Blur were back with a bang on Wednesday night when they played live in their hometown of Colchester.
It comes shortly after they announced that they will be releasing their next album The Ballad Of Darren in a few months.
It comes eight years after the rock stars released their latest hit album The Magic Whip.
The 1990s band — consisting of Alex James, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, and Dave Rowntree — called it quits in 2015 and announced their reunion news last year.
At a press conference at Colchester Castle prior to the concert, bassist Alex showed his excitement about getting back on stage by saying, ‘F*** it’s good to be back.’
New: Blur has announced that they will release their next album The Ballad Of Darren in a few months
Group: The 1990s band – consisting of Alex James, Damon Albarn (pictured), Graham Coxon and Dave Rowntree
He further revealed that they would be playing two new songs on the comeback performance, including St Charles’ Square.
He continued, speaking of the process of recording the new music, “There were moments of utter joy.
“We’re playing two new songs tonight and the one we open with was the moment where I felt, ‘Oh my God, we pulled it back’.
“I had a little moment. I did most of the bass lying on a comfy couch and it made me stand up, jump up and down. I lost it. It was amazing.’
The Ballad of Darren will compromise 10 new tracks, with the first track, The Narcissist, out now.
Speaking of the upcoming songs they’ve created, Damon said, “This is an aftershock record, reflection and commentary on where we are right now.”
Graham added: ‘The older and crazier we get, it becomes more important that what we play is loaded with the right emotion and intent. Sometimes a riff isn’t enough.’
Band member Alex said, “For a long term relationship to last with any meaning you have to be able to surprise each other in some way and in some way we all continue to do that.”
While Dave said, ‘It always feels very natural to make music together. With every record we make, the process reveals something new and we develop as a band. We don’t take that for granted.’
Coming Soon: The Ballad of Darren Will Compromise 10 New Songs, With The First Track, The Narcissist, Out Now
The Ballad of Darren, produced by James Ford and recorded at Studio 13, London and Devon, is the band’s ninth studio album.
The band surprised Steve Lamacq on his BBC Radio 6 Music show on Thursday, telling the presenter they started back in the studio in January and finished this week.
They said, ‘It’s all done, remastered, everything and it’s coming out in July. The album is called The Balled of Darren.
It comes after Blur announced they’re reuniting for their 35th anniversary and will hit the road to perform live at a series of shows around the world.
The rock stars will perform at Wembley for the first time and will take the stage this summer at the long-running Summer Sonic Festival in Japan, for example.
It will be their first headline show in eight years and the first-ever performance at Wembley Stadium.
The Britpop legends have not toured together since performing in support of their comeback LP The Magic Whip seven years ago.
But they will return to the stage and make their Wembley debut on July 8, 2023, at 7pm, followed by a second show at the stadium on July 9, 2023.
Blur will reunite on stage this summer for their 35th anniversary, kicking off the tour in Spain on June 1 before their final concert in Japan at the end of August.
They will perform on a total of 17 dates and will take the stage at a series of festivals in Europe and Japan.
Dates: Blur (pictured in 2015) will reunite on stage this summer for their 35th anniversary, kicking off the tour June 1 in Spain before their final concert in Japan at the end of August
They will begin their official tour on July 1 in Barcelona for Primavera Sound 2023.
They will then perform in Madrid on June 8 and Porto on June 10 as part of the Portuguese leg of the Primavera Sound festival.
On June 24, the rock band will perform at Malahide Castle in Dublin before heading to Amsterdam on June 27 for a performance at the Ziggo Dome.
Three days later, Blur will perform at the Roskilde Festival in Denmark, before traveling to Normandy, France on July 6 for the Beauregard Festival.
They then fly back to London for their highly anticipated Wembley debut, before returning to France for the Vieilles Charrues Festival on July 14.
Blur has wrapped up all the festivals, heading to Italy on July 22 for the Lucca Summer Festival, followed by the Oya Festival in Oslo, Norway, on August 10.
The iconic band will then take the stage at Sweden’s Way Out West Festival on August 11, before performing at Finland’s Flow Festival in Helsinki on August 13.
Blur then flies to Japan to cap off their jam-packed summer with two concerts at Summer Sonic 2023.
They will perform in Tokyo on August 19 for the long-running music festival, before heading to Osaka for a final performance as part of Summer Sonic 2023.
At Wembley on July 8, Blur will be supported by Self Esteem, rapper slowthai and musical duo Jockstrap.
Their second Wembley date will also feature performances by Paul Weller and ska band The Selector.
It is unknown if Blur will have support slots at their intimate warm-up performances, while they will be performing alongside a range of talent during their festival appearances.
It will be a full reunion for the four piece band as Damon, Graham, Alex and Dave all prepare to return to the stage as one man.
Frontman Damon has shared that he’s “really excited” about the performance, and guitarist Graham agreed that he’s also “really looking forward to it” in a new statement.
Graham said: ‘I’m really looking forward to playing with my Blur brothers again and revisiting all those great songs… Blur live shows are always great for me.
Looking ahead: ‘After the chaos of recent years, it’s wonderful to go out again on a summer’s day in London to play some songs together. Hope to see you there,” Dave agreed (pictured)
‘A nice guitar and an amp that stood upright and lots of smiling faces’.
As bassist Alex echoed, “There’s always something really special when the four of us get into a room.
“It’s fun to think that on July 8 that room will be Wembley Stadium.”
‘After the chaos of the past few years, it’s wonderful to get out again on a summer’s day in London to play some songs together. Hope to see you there,’ drummer Dave agreed.