March 24, 2012

Damon Albarn turns 44 !


Damon Albarn (born 1968- 44 years old), the singer-songwriter-keyboardist

person, singer, actor, vegetarian, musician, activist, musical act, composer, person that is the musical composer for a film, band member, person that was nominated for an award, honour or prize, aries person

Here are 10 facts about Damon Albarn, quoted from a brilliant archived article from DS.

1. Damon was born on March 23, 1968 to Keith and Hazel Albarn. Keith was an Art College headteacher, BBC presenter and the manager of jazz-rock outfit Soft Machine, while Hazel was a theatre set designer.

2. Albarn's strong anti-war political beliefs stem from his relationship with his grandfather, who was imprisoned as a conscientious objector during World War II.

3. Before forming Blur and becoming a global popstar, Albarn performed with synth group Two's A Crowd, attempted a career as a mime and worked at the Beat Factory studio as a tea boy.



4. Damon had the opportunity to meet then Labour leader Tony Blair for a chinwag in 1997. Oasis's Noel Gallagher went along, but Damon declined, citing his disillusionment with Blair's political shift. "I sent him [Blair] a note to the House of Commons saying, 'I'm sorry, I won't be attending as I am no longer a New Labour supporter. I am now a Communist. Enjoy the schmooze, Comrade. Love, Damon'."

5. Reality talent shows such as The X Factor are among Damon's pet-hates. "Celebrity culture sends out all the wrong messages," he says. "It's creating a mindset that suggests you can get something for nothing and that it's easy to acquire status and fame. We need to dismantle very significant parts of our culture... I think for a start you have to get rid of things like The X Factorimmediately." Best not tell Damon about Alex James's stint on Orange unsignedact!

6. At the height of Blur's fame in the '90s, Damon attempted to turn his hand to acting with a cameo on the crime thriller Face. Sadly his performance, alongside Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone, didn't prove as successful as his pop-writing career. Damon was also featured in the 2007 film ‘Anna and the Moods’ and has even played a character called Bull in a radio play about The Beatles called ‘Up Against It’.

7. Albarn has achieved chart and critical success with Blur, Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad And The Queen, but as a schoolboy he did prove that he wasn't always so perfect. The cheeky singer failed his 11+ exams, meaning he had to attend a comprehensive in Colchester. 



8. On the plus side, Albarn's educational failure ensured that he went on to meet future Blur bandmate Graham Coxon. The singer apparently caught Coxon's attention with his confident performance in the school's production of West Side Story.

9. It wasn't just the Gallagher brothers that took a dislike to Albarn during the '90s. According to his close friends, pretty much everyone objected to his cocksure attitude. "Damon was so cocky he found it difficult to go anywhere without getting punched," said Food Records pal Tony Wadsworth.

10. Even from February 2008, Albarn insisted that there was no chance of a Blur reunion. "I had dinner with the guys recently and it was a laugh but there’s no way they want to work with me again - they all hate me," he said. What changed, Damon!



And of course, here are 10 meaningful, insightful and funny quotes from Damon Albarn, our front man, on music, songs, art, drunkenness, Graham Coxon and family life.

1.     “I once owned up to flooding the toilets when it wasn't me. I got the slipper from the teacher for it, too. No one else would own up and we weren't allowed to go home, so I just owned up. I can't remember whether it was for anyone in particular, or whether it was a random act of chivalry - or just play stupidity.” – 1995 Damon Albarn  

2.     “We were young, good looking and in the best band in the world.” – on Blur


3.     “The things that make me happy most are my family and working.” 



4.     “No, every album is something like a snapshot. It only shows one moment in time. It shows what we feel and think right at that point in time, nothing more and nothing less.” 

5.     “As soon as it sounds fine, I'm on to the next thing, man.”



6.     “The most drunk I ever got was at a private view for a college art show. I think I had two bottles of tequila and completely lost about ten hours. I woke up in a cell and, when my vision cleared, I found myself staring at a Nepalese soldier in full uniform. He didn't speak any English and he was just very alarmed that I was in there with him. When I asked the coppers what had happened, they said, 'Well we found you at Euston station, unconscious and surrounded by a group of tramps, so we thought we'd bring you here for your own good.' I'd had all my money taken, so I had to walk home.” 1995

7.     “I am genuinely inspired by my mum. I love and respect my mum and I think she's great. She always makes me laugh and I trust her totally. Both my parents are artists and I grew up in quite a liberal home; I was allowed to do what I wanted, but all based on a strong moral foundation. I think it's really important that parents allow you to do what you like when you're young because you're more likely to get it all out of your system. I do love my mum.”

