October 4, 2012

Damon Albarn wants to make Another Opera

Damon Albarn has spoken about his future plans - to possibly write and compose another new opera, following the success of his latest 'Dr Dee'. 

At the English National Opera (ENO) on October 3rd, Damon Albarn said: "I've got a really good idea. I'm not going to say what it is, but it's interesting". 

According to NME, Albarn was at the London Opera house to help launch "Undress For The Opera", a program to attract younger audiences to watch and enjoy opera by lowering prices and relaxing the usually strict dress code. 

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Albarn supported this scheme, and said "I quite like dressing up, but I also like to have the choice. I like the ritual of dressing up to go and see something, but at the same time you don’t have to."

"I’m quite clearly not someone who had any form of opera education. I’ve done it entirely instinctively. The fact that the English National Opera is prepared to encourage that is a great sign of its health."



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It seems that Damon treats opera as a more serious, heavy "long term study thing". "I was too busy jumping up and down on stages around the world when I should have been at college finishing my classical musical education." said the Blur frontman. Without jumping up and down stages, however, where would Damon Albarn be now ? 

Damon Albarn also said: "Opera as a form can go forward and allow people to use these incredible facilities to find something new. At some point I hope I can deliver something to the ENO that ticks every single box but doesn’t compromise where I come from as well."




Looks like we'll be getting a new Albarn opera soon, one that ticks every single box for the fans. 

Check out Telegraph.co.uk comprehensive article on "Undress for the Opera" scheme


Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE
Order the new Blur boxset HERE
Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE
Blur Exhibition review and photos HERE
Margate Gig (2012) review and pictures HERE
Rumours: Blur still play live after Hyde Park? HERE

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October 2, 2012

Graham Coxon celebrates at Reeperbahn Festival - Sep 2012

Graham Coxon recently played in Hamburg, Germany's Reeperbahn Festival. The festival is a club-run musical festival that runs from the 20th - 24th September 2012.  Graham said it was "historic, legendary and famous". He even said he enjoyed sightseeing the places where The Beatles played, Beatlemania museum and searching for the Beat shop. 

Graham has his roots in Germany he was born in Niedersachsen, Germany in 1969 because his father had a job as the local army bandsman. The Coxon family lived in Germany for 5 years before moving to Derbyshire, England. It wasn't until a few years later that he met Damon Albarn when they moved again to Colchester. 


Check out his latest interview from the Reeperbahn Festival. He talks about Oasis/ Blur's feud, the Olympics closing ceremony gig, Noel Gallagher's tour and Germany. He was questioned a lot about what type of audience he preferred, and he even talks a bit about Blur




Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE
Order the new Blur boxset HERE
Blur first ever 2012 gig-  Maida Vale gig full coverage HERE
Blur Exhibition review and photos HERE
Margate Gig (2012) review and pictures HERE
Rumours: Blur still play live after Hyde Park? HERE

SUBSCRIBE NOW!

If you missed old news, visit the NEWS ARCHIVE to read about past news!

Remember to subscribe to RSS and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook.

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September 29, 2012

21 things you didn't know Graham Coxon said - Quotes

Graham Coxon, the quiet, shy guitarist from Blur. Contrary to what most people think, Graham has actually said a good many things that are hilarious, deep and memorable. Sometimes they are downright strange! Here's our list of the top 21 things you didn't know Graham Coxon has said.

1. "Watching Noel Gallagher play, he has too much fucking respect for the instrument. To get the best out of a guitar, you've got to fucking hate it as well."


2. "There we're so many weird things going on at that time, if Damon turned into a lizards with a mod suit I wouldn't have been surprised" - On Britpop 

3. "We can make good music together but God knows what might happen if we tried to make music individually, it'd be shit." 

4. " Alex used to say such awful things. When he would be booking a hotel he would say that his name was Alex Frombler and that depressed me and when we were doing Budokan he would tell me how much we were getting paid for the show. Those things ate away at me" 

5. " We rode the pop-horse until it dropped dead"

6. "Damon will always have extremes. When we were at school together, he would always be duffed up in the toilets. We used to go out on the town and he'd get beaten up by the New Model Army crew. We used to go to a pub called The Cups, and every time I went there with Damon he'd go to the bog and he'd have his beating up. And he'd go: 'Graham, Graham, I've just been beaten up.' And I'd go: 'Oh my God.' So he'd go: 'I'm going'. And I'd say: 'No, stay, have another drink.' And then he'd go, and I'd stay behind and get drunk with the people who beat him up."

7. "I used to have a cat called Bastard. He ran away."

8. "I like it when girls go "Fuck me, fuck me, fuck me." - a very young Graham

9. "It seems that Damon and I are going to be in each other's lives musically forever, in some way or other. Whether it's with Blur or without Blur or sort of like the Old Gits, probably. Which is quite an amusing thought. We just get on very well, especially musically." 

