?day=tuesday&service_id=4544

Blur FC