T In The Parklife
T in the Park, are delighted to be able to reveal that a recently-reformed Blur are to headline the Main Stage at this year’s festival on Sunday 12th July. This will be one of Blur’s first dates in over 6 years and a major musical coup as their T in the Park performance will be the ONLY chance to see the band play in Scotland this summer.
Blur’s first sonic seduction of the Balado masses took place back in ’94, at the first ever T in the Park, on a bill which also hosted Oasis and Pulp, with all three acts performing in the now-legendary King Tut’s Wah Wah Tent. Sixteen years have now passed but Blur’s Main Stage return is guaranteed to make this year's festival unmissable.
Easily one of the most influential British acts of the last 20 years, Blur’s output is prolific. Debut release ‘Leisure’ deftly demonstrated pop perfection with tracks such as ‘She’s So High’ and ‘There’s No Other Way’. Blur broke down the door for the new wave of bands that came to comprise Brit Pop, but the bands iconic status would be sealed with the release of the seminal Brit Pop album, that would genuinely come to define a generation – ‘Parklife’.
Damon Albarn’s typically ballsy comment “When our third album comes out, our position as the quintessential English band of the 1990’s will be assured” was nothing short of prophetic and Parklife along with the title track ‘Girls and Boys’ and ballad ‘To The End’, became an epoch-making release. Hitting the No.1 spot in the album charts, it remained billed for a further 90 weeks.
Later single release 'Country House’ would see Blur take on Oasis, and win, a battle for the top chart position, before ‘Song 2’ and a move towards a more indie rock and lo-fi sound helped the band crack the often elusive American market towards the end of the decade.
In 2002, tension within the band boiled over and guitarist Graham Coxon, quit during the recording of Blur’s seventh album, ‘Think Tank’. Since then, front man Damon Albarn has enjoyed commercial and critical success with his virtual band, Gorillaz and The Good, The Bad and The Queen. Coxon has released several solo albums whilst bassist Alex James owns a farm and has gone on to develop a successful media career.
Thankfully for us, Blur’s eagerly anticipated reformation will see one of the most culturally relevant bands of our time top this year’s Saturday Main Stage bill. Only four bands in, with so many more still to announce, Balado is already boasting the biggest and most exciting acts in the world. With rock'n'roll royalty in the making, super hot-property Kings of Leon (whose SECC shows also sold out in minutes last year), T in the Park troubadours Snow Patrol (warming up for their summer performance with three sold-out Scottish arena dates this month) and pop temptress Katy Perry already confirmed, this year's line up is already off to a cracking start.