November 25, 2008 - NME.com:
Damon Albarn
has confirmed that Blur will be reuniting next year.
The singer revealed his old band, including guitarist
Graham Coxon, will be working together.
Albarn made the comments just before a special
one-off performance of his opera 'Monkey: Journey To
The West' at the BBC Radio Theatre
in London this afternoon (November 25).
Before playing a composition that had been specially
re-arranged for the stripped-down performance, Albarn
was asked by the host Janice Long whether
Blur will be playing next year.
"Blur are certainly going to rehearse and see if we're
into it," he said.
The band's last album was 2003's 'Think Tank',
though guitarist Coxon only appeared on one
track, having left the group a year earlier.
After the Blur news was confirmed, the live reworking
of the 'Monkey' then took place, with the
hour-long show featuring a huge string section, plus five male
and female singers at the front of the stage.
Albarn sat among the performers for the
performance, though apart from briefly directing the lighting
took a back seat for most of the gig.
However, towards the end he joined in on a hand-held organ and
guitar for a couple of tracks.
The gig will be going out live on BBC Radio 2
on Saturday (November 29) evening.
See
bbc.co.uk/radio2 for
more information.
© 2008 NME.COM
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