September News: last updated 15-9-99

BLUR: FOR TOMORROW

Damon Albarn has spoken exclusively to NME to answer rumours that Blur are about to split up.

Speaking on Friday (September 10), Damon said: "It's amazing how people get so excited about an innocuous comment. I said we'll do two more gigs this year in England. Which we are! But we're also doing a South American tour and we're playing in France on Wednesday, you know what I mean? I was just advertising the gigs!"

When asked why Blur were playing a set of A-sides in Wembley, as if to round off their career, he explained: "It's just a nice thing to do at Christmas when everyone wants to have a good time. And we wanted to play our b-sides. It's all geared round this ten year thing really and trying to do gigs which interest us as opposed to, you know, driving ourselves insane doing the same set every night. Which is what most bands do."

The rumours began after Blur's headlining set at this year's Reading Festival. Damon announced the band would play two more gigs and then "do something else". These gigs would coincide with the release of the Blur box-set on Food Records and so it seemed to many that the band were tying up loose ends and concluding their ten year career.

But Damon has now denied the band were even thinking about splitting up. He commented that he enjoyed the sets at Reading and Leeds and was not surprised at the press reaction to his on-stage comments.


BLUR VS OASIS PART 27

Damon Albarn has commented for the first time about the current problems plaguing Oasis.
During an exclusive interview with NME last Friday (September 10), Damon said: "Well, I just think it was a shame when they started appearing in Hello and OK! magazines. For me, that just seemed such a fucking betrayal of what they were all about.
"So I don't know, where do you go from there? It's not really my business. I just think it's just not very cool being in OK! magazine."
Despite the main Oasis vs Blur battles being almost five years ago - a bitter simmering rivalry has remained. Noel Gallagher - ostensibly talking about the departure of Bonehead - recently said: "I donšt fall out with people easily. Apart from that knobhead out of Blur. He looks like a dustbin man these days but good luck to him."


BLUR: SWINGING SINGLES

BLUR will play Wembley Arena on December 11. The gig, which Damon Albarn announced at the Reading Festival without confirming the date, will consist entirely of the band's A-sides, played in chronological order.
The concert, like their gig at the Camden Electric Ballroom last night (September 6), is to support the release of their singles box set on September 27 on Food.
Blur bassist Alex James has also denied that the band were about to split up following Damon's comments at Reading that the band would "do something else" after the Wembley show.
Speaking at London's Groucho Club last week (September 1) at the launch party for the new South Bank Show series on ITV, he said: "There's still more stuff to come. There's not many bands who are still together after ten years. It is amazing it still works at the moment."
A South Bank Show special on Blur will be screened at the end of October. The documentary will follow them on tour, in the studio and back to their home town of Colchester. Each band member tells his own story, with Alex providing a tour of his favourite pubs and clubs around London. Damon, meanwhile, reveals he started Blur, originally called Seymour, after watching a South Bank Show on The Smiths.
Blur have also recorded a reworked version of the South Bank Show theme tune.
It was recorded straight after Reading, and a spokesperson for the band explained that, providing both the programme makers and band like it, it may replace the existing version.
Tickets for Blur's Wembley gig go on sale later this month.


Select

The September issue of Select Magazine has a 5 page article with Alex James. It talks about him flying his plane and why his songs didnt get included on 13. He also speaks a lot about life in London and about Fat Les. There are 7 really ace pictures of him in the article. See the "articles" section of the site to read the article.


Wembley Arena A-sides gig It has been confirmed that Blur will also be playing an A-sides gig at Wembley Arena, in which they will play all their singles. A date will be announced soon, but it will be at the end of the year.

  Camden B-sides gig Blur will be playing a special b-sides gig at The Electric Ballroom in Camden. The gig, which takes place on Monday 6th September will be broadcasted live in Real Video in a special webcast from the Blur:X web-site.


BLUR BRING OUT THE 'B' TEAM
BLUR's b-side gig at London's Camden Electric Ballroom takes place on Monday (September 6). Tickets go on sale today (August 31) at '15 each and are limited to four per person.
Although no date has yet been confirmed for their Wembley show, the band's promoter told nme.com that it would be before the end of the year.
Blur release their box set of all their singles released to date, including all b-sides, on September 27 through Food.

The band have also announced a Central and South American tour starting at Mexico City caree on November 18 and a one-off exhibition celebrating their 10-year at London's Lux Gallery on Hoxton Square on September 11 & 12. Tickets are on sale from Stargreen on 0171 734 8932. BLUR: TO THE END?

Damon Albarn has thrown the future of Blur into doubt announcing onstage from Reading 99 that (after Leeds) they are to play two more gigs - a B-sides show in Camden on Wednesday followed by a Wembley show where they will play all their singles in order (possibly even 'Bang' - a song they vowed never to play again).
He added 'And then we're going to do something else...' a phrase which many observers felt indicated a very long holiday or even a split.
With a box set of every Blur single due this Autumn, a South Bank Show special, an official biography, bizarre onstage pronouncements from T in the Park and a singles concert it appears Blur are rounding up the loose ends of their 10-year history before moving on. Whether this will be a re-invention similar to that which accompanied 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' or 'Blur' is not currently clear.

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