Blur live at Lady Owen Arms, Islington, UK
14 April 1990
Reviewed by Sounds

BLUR, FORMERLY Seymour, are your standard guitar, bass, drums and warbles four-piece who for the briefest of moments recall everything from The Smiths to Five Go Down To The Sea and still leave you thinking, Gawd what an original bunch of bastards. Vocalist Damon is undoubtedly the star of the show. The man can certainly sing, giving almost throwaway lines a desperate urgency; "I Love Her"'s "She dont care if I live or die / And that is why I love her," is belted out with such aplomb, and the twinkle in the eye suggests that if he actually is so unlucky in love, then he's really not that pushed. And while the rest of the band potter about wreaking aural havoc, Damon quite gladly takes the dancin' fool rule. He did manage to fall off the ludicrously small stage three times, but that kind of thing just tends to get the crowd on your side anyway.

Blur are more dance orientated than their Seymour incarnation - dance in the Undertones sense, so there's no need to reach for your gun - but it's the heavily drum-backed slowies like "Repetition" and "She's So High" that really suggest megastardom. Charm, humour and wit they have in abundance, but the lasting memory is of a band with is of a band with a string of great pop songs. They've just signed to Food, so expect to hear lots about them soon; or do yourself a favour and catch them before the hype machine goes into overdrive.

Leo Finlay