8.     "There's always been a bit of a hip-hop element to my trousers." - Damon.

9.     "We've always seen ourselves as putting on white coats and going into the lab." – Damon on Blur.

10.  “He always looks like he’s crying. that’s his style…” – on Graham Coxon


A very happy birthday to Damon Albarn!



Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE
Blur talking about their future HERE
 New tear jerker song HERE and check out their newest track HERE 

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March 20, 2012

Blur - Under The Westway Lyrics

Exclusively brought to you by BlurBalls.com, now you can listen to Blur's new track "Under The Westway" with lyrics in an experiential, experimental video we made. This was requested many times to us, and what came out of it was a grainy, washy, and best of all - a moving video instead of the usual lyrics-on-screen-with-a-typewriter.

Check out the full lyrics and the video for the song below.

Blur - Under The Westway Lyrics

It was a bright day in my city today 
Everything was sinking says 
Snow would come on Sunday 
The old school would do 
And the traffic grew 
Upon the Westway 

Where i sat watching comets lonesome trails
Shining up above me 
The jet fuel farewell 
Down to earth 
Where the money always come first 
And the sirens sing 

So give us a day we switch off the machines  
Cause men in yellow jackets 
Putting adverts inside my dreams 
And all the ladies thought: 
The whole world gone 
Fallen under the spell of the changing ways 
We all communicate 
So sending up shockwaves 
Somewhere here out in space 
it depends how you call 
And the hearts on fire 
Under the Westway 

Give me magic here in the city, the boat
doing 180
instead of standing although it's cold 
And the flags coming down 
The opals sound 
Just like a love song 
Far away, I feel about you 
Paradise not lost it's in you
On the permanent races 
apologize
But I am gonna sing 
Hallelujah 

Singing out loud 
And sing it to you all
Am I lost let me see
For the black falls burn
And wash me off the Westway




Under the Westway is rumoured to be released for Record Store Day, April 2012.


Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE
Blur talking about their future HERE
 New tear jerker song HERE and check out their newest track HERE 

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March 18, 2012

Graham Coxon opens his music rucksack and lets loose radical new album A+E

Graham Coxon's new single What'll It Take released a great new video at the end of last month. The video, featuring clips of fans dancing and spinning to his 80s sounding, heavy guitar track is one of the most unique audio visuals we've seen.




What'll It Take is made up of featured moves sent in by 85 fans from 22 countries all cut together by director Ninian Doff. The music video is entertaining to watch, and the idea of integrating fans into contributing is brilliant - the video has been received well by fans. 


According to an article from Contact Music, Graham Coxon decided on this idea to collaborate fans and artist because he dislikes music videos and thinks they are "horrible". As quoted from the article: 


Graham Coxon thinks music videos are ''horrible''.

The guitarist has invited fans to copy dance moves posted on YouTube to create their own routines, with the clips then edited to make the promotional film for his track 'What'll It Take' and says the ''experiment'' stemmed from his hatred of appearing in them himself.
He said: ''It's kind of.. videos are horrible so if there's an interesting idea for a video then I think that's kinda good'' he said. ''I'll just see how that turns out as an experiment, really.''
Graham - who will perform a special concert in London's Hyde Park with his band Blur in August - is also currently preparing for a solo tour and decided to select different local bands to support him at each show.
While he has promised to look at a variety of different acts, he thinks it will be a challenge selecting the ones he wants to take to the stage before him each night. He added in an interview with Clash Music: ''I suppose with getting bands to support from all the different towns is just to ease the boredom, I guess.
''I thought atmosphere-wise I thought it would be quite good. I've just got to choose 'em - it's going to be a job!
''It's a way also of people presenting their band and it's not the usual support. It's not the usual guitar-y that you might expect to support me. I was interested in lots of different things.


What'll It Take is the first single taken from the New Graham Coxon album A+E. For exclusive pre-order offers and for a free download of album track The Truth (scroll down to listen), visit the official website HERE

In an interview about A+E for Q (click to read full), Graham Coxon spoke about his inspirations and views on this radical new sounding album. Coxon has had a varied solo career after departure from Blur in 2003. Each of his albums feature a different sound style, and Coxon describes his solo albums as something from his "rucksack" of sound.  


