2012 has been quite the eventful year for iconic British band Blur, with reports of them both reforming and breaking up, frontman Damon Albarn scrapping plans for a new record (as well as ending cartoon superstar side-project Gorillaz) and news that a special, one-off Olympics Closing Ceremony Show at Hydpe Park would be Blur’s last – before deciding that it wasn’t.
In an exciting update to the confusing saga, a visit to Australian next year as part of an ‘extensive world tour’ seems very likely for the band.
That is, according to Ian Huffman, a representative for booking agency X-Ray Touring, who has stated in an interview with Pollstar Magazine that the iconic British band is “planning a relatively extensive world tour next year, including Europe, Japan, South America and Australia”, as FasterLouder reports.
Huffman believes that the European dates will “likely run through to mid summer”, making an Australia visit in the second half of next year very likely, which would work in quite nicely with Splendour In The Grass.
The massive festival located in Byron Bay has lured many iconic British bands in recent years, including the also recently reformed Britpop heroes Pulp in 2011, and Madchester stalwarts Happy Mondays in 2009; so Blur seem like a good fit for the event, which traditionally takes place in late July.
The band recently tweeted plans to visit places where they haven’t toured for a while, and with Blur last gracing our shores 16 years ago, a long-awaited return to Australia seems a likely choice.
We’re excited to headline @RockWerchter next July. Hope to travel in 2013 to play to more of our lovely fans we haven't seen for a while…
— blur (@blurofficial) October 5, 2012
Referring to the Hyde Park show earlier this year, that featured 26 songs spanning the bands whole career, Albarn said “who knows if this will ever happen again”, but now, apparently, we do, with Blur recently announcing that they would be playing three huge festivals in 2013: Primavera Sound, Oporto and Rock Werchter.
The band also released two new tracks to coincide with the London 2012 Olympics Closing Ceremony that “show completely different sides of Blur.” The tracks were released via a live video stream on Twitter. Albarn labeled new single, “The Puritan” as “a big and bouncy, up and at ’em, sing-a-long special” while calling “Under The Westway” a “hymn.” Hopefully we’ll get to experience both live in the near future…
