Been meaning to post all day a hat-tip to our very own Alex James who – before he was a Spectator columnist and celebrated cheese-maker – used to play the bass in a rather successful little group called Blur. Last night, reunited and re-energised, they played their final UK gig in Hyde Park. And, whether or not you were around first time to enjoy these great songs, it really was rather special.
From the opening chords of “She’s So High”, it was clear that the band which defined “Cool Britannia” do not intend to fade into obsolescence with that New Labour-infected moment, nor to go through the motions like a nostalgia act, reforming occasionally to ensure an annual pay day from their grown-up and now-professional fanbase. They still mean business, thank God.
Damon Albarn may be 41 and no longer a plausible enfant terrible but he still knows how to grasp a crowd by their collective throats and take them on a Britpop journey.
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