Damon Albarn had an in depth interview for The Word magazine
this week. The interview offered many insights into Blur's future and Albarn's
relationship with the rest of the band. But it also gave more mixed messages
about Blur's future; the singer recently said to The Guardian that Blur's
"end" is approaching and that Hyde Park 2012 may be their last ever
gig.
Scroll down and click to open the scans of the interview. Credit goes to Gorillaz-Unofficial for the scans.
Thanks again to Gorillaz Unofficial for transcribing the Blur parts. Scroll down to read what Damon said about Blur, Adele, Alex's five kids, getting fatter, keeping off weight (!) and their 2012 comeback...
Here's my grand theory about Damon
Albarn. It's precisely because you are so in touch with that creative flow that
you can drop in and out of Blur in a way that Morrissey and Robert Plant or Ian
Brown or Paul Weller never can do with the bands that launched them. Your own
work is never threatened, never overshadowed.
That is it exactly and I know it's a very
unusual situation to be in. But that's completely accidental, I assure you. I
just love music and I love making it and I'm adventurous, so why should
anything else overshadow something I do? Of course I respect Blur enormously,
and that's why it's always good to go back to them. Writing that song was
important as it felt like I was contributing to a real band again. It's a chord
sequence I've had for years - it's such a standard chord sequence, I thought it
was too obvious to use. I wrote it, lightheartedly, as an idea for a national
anthem I was going to write for my house in Devon and that whole beautiful area
by the sea. The idea was to have one copy, one record I'd keep on a wind-up gramaphone,
and play it as I hoisted the flag. Obviously I never got round to it! I started
it as, "There was a bright sky in my city today..." It was when the
cold spell was coming, so it talks about snow and that beautiful moment when
the planes come in at sunset and they turn into comets. So it's about the
Westway too. The lyrics were written upstairs too. The men in yellow jackets
are in it. In the song they're putting adverts in my dreams (grimaces). That's
a scary though. People just walking into your dream and holding up a sign that
reads, "NIKE".
That day is coming soon.
I know and I always enjoyed it in Blur when we
had songs like The Universal, which seemed very strange and at odds with the
spirit of the times, but now they're these dystopian anthems.
Are the rest of Blur like distant family
members now?
There is definitely an element of that, but,
honestly, I still feel like I always did making music with Graham. We started
together and we still have that magic, and that's really nice. But we've also
had a decade of not talking to each other. Nothing just arrives. If you want to
stay in a band and do good stuff, it's a very hard road.
Your relationship with Graham goes back to
childhood - not many people get to share that kind of history.
I suppose not, but we don't dwell on it. I'm
just really glad that we got the band back together in 2008. That was the
healing that we needed. But Blur had to have a reason each time it comes to
life. It can't just because people have bills to pay.
You would refuse to take part under those
circumstances?
Absolutely. I have done. I could be an
incredibly wealthy man. I'm not a badly off man anyway, but I could be far
wealthier than I am if I'd agreed to all the things that we've been offered and
if I worked to those principles. But Blur has to be special; it has to have a
joy for me to make it work.
But that's tricky because you might be in a
better position than anyone else in Blur to pay your bills?
Well (very long pause) that's because I go to
work at ten o'clock and finish at five, five days a week. It's my job! We all
have our own situations. Alex has five children. That is extraordinary to me
(very long pause) but, of course, that's wonderful and I'm proud of him. Dave
is nearly a lawyer now; he has this amazing alter ego. Everyone works very hard
in Blur. But I also work with a lot of other people.
The three other members of Blur seem a bit
more damaged by the experience than you.
That's true. But I have made life a lot harder
for people in a lot of other ways. You can't compare experiences. I'm reluctant
to do that. The older you get, the more you realise that it's the same for
everyone. When we were at the Brits I was conscious of how there were all these
people who were about 25, then this massive gap until people like us. With
Coldplay in the middle. (pause) and that's their business.
That's where they're comfortable.
Well, exactly. When you first put a record out
and it does well, your sense of entitlement become incredible. The first thing
you ever did and everyone's into it! Naturally you then assume that everything
you do will become of interest to people!
And that's not quite the case, is it?
Ha! No, that's such an illusion, I liked the
way all these kids are all very excited about taking on the world.
Do you remember what it felt like to be in
a hot new band?
I do remember that feeling - it's wonderful
but it's an illusion. Being older and seeing it all in a very different light
was a lot of fun. Singing This Is A Low with Guy Garvey was magical and I loved
camping it up on the ramp. I really did! Once in a blue moon for that sort of
thing is lovely, but you must never forget it's all an illusion. That's why
ritual in your life is important. Ritual can feel different at different times
in your life, but that's why you maintain it, so that it does give you these
super-sensitive reflections of who you are and where you are.
......
Let's talk about your Brit Awards speech,
which certainly split opinion.
Well, that's why I agreed to do it in the
first place! Hand on heart, I did it so I could thank a lot of people
especially [his and Blur's manager] Chris Morrison, his contribution to our
lives. He's been an important player and a good operator and a great friend.
Poor old Adele though?
Yeah, but that's nothing to do with me. We
were standing there like lemons waiting for the curtain to come up. I'd have
been quite happy to wait another two minutes and let her finish her speech. I
didn't mind. None of us were bothered by that at all.
..........
How do you feel about closing the Olympics?
Blur have now been positioned as the single most emblematic English band. You
are representing your country!
Yes, yes, that's all true. But I don't think
about it too much. I don't think about it too much at all. All I know is I have
to be fighting weight and I have to be able to hit all the top notes. What's
really important is that there's enough spark left in the material to make for
some real drama and joy on the day itself. To make all that work I have to be
pretty fit these days.
Does that get harder?
No, not at all! It's great. It's just a
wonderful excuse to be strong.
_________________
This particular interview seems much more friendlier and positive than the Guardian one (click to read). Blur's future may not be as bleak as it looks after all, unless of course Damon changes his mind again.
Additionally, Graham Coxon did an interview for the Manchester
Evening News on April 13th, and at the end he says of Blur "Now
the pressure is off and people are used to us being back it feels nice again'
and ' Blur are capable of a lot of really interesting stuff, so it's really
healthy, and we can do what we feel like doing, we're not forced to get on the
treadmill. It's a great situation".
Blur forumer Jonathans offers an interesting theory - "Can we allow for the possibility that Damon is
actually doing something quite sensible; taking the classic denial route which
means that eventually people stop asking about a blur comeback and leave the
band to get on with it quietly, or at least decide in their own time what they
want to do next. Personally, I think it makes sense to stonewall the topic and
let things happen, if they happen, when they happen."
Makes sense, we think.
Read Damon's full Guardian interview deeming the end of Blur HERE
Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS (Adele!) HERE
Read all about Blur talking about their bleak future HERE
New "tear jerker" song HERE and check out their newest track Under the Westway HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.
SUBSCRIBE NOW!
If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!
Stay Tuned and Get The Latest Blur News delivered straight to you- BlurBalls is the most updated Blur fan site on the internet!
Also email subscribe to receive the latest news on everything Blur, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon!
