Blur have moved far beyond their Britpop fame and outlived the in-house squabbling that destroyed their counterparts Oasis. But the break-up of Blur has never been a permanent one having reformed before and singer Damon Albarn now describes the band as ‘four sweaty blokes’. It a kinder description than comedian Frankie Boyle’s acerbic summation labelling them as, ‘a guitar playing c***, a new Labour c***, a cheese making c*** ….and a c***’. Nonetheless Damon has the legend, ‘I’m a c***’ written on the back of his right hand for much of the early part of the film. Their new documentary ‘Blur to the End’ quite rightly doesn’t see them like that.
The toll of being in the one of biggest bands of that era is clear. Guitarist Graham Coxon is the first to admit that despite forming his own breakaway band he still has few friends. Drummer Dave Roundtree is something of a free spirit pursuing whatever takes his interest having trained in law previously. Damon is a dynamo of creativity always writing songs and incapable of resting (one notable shot sees him so exhausted that he falls asleep at a keyboard as he’s playing it) and its probably chain smoking bassist Alex James who, though he upped sticks and bought a dairy farm in the West country admits, ‘there’s always a really good reason not to go to bed’.
It’s a reunion that almost starts with disaster as Damon drives along a narrow country lane to his Devon home almost having a head on collision. But as the band turn up one by one there’s an initial anxiety from each which almost instantly disappears once they meet up like they had never been apart for eight years.
And so the process of writing and recording the new album ‘The Ballad of Darren’ begins before they go on a low key four date tour of unlikely venues that takes in pensioner central aka Eastbourne where you expect Damon to open with, ‘Hello Eastbourne!…….I said, HELLO EASTBOURNE!…..LISTEN, I SAID HELLOOOOOO EASTBOURNE!!!!’ But all the dates are sold out and the band have lost none of their energy opening with hyper active versions of ‘Popscene’ heard multiple times throughout the film. There’s a glimpse of Albarn and Coxon revisiting their old school with the headmaster enthusiastically guiding them around the grounds culminating in their music room now renamed ‘The Albarn & Coxon music room’ which Damon suggests could be made even better with a bowl of weed. It’s not long before they quickly leave and start the tour which will see them play Wembley stadium, a venue they’ve never played before and now is in danger of not happening because Rowntree has a knee injury caused by the most rock n roll of reasons …he picked up a tennis ball.
This is not the first documentary about the band. There was New World Towers in 2015 and before that 2010’s ‘No Distance Left to Run’ but ‘Blur To the End’ shows them older, maybe a bit wiser and at ease with each other, no longer feeling the need to endlessly record, tour and promote. Comfortable instead to do their own thing and rather to get back together only when they feel like it rather than having to. Coxon comes out of their reunion, ‘validated and new’ but it is Albarn who puts it best when he says, ‘there’s ‘something healing about creating a beautiful noise’
related feature : Noel Gallagher interviewed at the World premiere of Oasis Knebworth 96 film
related feature : ‘The Greatest Hits’ director Ned Benson talks the greatest songs…..
We chat with the documentary director Toby L about working with Damon Albarn …..and also Liam Gallagher…..
Here’s the Blur to the End trailer….