Graham Coxon, avid artist, also does his own album artwork

In the same interview, he also spoke about Blur and William Orbit, in response to the band winning a Brit Award last month. When asked about which Blur album all four members still think is good, he said: 

"I think the freedom that we had during 13 was really good. They were quite fraught sessions, but to machine gun the tape with everything you had was great. They were mega jams that would just go on for two hours. 

Then they would have to edit them down into more coherent chunks. I always thought William [Orbit, producer] could have made 13 another four times and make the same songs completely different. It might be an interesting thing to do, there's so much stuff there. 


I don't think he slept for a month sifting through it, just surviving on broccoli. I think we'd all agree that was quite an experience. 

To come back each day after a whole night of editing, to hear it tidied up, it was the only time I could listen to Blur as a band that I didn't know. It was new to my ears. That was really exciting and I still listen to that album and think, Bloody hell there's some lovely stuff going on. 

Like the end of Bugman, at that time my tolerance for noise was really high. Now I think, That's a lot of racket for racket sake! But that's why I love William Orbit his perversion for sound is similar to mind. 

We're sound perverts!"

Read the full Q interview HERE and listen to The Truth (available for free download) from Coxon's new album A+E below. It's a brilliant track, and it seems that this could possibly be Coxon's best album yet. The album is set for release on April 2nd 2012. Graham will tour around UK- the first gig will be in Oxford. 

Visit Graham's official website HERE for more information and don't forget to check out Graham's solo works for some amazing songs. His solo works are very varied and experimental, as well as creating pop tracks he also tried folk and alternative (The Spinning Top) amongst other styles. This latest album takes inspiration from 80s guitar sounds. 


Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE
Blur talking about their future HERE
Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE
New tear jerker song HERE and check out their newest track HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.

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

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March 16, 2012

BlurBalls mentioned on BBC Radio 6

On February 24th 2012, BBC Radio 6 hosted a two-hour long Blur radio show, featuring a playlist created by fans, for fans. Previously, we posted exclusively on this little event here asking you fans to submit your favourite Blur related tracks. 

The show was excellent and truly enjoyable - rarities like the beautiful b-side "Young and Lovely" and the French version of "To The End" were played, amongst many others. Damon Albarn's Fatboy Slim collaboration track "Put it Back together" was also a pleasant surprise. A Gorillaz track was also played. 

Alex James, bassist, also surprised all fans and tuned into the show. He made a special request via twitter for Blur's b-side "Supa Shoppa", a non-vocal track. His tweet was:  

Alex James ‏ @TheAlexJames 



@BBC6Music @BlurOfficial Been putting the kids to bed. You gonna play Supashoppa or what ? Xxxxx


Other highlights included a The Cardiacs song, a funky remix of Tender, An XTC track was also played; XTC's Andy Partridge was originally set to produce Modern Life is Rubbish in it's initial stages. 

BlurBalls sent in a request for the track "You're so Great" from the album Blur. We were ecstatic when they chose to play our track, and even gave a shout out to all our readers (yes, you!) and the Blur fans out there! 

Listen below to the extract.  


And two little site updates- firstly, the results for Graham Coxon's birthday survey is finally out! Check out what fellow Blur fans and our readers have to say to Graham Coxon below.

Secondly, our Facebook page (www.facebook.com/blurballs) has gone live with the new timeline design. Thanks to Tajda for designing the great banner, featuring Damon, Graham, Dave and Alex on stage at the Brit Awards 2012 winning the Outstanding Contribution to Music Award.   

"Like" our Facebook page for constant cool Blur videos, caption contests, funnies and Blur news straight to your newsfeed!  

Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE
Blur talking about their future HERE
Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE
New tear jerker song HERE and check out their newest track HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.

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

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March 12, 2012

Happy 43rd Birthday to Graham Coxon

Graham Coxon, Blur guitarist and solo artist turns 43 years old today (March 12th 1969)! We've collected a series of Graham funnies and moments that all fans will enjoy. 


One of the most revealing Graham Coxon videos out there is him on MTV Cribs. Graham Coxon shows the audience around his house and tells us about his "raunchy" pair of pants, guitars, computers and Blur figurines. Watch it below! 



