Blur to play ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ in full at special London gig
Blur have announced details of a new special London gig, which will see them perform their new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ in full.
The band will release the record – their first in eight years – on July 21 via Parlophone. They teamed up with producer James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Gorillaz) on the record, while the artwork was shot by celebrated British photographer Martin Parr.
‘Blur present: The Ballad Of Darren’ will take place at London’s Eventim Apollo on July 25. It will be the first and only time the album will be performed in its entirety, from start to finish, and fans across the globe can tune in via a livestream of the show. That will take place at 9pm BST, with rebroadcasts across the next 24 hours for different time zones.
The gig will also be available to watch on demand from 1pm BST on July 26 through 1pm BST on July 28. Tickets for the livestream are on sale now – click here to purchase them.
Physical tickets, meanwhile, will go on sale at 10am BST on July 18 and will be available to fans who have pre-ordered the album. To receive an access code for the ticket sale, you must pre-order ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ from Blur’s official European store here.
Last weekend, the Essex band held two massive shows at London’s Wembley Stadium. The first night (July 8) saw them perform ‘Lot 105’ for the first time since 1994 and ‘Under The Westway’ for the first time since 2014. Both nights saw them joined by Phil Daniels for ‘Parklife’ and the London Community Gospel Choir for ‘Tender’.
In a five-star review of the first night, NME said: “Albarn remains a top-tier frontman, making deadpan remarks and climbing into the audience while still allowing each of his bandmates their own moment in the spotlight. Coxon’s guitar skills are as masterful as ever, his voice unchanged since 1999 as he sings fan favourite ‘Coffee and TV’.”
In June, Blur shared their latest single, ‘St. Charles Square’, which had previously been premiered live at the band’s intimate gigs across the UK.
Speaking about working on the new album at a press conference in Colchester in May, bassist Alex James said: “There were moments of utter joy. The fact that we all go off and go down our rabbit holes and come back up again and when we do get back together, we’ve all learnt something… There’s always been something very special about when we play together. It’s there right from the get go. I feel fulfilled and blessed.”
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Rhian Daly
NME
