Warming up for forthcoming shows at Glastonbury and Hyde Park, famous foursome Blur arrived on stage in the usual fashion; Graham Coxon with his signature black framed spectacles, Damon Albarn sporting a black polo, Alex James in a classic white t and Dave Rowntree behind the drum kit in his element, all accompanied by a massive applause and dived straight into She’s So High. The crowd instantly flew into a frenzy singing back every word. Tracks There’s No Other Way, give way to Beetlebum and Girls and Boys , and of course signature tracks Coffee & TV, Charmless Man and For Tomorrow played a big part in the set. Usually the type of these songs would be reserved for the final stretch, but Blur spat them out in the first 20 minutes. Tender was the signal for a mass sing-along and a sea of hands and voices filled the air, following on was popular track Parklife During this track Damon shouted the lyrics directly into the delighted faces of the front row, before spraying them with water. Next the band launched into Song 2 and Damon asks the crowd “Come on! Do you want something faster?” and they begin to play Country House, the crowd is soon dancing like crazy, people are literally bouncing of the walls. In the encore The Universal Damon Albarn looked upon the sold out crowd and for a few seconds you could see tears of happiness in his eyes as the audience sang lyrics “It could really really happen”. At this moment the band really came together as a whole and you got the impression that things have never been better in Blur. The reasons for the bands reunion are not obvious but going by this performance they’re in it for the love not the money.

By Sophie Stratford