Blur debut new songs live and perform rare deep cuts for first time at intimate Hammersmith gig
Blur debuted new songs from their latest album ‘The Ballad Of Darren‘ along with a smattering of deep cuts and fan favourites at an intimate show at London’s Eventim Apollo in Hammersmith last night (Tuesday July 25). Check out footage and the setlist below.
As announced earlier this month, the returning Britpop veterans took to the stage at the iconic London venue to perform their new album in its entirety, with the show also livestreamed online.
The band took to the stage, backed by string quartet, with bassist Alex James lounging on a sofa and smoking as they eased into playing album opener ‘The Ballad’. In playing the new record from start to finish, they also performed ‘The Everglades (For Leonard)’, ‘Goodbye Albert’, ‘Far Away Island’, Avalon’ and ‘The Heights’ live for the first time.
The crowd receiving single ‘The Narcissist’ like an old favourite, while next single ‘Barbaric’ – debuted at an intimate London show for BBC Radio 2 last week – also landed well.
The band then returned for an encore – delivering the first in a run of rarities by playing ‘Pyongyang’ from previous album ‘The Magic Whip‘ for the first time since 2015. “We’ve never performed this before – in fact, until it was suggested, I forgot it existed,” offered frontman Damon Albarn before the live debut of the album version of ‘Clover Over Dover’ from 1994’s ‘Parklife’.
This was followed by ‘There’s No Other Way’ B-side ‘Mr Briggs’ (not played by the band in over 11 years), ‘All Your Life’ from the special edition of their 1997 self-titled album and the live debut of 1994 fan favourite ‘Parklife’ b-side ‘Theme from an Imaginary Film’.
“Do you want one more song?” asked Albarn before a final encore of classic single ‘The Universal’, adding: “Do you want something slightly less artfully obtuse?”
Blur’s setlist was:
‘The Ballad’
‘St. Charles Square’
‘Barbaric’
‘Russian Strings’
‘The Everglades (For Leonard)’
‘The Narcissist’
‘Goodbye Albert’
‘Far Away Island’
‘Avalon’
‘The Heights’
Encore:
‘Pyongyang’ (Tour debut)
‘Clover Over Dover’ (Tour debut; first performance of the album version)
‘Mr. Briggs’ (First time live since 2012)
‘All Your Life’
‘Theme from an Imaginary Film’ (Live debut)
Encore 2:
‘The Universal’
The band are currently on course to be this week’s Number One in the UK with ‘The Ballad Of Darren’, and also recently shared two extra new songs ‘The Rabbi’ and ‘The Swan‘ as part of the deluxe edition.
The indie veterans will now head out on a run of European festival dates before appearances in Asia and South America. Visit here for tickets and more information.
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Andrew Trendell
NME
