The Blur fan is never left wanting for documentaries. From the chaotic Starshaped in 1993, capturing the Britpop Monkees before they hit the big time, to the polished New World Towers in 2015, Blur has always known how to play to the camera. Their blend of deadpan humor, onstage antics, and reflective musings on age and Englishness has always been a hit. The 2010 documentary No Distance Left to Run showed the band reuniting after a long estrangement, with Damon Albarn growling, “Let’s get the band back together one more time!” This latest documentary, however, doesn’t break new ground but offers another nostalgic trip with some early archive footage.
Now, the band is back together after another long hiatus, and they have a new challenge: Wembley Stadium. “The less we do, the bigger we get,” quips drummer and current Mid Sussex Labour candidate Dave Rowntree. Armed with a new album, The Ballad of Darren, they play warm-up shows in places like Wolverhampton and Eastbourne, and even a homecoming gig in Colchester, Essex. In Colchester, Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon find that the music room at their old school has been named in their honor. Their suggestion to add some paisley wallpaper and a bowl of weed is met with muted horror by the head teacher.
Then it’s off to Wembley for two nights, playing to a combined crowd of 180,000 fans. While it might sound like a walk in the Parklife, the film does have its moments of suspense. Will the gigs go ahead now that three of the four band members have dodgy knees? Will Damon find himself sufficiently stimulated? “If you don’t keep him focused on the job in hand, he’ll literally write another opera,” marvels chain-smoking bassist and cheese-maker Alex James. And will Alex’s farm-grown tomatoes meet with his bandmates’ approval?
Gone is the messiness that made Starshaped so compelling, replaced by a sentimental sheen. The film exudes a look-how-far-we’ve-come vibe that aligns with the title song but wears thin over 105 minutes. The lack of interesting structural or filmmaking choices doesn’t help, though director Toby L wisely holds the camera on Alex’s forlorn expression after he laments a recent night out, saying, “There’s always a really good reason not to go to bed.” The decision to truncate every song is depressingly business-minded, with complete numbers being held back for a full-length concert movie later this year.
Throughout the film, the band remains affable company. Like the Pet Shop Boys, they are relics of an age when pop stars were capable of droll commentary rather than just controversy, even if there is a lot of waffle to wade through. “Ours is a brotherhood that has been sustained by a musical relationship… Music is a complete abandonment of the ego, and you’re just one of billions of atoms in that space.”
The standout moment belongs to someone other than these four wealthy white blokes. Pauline Black, singer with 2 Tone stalwarts the Selecter, prepares for her support slot at Wembley by reflecting on why she’s still plugging away after all these years. She notes that the racism, sexism, and various other isms that seemed to have been vanquished are now back again, and as pernicious as ever. It’s a reminder that not everyone has had it as easy as the likely lads of Blur, and a wake-up call amid the film’s popscene daydream.
The latest documentary about Blur finds them reassembling for a stadium gig, though we’ll have to wait to hear complete songs. Damon Albarn was not impressed by the Coachella crowd during the first weekend of the festival. Blur played a 13-song set, including Nineties classics like “Girls & Boys,” “Popscene,” and “Song 2,” on the festival’s main stage. Albarn tried to lead a singalong during the bridge of “Girls & Boys” but was met with silence. Eventually, he told the audience, “You’re never seeing us again so you might as well f***ing sing it.”
“Song 2” at least was met with a huge reaction. Albarn said, “This song has been so good to us. But I did get shown a TikTok of it being kind of performed by a vacuum cleaner which is, you know, humbling and inspiring at the same time.” The viral video Albarn referred to has been reshared in response to his callout.
Blur fans watching from home expressed their outrage on social media and defended Albarn after seeing the muted response from the live audience. “The crowd for Blur at Coachella was so embarrassing Damon I’m so sorry I wasn’t there,” one fan tweeted. Others questioned whether booking Blur made sense given Coachella’s demographic.
Two people unlikely to be singing along to Blur’s refrains were Taylor Swift and her boyfriend Travis Kelce. The couple were seen watching Jack Antonoff’s band, Bleachers, perform at the festival. Back in January 2022, Albarn was the subject of controversy after he suggested in an interview that Grammy-winner Swift does not write her own songs. Swift responded, saying she was “such a big fan” of Albarn until she saw his comments. Albarn apologized “unreservedly and unconditionally.”
Blur recently released their first album in eight years, The Ballad of Darren. In a five-star review, it was called “the band’s best record since 1999.”
