Alex James talks music and stars in New Interview 2013

Alex James was interviewed recently in a new feature article from the Daily Mail. The piece, dating February 1st 2013, was about the Blur bassist's farm life, children, his latest antics, new shoes and of course - his (relatively) new cheese. 

Alex talked about his farm's lavish music room, where his children have been experimenting with making music.

"My wife Claire and I bought this farm on our honeymoon nine years ago, and we all use this room to relax"

Alex talks about running with his new pair of spikes, his new lifestyle and joys of being a father. He also reminisced about the early Blur days, when the band had fun "clubbing in Studio 54 in New York", USA during one of their first ever tours.

"Running is like the opposite of drinking. You feel awful while you’re doing it and great afterwards." - Alex James, Feb 2013 

By now you may have realised that Alex's childrens' names are all related to space and stars. What's more, Alex also appeared on a video where he takes his 2013 Freelander 2 to Oxfordshire in search of the perfect spot for star gazing. Watch the short, but interesting clip below. 

Don't forget to read the full Alex James interview for February 2013 by clicking HERE. 

Stay tuned for more Blur updates because new festival lineups will be announced in the coming week!

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

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Blur to play South America to wrap up 2013

You say it, and we will listen - at least that's the vibe that Blur's management have been giving out recently. The band have been announcing tour dates and venues for their 2013 shows steadily since late last year, and now it seems that a South American date will be added to the list. 

Sara-m-a, an active fan on the forums, sends in an exciting piece of news - Blur have answered some of the fan's private messages saying that there will be a South America date for Blur in November 2013. 

Blur announced that they will be headlining Coachella in California, USA just this week. The news was met with cheers from the fans who are in America. However, fans in other parts of the world have not been too pleased with the news. 

For months before, fans from around the world have been petitioning Blur to perform in South America as part of their 2013 semi-world tour. 

Facebook petitions such as 'BLUR Tour North & South America - Petition' have been making an online presence within the fan community. The group also met success with a campaign to push the hashtag #BlurArgentina and #BlurLatinoAmerica2013 to trend on twitter earlier this month. 

And the efforts seem to be working - Blur has replied "We hear you" to the fan's private messages and words for a new tour venue. 

The Blur fans from Chile and Argentina also managed to get their own trending topic, asking Blur to visit them again. 

Photo credits to the Blur fan from Argentina

Sara-m-a, an active fan on the official Blur forums, is one of the main leaders of the petitions. She speaks a little about why the cause is important to her and her fellow fans:

"Since Blur gave us hints that the band could do a extensive tour, the long forgotten and neglected fans from Latin America have been making several campaigns on the internet. It's remarkable the number of fans club and webpages dedicated to the band. 

It seems that people are trying to get their pleas to the band all the way from South America. Lets not forget that Blur visited México just twice and Brazil and Argentine just once, during '99 tour. No wonder latin fans feel ignored."

Since the Blur tour dates have already been decided long ago by their management, it is not surprising that the announcements are rolling out in a controlled, one-by-one basis. Having heard all the positive energy from the fans' online campaigns, the management has slipped out another piece of good news for the band - a new tour date to wrap up 2013. 

Stay tuned and remember to subscribe for more details about this new tour. 

To join in on discussions and other Blur-related chat, check out these Blur fan pages and fan clubs: 

Blur México

Blur USA 

Blur Colombia 
Blur Argentina / Group 
Blur Chile / Group
Blur Perú 
Blur Brasil 

Comunidad De Blur 

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

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Blur confirmed to headline Coachella 2013

Blur has just been confirmed to be the top headliners in this year's Coachella festival 2013.  The massive music festival will be held in California, United States in the last weekend of April - from 12-14th April and 19-21st April 2013. 

Other top lineups include Phoenix, Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Lou Reed. Beach House, Modest Mouse and Grinderman will also be playing, as well as Nick Cave and Vampire Weekend.

The announcement came after months of speculation and rumours about whether Blur will be the headlining act - and the news has just been officially confirmed. Damon Albarn and the other members of Blur previously played Coachella in 2003, 2009 and 2010.

It seems that Blur is indeed doing a world tour in 2013 because they have confirmed festivals as far as Japan, Germany, Berlin and Norway for this year. Now that America has also been announced, the big question remains - what will come out of this world tour ? A new album perhaps ? 

Ticketing information can be found HERE. 

Visit Coachella's official website for more details about who's playing and when HERE. 

Blur Tour 2013 - Full dates and rundown  HERE

Blur confirmed for Mexico HERE

Blur Europe Tour News  HERE

Order the new Blur: Parklife (Live at Hyde Park CD / DVD) HERE

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Blur nominated for 2013 NME Award - Vote Now!

Head's up - Blur has made a re-appearance in the NME Awards of 2013 by being nominated for two awards.

Yes, that's right - Blur have been nominated for the "Best Re-Issue Award" and the "Best Live Band" of 2013 Award in the prestigious music ceremony, to be held in East London on the 27th February. Other contestants for various awards include MIA, Noel Gallagher, David Cameron, One Direction and The Rolling Stones, amongst other high profile stars.

Blur are up against the following artists for their two awards:

Best Re-Issue

1. Manic Street Preachers, 'Generation Terrorists'
2. Blur, '21'
3. Prodigy, 'The Fat Of The Land'
4. Interpol, 'Turn On The Bright Lights' 
5. Smashing Pumpkins, 'Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness'
6. Ian Brown, 'Collected' 

Best Live Band

1. The Maccabees
2. The Cribs
3. Blur
4. Biffy Clyro
5. Foals
6. The Rolling Stones

The band is no new-comer to the NME Awards; Blur first performed on stage at this very show in 2009 (a rusty, raw and slightly emotional version of 'This is a Low') for their comeback announcement during their reform, and have been nominated for awards nearly every year where they released new material.

Cast your votes for Blur by heading over to NME's voting page HERE (Ends on February 20th). And let us know what you think by voting in our poll below. Winners will be announced the week after at the East London venue in Troxy.

Will Blur take away an award this year ?
	Yes
	No
	Maybe / Not Sure