Alex James talks new Blur music: “I never know what’s going to happen”
Alex James, the founding bassist of Britpop bigwigs Blur, has discussed the possibility of new music from the band in light of recent developments.
In a conversation with BBC 6Mucic’s Steve Lamacq, James joined drummer Dave Rowntree to discuss the news that Blur will reunite for a one-off headline concert at Wembley Stadium next summer. Lamacq told the pair: “I can’t imagine that you won’t write or record something because I just can’t imagine you in a room with Damon Albarn and not coming up with something new because he just can’t let it go. He has to write, doesn’t he?”
“I literally never know what’s going to happen next with Damon,” James replied. “It might be the last show, it might [lead to] a new album. It’s part of the fun of it, I literally never know what’s going to happen.”
“It’s part of the terror of being in Blur,” Rowntree added jovially.
Elsewhere in the conversation, the Britpop icons have further details about the newly announced reunion in Wembley. “We’ve been trying to get something happening for some time, but we were thwarted by Covid as much as anything else, the hangover from Covid, because all the venues have been booked up for God knows how long,” Rowntree explained.
“We’re talking about going back to our roots, really. Obviously, we’ll have dancers and fireworks,” Rowntree added sarcastically, “But apart from that, it’s back to our roots.”
James also described how surprised and proud he had been to discover Blur’s newfound younger listeners. “What amazes me is how Blur’s blown up on socials,” he said. “It’s crazy how many 18 to 24-year-olds like us because you can look at all the data and analyse it, right?
“The amount of people that come up to me and go like, ‘Blur’s my daughter’s favourite band,’ or ‘My son’s trying to learn how to play the bass on ‘Song 2’. The music seems to have found a new audience.”
Blur will perform together for the first time since 2015 at Wembley Stadium on Saturday, July 8th, 2023, with support from Slowthai, Self Esteem and Jockstrap, per the announcement yesterday.
Tickets are set to go on general sale from 10am GMT on Friday, November 18th.
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