Alex James has shared that he thought Blur might “never happen again” ahead of their 2023 reunion.
The bassist spoke about the dynamic of the Britpop band ahead of the release of their brand new documentary, Blur: To The End, and revealed that ahead of their comeback last year, he had doubts about whether the members would ever join forces once again.
Speaking with Rich Clarke of Heart Kent last night (July 17), James looked back at their eight years apart, and what it was like to reform for some huge shows at London’s Wembley Stadium last summer, the huge 2023 comeback album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ and the feature-length film.
“It premiered last night in the West End, and it was really great to see all the boys. I’m really glad we captured all that fun and games,” he said. “There were moments where I thought ‘Is this going to work?’ But as soon as we get together in a room, it’s always fine.
“It just tells the story of the band getting back together and doing our biggest ever shows, which were also our best ever. It was wonderful, magic. It was really good.”
He was also asked by the host about how the members have gone years without speaking to one another in the past, but it has never hindered them when they decided to come back together for new material.
“We’ve been doing it for a very, very long time… Damon [Albarn] and Graham [Coxon] met at school. I met Graham at my first day of college, so I was like 18 or 19. We’re all in our 50s now, so it’s vital that we all go off and do other things,” James explained.
“It had been eight years since we had last even spoke to each other actually, and I was starting to think it would maybe never happen again. But well, watch the film, you’ll see it’s a wonderful story.”
The film, directed by Transgressive Records founder Toby L, follows the reunion of Albarn, Coxon, James and Dave Rowntree on their return to record 2023 comeback album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ ahead of a tour culminating in pair of shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.
It received its official London premiere on Tuesday (July 16) and will be released in cinemas tomorrow (Friday, July 19).
The project will also be followed by their concert film of the Wembley gigs: Blur: Live at Wembley Stadium. A live album will be released on July 26, before the film arrives in cinemas across the UK and Ireland on September 6.
Recently, the director of To The End spoke to NME about the emotional process of making the film – and discussed what the future might hold for the band.
“I found out that Blur were coming back in a slightly unconventional way, in that I’ve been doing projects with Damon and Graham over the last few years via my record label, Transgressive,” he said. “I was actually at Damon’s 13 Studios to talk about a completely different project, when out of the blue he said, ‘Oh, do you want to hear the new Blur demos?’ I thought he was joking but he had that slightly cheeky glint in his eye that he’s known for.”
“Around that time, we were tipped off that there was going to be a Wembley show – and at the time it was only intended to be one gig – and my company were asked to make this trailer for it in a short space of time,” he added. “It was then I said to Damon, ‘If you want anyone to film and capture the concert then I would love to throw my hat in the ring’… As I got deeper, I realised it wasn’t just about a reunion – I realised it was about friendship, maturing, reconciliation and some splashes of mortality!”
In a five-star review of To The End, NME wrote: “They bicker, they hug, they call each other c**ts, they get the job done. While Blur’s last doc and accompanying live movie No Distance Left To Run was a portrait of a band celebrating their legacy and giving a nostalgia-hungry world exactly what they craved, this spiritual sequel shows a band simply supporting each other.
“Whether they return again or not remains to be seen. But even if they don’t, this was one hell of a final fling.”
Similarly, NME praised the Wembley shows as an “eruption of pure, utter joy” in a five-star review. “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,” it read. “This cheeky sense of humour made Blur stand out from other Britpop stars in the 90s, and Albarn’s childish grin as he performs the song – like he’s doing something naughty – remains the same after all these years.”
The future of Blur at this point remains somewhat uncertain, with Albarn recently announcing that the band’s show at weekend two of Coachella 2024 would “probably [be] our last gig”.
The comments in April followed the singer stating in December that the band would be going on a hiatus until further notice, claiming “it’s too much for me”.
“It is time to wrap up this campaign,” he said. “It’s too much for me. It was the right thing to do and an immense honour to play these songs again, spend time with these guys, make an album, blah-blah-blah.”
He continued: “I’m not saying I won’t do it again, it was a beautiful success, but I’m not dwelling on the past.”
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