Blur add Sleaford Mods and Phil Daniels to Wembley shows

NME

Blur have announced that Sleaford Mods and Phil Daniels will be the latest acts joining them at their upcoming shows at Wembley Stadium.

• READ MORE: Blur bring the hits and two new songs to intimate homecoming gig in Colchester

The long-awaited shows are set to take place on Saturday July 8 and Sunday July 9, and come ahead of the band’s upcoming ninth studio album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ — set for release on July 21 via Parlophone and Warner (pre-order here).

The first of the two new acts joining the bill is Nottingham post-punk band, Sleaford Mods. Announced today (June 13), the duo — comprised of Jason Williamson and Andrew Fearn — will join Damon Albarn and co for their Saturday show.

Now sold-out, other acts supporting the Britpop legends at the Saturday gig include English singer-songwriter and Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem, and London-based electro-pop duo Jockstrap.

Paul Weller, the second of the newly announced artists joining the bill, will perform at both the Saturday and Sunday shows in the capital. Playing with The Selecter, Weller will join DJs Steve Davis and John Doran & Kavus Torabi, who are also set to entertain the crowd at the latter gig. Find any remaining tickets for the upcoming shows here.

After announcing their upcoming album last month, Blur kicked off their electric live return to the stage with a series of warm-up shows in the UK last month, including a gig in their Colchester hometown (May 20) and a set in Eastbourne the following day (May 21).

The band also performed recently at the recent Primavera Sound festival in Barcelona, where they treated fans to their first live performance of ‘Country House’ in eight years.

They also played ‘Luminous’ for the first time in 24 years at the set —a lesser-known track which acts as a b-side for the single ‘Bang’, which first appeared on their debut album ‘Leisure’.

Albarn and co. also performed in Madrid last week, after their planned set for the Madrid edition of Primavera Sound was cancelled due to poor weather conditions.

At the free rescheduled venue, they broke out more rarities, including a performance of ‘Sing’ for the first time in 10 years, and the return of ‘Country Sad Ballad Man’ to the setlist for the first time since 2015.

Last month (May 19), all four members opened up about the recording process of their upcoming album during a press conference at Colchester Castle.

“There were moments of utter joy,” said bassist Alex James. “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.”

Earlier this year, Sleaford Mods announced their return with details of new album ‘UK Grim’. – the follow-up to the Nottingham duo’s acclaimed 2021 album ‘Spare Ribs’.

In a four-star review, NME praised the album for delivering “new depths” to their composition and songwriting. “‘UK Grim’ is a more aggressive beast [than its predecessors],” it read. “With multi-instrumentalist Andrew Fearn bringing more colour to their sound, continuing to add new depths to his compositions.”

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