No more feud, no more Britpop war. It seems that Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher have both mellowed with age and put their past behind them. The two men, rivals in the 90s following the Britpop Battle, gave each other friendly smiles and posed for a manly shoulder-squeeze for the camera when the Brit Awards 2013 ceremony took place on February 21st 2013 in London's O2 Arena.
It wasn't for Blur or Gorillaz, but Damon Albarn appeared on stage at the Brit Awards 2013 to accept a distinguished award. Ben Knowles from British charity War Child and Damon Albarn collected a Special Recognition Award on behalf of War Child during the Brit Awards 2013 held yesterday at the O2 Arena, London.
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| Damon Albarn sported a toothy smile on stage- Brits 2013 |
Fans - you have less than 10 days to enter the new Blur official competition to be one of the five people who will win a copy of the 'Parklife' 2 CD Special Edition. The Special Edition feature a bonus disc of extras and rarities, an expanded booklet and exclusive postcards.
The special CD was released in July 2012 to celebrate the 21st anniversary of Blur's debut release 'Leisure'. Blur’s most commercially successful album 'Parklife' was remastered and tuned by producer Stephen Street.
The 2 CDs contain a bonus disc of all the b-sides from Girls And Boys, To The End, Parklife and End Of A Century singles. Within them is also many rare Blur tracks - a Pet Shop Boys remix of Girls And Boys, the French version of single 'To The End', Graham’s funny country b-side 'Red Necks' and a rare appearance of a track written by Alex on 'Alex’s Song'.
Another new Blur 2013 date has been confirmed - this time Blur has announced their first warm-up gig in Mexico City just before their big gig in the Vive Latino Festival, which takes place from the 14th - 17th March 2013. The announcement came shortly after Blur announced a new tour date in Indonesia.
The warm-up date will begin at 8:00pm in El Plaza Condesa, Mexico City on March 15th 2013. The band will take the stage on the 16th March for the main concert.
Announced on Blur's official Facebook page in the early hours of 16th February is good news for Blur fans in Indonesia - Blur is confirmed to play the BigSoundFest in Jakarta, Indonesia on May 15th 2013. This is the latest country and tour date to be added to their massive world tour in 2013, and a positive sign that something big is happening for the band this year.
Most of the upcoming Blur concerts of 2013 have already been announced through their official site as well as social media accounts. Blur members Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree are set to kick off their wave of concerts in Mexico on 16th of March during the Vive Latino Festival. It is just nearly a month away from today, which heightens fans' anticipation and excitement more. However, the more we count the days until we see Blur live, the longer they feel. That being said, here are some activities you can do while waiting for the gigs to start.
1. Prepare a personal concert kit
Going to a music festival like Coachella or a regular concert is no joke. As exciting as the event may be, it can be pretty exhausting at times due to unforeseen circumstances or camping troubles. To cope up with these problems, do prepare a concert kit for yourself. This may include water, Blur books, medicine, extra shirts, pens (to get the band's autograph) and money. Make sure to plan ahead and check the venue online for parking information beforehand. Don't bring expensive things as these are easily stolen or lost, especially in the jam-packed gig venue!
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| Coachella Venue |
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| Lucky fans meeting Damon Albarn after a gig |
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| Blur mimicks one of The Beatle's album covers |
Blur has been set to tour for another Asian date - Taipei, Taiwan, for their 2013 World Tour. This follows on from a string of Asian venues announced, including Japan and also the latest addition - Hong Kong - to the line of new gigs being revealed by the band.
It has just been confirmed that Blur are going to head to Hong Kong, China to play a concert in May 6th 2013 (Monday) from 8pm - 11pm for a three-hour gig (including support).
Blur has announced another one of their 2013 World Tour venues - Rock in Roma, Italy.
The band will play the Italian music festival for two days - 28th July and 29th July. The massive festival takes place annually in Milan (28th July) at the Racecourse Gallop and Rome (29th July) at the the Hippodrome Capannelle in June and July 2013.
The festival will also feature prominent musicians such as Bruce Springsteen, Green Day, Iggy & The Stoogies, Neil Young and Smashing Pumpkins.
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Blur: 28 Luglio Milano e 29 Luglio al Rock In Roma |
Solo artist Child of Lov is a 25-year old musician from the Netherlands. The mysterious musician and self-proclaimed "warrior of funk" has not made much information about his music or biography available to the public. However he has managed to secure Blur's Damon Albarn to collaborate together for two tracks on his upcoming debut album this year.
Child of Lov's new album 'The Child of Lov' will be released in May 2013, and features Damon on tracks 'Heal' and 'One Day'. His funky and hip-hop style have caused critics to compare his music with those of Prince and Jai Paul.Other featured artists on Child of Lov's new release includes big names- DOOM and Thundercat.
Blur has just been confirmed officially as one of the main stage headliners at this year's Leeds Festival 2013. The news was announced today and broadcasted on BBC Radio 1's Zane Lowe show live to the public, where the host announced 6 new acts to the famous music festival.
The 6 new acts joining the festival are: Biffy Clyro, System of a Down, Bring Me The Horizon, Jake Bugg,
Other bands confirmed earlier include Eminem, Deftones, Sub Focus and Alt-J.
Blur are not confirmed to be amongst the 6 new acts to headline the READING FESTIVAL and LEEDS FESTIVAL 2013. The band is no stranger to the pair of festivals - Blur took the stage in 2003, 1999, 1993 and 1991 as part of their old album tours in the UK.
However, it looks like Blur aren't going to be taking the stage at this year's Reading / Leeds Festival.
The 6 new acts to join in the festival was broadcasted to the public on February 5th 2013, live on the BBC Radio 1 Zane Lowe show at 7:35pm.
These headliner acts are: Biffy Clyro, System of a Down, Bring Me The Horizon, Jake Bugg, Foals and the reformed Fall Out Boy.
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| Looks like Blur's not playing this year's Reading or Leeds Festival |
