Blur have cast doubt on their future once again, with bassist Alex James hinting that the band’s show in Hyde Park this summer could be their last.
The band will headline a huge outdoor gig at London’s Hyde Park on August 12, which sees them topping a bill that also includes New Order and The Specials. The gig has been put on to coincide with the closing ceremony of the Olympic games.
Speaking in a new video, which you can see by scrolling down to the bottom of the page and clicking, James said that the band are expecting “an emotional show” when they play Hyde Park and are unsure “if it will ever happen again”.
He said of the band’s plans for their Hyde Park show: “The shows we did in 2009 were the best we’ve ever done and to be asked to close the Olympics was something we didn’t feel we could turn down. I think it’s going to be quite an emotional show, we certainly get quite overwhelmed by playing the songs, which doesn’t happen if you’re playing them all the time.”
He continued: “This is something that happens incredibly rarely and who knows if it will ever happen again? Or if this is the end or the beginning of the next chapter.”
James also gave more details on the band’s planned release of new tracks “Under The Westway” and “The Puritan”, which will debut next Monday (July 2) in a live video stream performance on Twitter.
Speaking about the premiere, James said: “Monday 2nd of July, somewhere in London, on a rooftop, we will be performing both new songs, live on Twitter, which is the first time anything like that’s happened.”
He then gave more details about the tracks, adding: “The two new tracks have been written specifically for the Hyde Park show. Two tracks that show completely different sides of Blur. ‘The Puritan‘ is a big, up and at em’, bouncy, sing-a-long special and ‘Under The Westway’ is more of a hymn, but I think they’ll go down really well.”
Blur will embark on an intimate UK tour this August. The Britpop icons will play four shows, beginning at Margate’s Winter Gardens on August 1. They will then play two shows at Wolverhampton’s Civic Hall on August 5 and 6, before finishing off at Plymouth’s Pavilions on August 7.
Blur will release a career-spanning boxset on July 30. Titled 21, the collection includes the band’s seven studio albums as well as over five hours of previously unreleased material including 65 tracks, rarities, three DVDs, a collector’s edition book and special limited edition Seymour seven-inch vinyl.