Description
Originally livestreamed from London’s iconic Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith on Tuesday 25th of July 2023, the intimate one-hour plus performance captured the first and probably only time the band will play their brand new Number 1 album “The Ballad of Darren” live from start to finish, along with a smattering of deep cuts and fan favourites plus very special encore tracks.
The crowd receiving single ‘The Narcissist’ like an old favourite, while next single ‘Barbaric’ also landed well. The band then returned for an encore – delivering the first in a run of rarities by playing ‘Pyongyang’ from previous album “The Magic Whip”. ‘Pyong Yang’ was performed live for the first time since 2015 before the live debut of the album version of ‘Clover Over Dover’ from 1994’s ‘Parklife’. This was followed by ‘There’s No Other Way’ B-side ‘Mr Briggs’ (not played by the band in over 11 years) and ‘All Your Life’ from the special edition of their 1997 self-titled album. “We’ve never performed this before – in fact, until it was suggested, I forgot it existed,” offered frontman Damon Albarn before the live debut of 1994 fan favourite ‘Parklife’ b-side ‘Theme from an Imaginary Film’.
The band took to the stage, backed by string quartet, with bassist Alex James lounging on a sofa and smoking as they eased into playing album opener ‘The Ballad’. In playing the new record from start to finish, they also performed ‘The Everglades (For Leonard)’, ‘Goodbye Albert’, ‘Far Away Island’, Avalon’ and ‘The Heights’ live for the first time.
Do you want one more song?” asked Albarn before a final encore of classic single ‘The Universal’, adding: “Do you want something slightly less artfully obtuse?”
Blur’s setlist was:
‘The Ballad’
‘St. Charles Square’
‘Barbaric’
‘Russian Strings’
‘The Everglades (For Leonard)’
‘The Narcissist’
‘Goodbye Albert’
‘Far Away Island’
‘Avalon’
‘The Heights’
Encore:
‘Pyongyang’ (Tour debut)
‘Clover Over Dover’ (Tour debut; first performance of the album version)
‘Mr. Briggs’ (First time live since 2012)
‘All Your Life’
‘Theme from an Imaginary Film’ (Live debut)
Encore 2:
‘The Universal’
Duration: 1 Hour 19 Minutes
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