10. "I only eat beef when I'm in Texas." 
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11. Dave is a mid-21st-century kind of guy. Alex is definitely late 20th. I can imagine Damon strutting about in the 18th century, wearing tall powdered wigs, lace ru es on his shirts. I'm quite medieval compared to them, especially about technology. I think most technology is rubbish. It's supposed to improve our lives but it just makes it worse. (on why the four members of Blur are from different centuries. )


12. Of course I'm a hedonist, what else is there to live for? The rest is just killing time.

13. Most of America don't even listen to music probably. They just go raccoon hunting or something.
14. He didn't really have any friends. He had it hard because of his name too, which people would make jokes about. 'All Bran' and stupid kids' stuff. The skins would kick him about in the toilets and hold him down and write '666' on his forehead. That's probably why he's so scared and such an emotional wreck. I thought he was a really great bloke. I'd never known anyone like him. That kinda happens with me except its chavs that do it to me and they draw glasses and a scar on my head because of my name Harry, and those 'smart' people call me Harry Potter. I can relate to Damon in many ways, its ashame that's one. I know how he feels...

15. 'Pikachu, it's just saying it's own name, like Craig David, over and over again. Little egoist' - MTV Cribs 

16. "My next album is only going to be understood by a certain race of elves." 

17. “Damon and I especially have done that. I’d give him lovebites and he’d give me lovebites. A cruel trick. But it’s never really soberly. And after kissing him… it’s a bit like when farmers force sheep into sheep dips. When they come out the other side they’re probably quite similar to how I feel after kissing him. To quote Justine, he’s a washing machine mouth. He’s got a very large tongue, you see, and I haven’t.”  - On Kissing Men

18. "I've never stuck with any particular look. I want long and short hair - at the same time" - on Looks 

19. “My new album, A+E, is very English. If it was an outfit, it would be some battered Oxford brogues with a toe cap, a Velvet Underground T-shirt and any old Levi’s.” - on A+E

20. “I’m one of those self-conscious people who needs drink before I can [dance]. I used to dance a lot to The Smiths when I was a teenager. And The Jam, I used to go to a lot of mod clubs and stuff. But as soon as I got mildly famous it just stopped. I got self-conscious, I dance at home…” - on Dancing and Shyness 

21. “My hobby is my job…. it’s a jobby!” - on being a musician 


More Blur quotes coming on this page

Check out our Top 30 Damon Albarn quotes HERE 


September 25, 2012

Blur - 15 memorable Alex James Quotes

Alex James - the laid-back one, the cool one, the one with the long haircut... He's been labeled as the cheese farmer, the man with a-lot-of-kids and is known as the one most of Blur gets on well with. Here are our top 15 favourite Alex James sayings. 

  1. "The thing I really like about this band is that every time I walk out of my door I bump into Graham, no matter where I am! That always reassures me." - Alex. 
  2. We're genre-sluts, really. We're all good players, and I don't see why we should have to confine ourselves into playing in one particular style. The Beatles never did. It's whatever floats the boat, really.
  3. I'd always wanted to be an idiot genius Soho alcoholic.
  4. "What you've got to do is look in your cupboard, see what's there, put it all in a big pot, sprinkle some grated cheese on top and bung it in the oven. That's what pop music is all about." 
  5. “Damon? What can I say? He’s a confrontational… objectionable … big-headed…arrogant...beauty.”  - On Albarn
  6. “All you need are three chords, a good haircut, and balls.”  - on Fame
  7. Alex (To liam about the chart battle): "Both our fucking songs where shit anyway!" 
  8. Graham thinks he can fly, Damon says he can fly, Dave's got an aeroplane, but I've got me feet on the ground. 
  9. "We've always been too friendly, too clever and too good-looking for a lot of people." on Blur
  10. 'Watching football is like watching sex. It's good, but participating's much better'
  11. "You can't say that we're unemotional! Emotion is inherent in everything we do. Emotion isn't about standing on mountains going, "I'VE GOT A BROKEN HEART!" If you're going to sing about your heart, you might as well rhyme it with fart, as far as I'm concerned..."
  12. "From the start, my relationship with him was confrontational. He asked me how good his songs were and I said, "Not very good at all". Damon liked the theatre and Hermann Hesse. He wore sandals, had a collection of magic hats and followed the cycles of the moon."
     - on Damon Albarn
  13. "I only go out once or twice a week now. Monday to Wednesday and Thursday to Sunday."
  14. "Damon had just finished drama college and was working in a fast-food hellhole at Euston Station.It took me a while to get to know Damon, and I never really knew what he was thinking - unlike Graham, who, like me, just wanted to be down the pub."
  15. "Champagne gives you bad breath - so you have to eat one raw carrot per bottle".
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Inside Alex James' head
Check out our Top 30 Damon Albarn quotes HERE 

More Blur quotes coming on this page

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