For those who want to enjoy a special Graham Coxon video, with extracts from his best moments, interviews and the great man speaking, watch a special video below! Thanks to Tajda for making the video (and two memes) and helping us out at BlurBalls! 



And of course, Graham does have great solo albums. His varied albums show his full range of talents, and he experiments with different styles of music. His latest album A+E takes us back to more 80s retro guitar music, but we currently love this track from Graham's wonderful solo album "Happiness in Magazines". The track "Bittersweet Bundle of Misery" is has remnants of Coffee and TV, and is a mixture of Graham's distinct vocals plus his strumming. 



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March 10, 2012

Blur deliberately keeps fans guessing about new album plans

Is Blur's new publicity technique to keep fans in suspense ? It seems that fans can only guess at whether the britpop supergroup, who reunited in 2009, will be releasing a new album in the future.

Contradicting information is presented by all four members of the band. Blur forum member damon4president brought up this piece of news regarding a recent radio interview:

Alex said on BBC Breakfast that the answer depends on who you ask and what day it is, and that was the first time I have heard any of them admit that they are constantly contradicting one another! 


damon4president goes on to expand his thoughts, which is another way of interpreting the mixed information given: 

The only way I can reconcile these contradictions - Damon and Graham saying there will be a new album and Alex saying there won't - is to assume that they are not working on one right now, but may do in the future. 



Granted, Alex's 'end of the world is nigh' comments every time there is a big gig on the horizon do begin to grate, but, to put it bluntly, he can talk rubbish sometimes. I cannot see why a band that is in a good place, has gigs lined up, and has only just recorded a well-received new song, would decide to end things. 

A toothy Damon and Noel Gallagher of Oasis get friendly at the 2012 Brit Awards - what will become of Blur after the Brits ? 

Alex James also said that the summer gigs may be the "last thing" the band may do, and that Blur may disband after the Hyde Park gigs - saying "It is tinged with a bit of sadness really. This show in the summer could be the last thing we ever do."

All the hints and clues that go in opposite directions. As a fan, it feels very much like a tug of war. Who should we believe ? Cheese Farmer Alex James on Top Gear, who said "No", or Graham Coxon who said "Yes" to a recording and making a new full album?


“It’s pretty nice to be getting the Brit award", Graham said [in a Dailyrecord interview]. “We haven’t planned the rehearsals yet, but there will definitely be another Blur album. 
“We’re always going to meet up and want to play things. We do like recording. Eventually, even if things aren’t around the corner, Blur will do more recordings together." 


Or should we trust drummer Dave Rowntree, who said it won't happen? Or listen to Damon Albarn, who remains undecided- said it was a definite "No", then changed his mind and said it really, really could happen. And don't forget that Damon also expressed desire in an American tour for Blur earlier this year.

A very young Blur

Just like the sudden announcement of the Hyde Park Olympics gig, which was posted up on their official Facebook page at midnight shortly after their comeback Brit Awards performance, we can't help wonder - is this a publicity stunt ?

If it is, it certainly is working. Working very well indeed.


This band keeps you guessing, but we are, to quote a certain song from Modern Life Is Rubbish, holding on for tomorrow...We are clinging onto what Graham Coxon said to NME Magazine this year- "It was called a reunion in 2009, and that's what it was. So we are reunited. So now that's it".

In a recent NME interview, when asked "Will Blur be making a new album?" the response was again mixed:

- Damon said "Don't count on it" , aka NO
- Graham said "We've got commitment issues. But it'll probably happen."aka YES
- Alex said "There are definitely no plans to make one"aka NO
- Dave: "There's a lot of appetite out there for new Blur music. It's no secret that we're working on something" aka YES

But one thing's for sure, William Orbit is twiddling with his producer knobs and currently in progress with making "Under The Westway" fit for release - soon. Where? No one knows. Ask Damon. 


Plus, we are still waiting for this album here. (In 2005, Damon said that Blur could be releasing an EP, click to read the article).

Listen to Alex James on BBC Breakfast HERE 


Read all about Blur talking about their future HERE
Check out Blur's rumoured new album HERE

New tear jerker song HERE and check out their newest track HERE and read our REVIEW HERE.

Analyse other rumours and articles reported by us HEREHERE and HERE
Read all about Blur being BASHED AT THE BRITS HERE


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

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

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! 



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