“I met you when you were 12 and I was 13, and we’re here now – that’s mad, it really is," a visibly emotional Damon Albarn told guitarist Graham Coxon before the sweeping swells of To The End. One of several weighty moments – including a lengthy, sobbing breakdown following 2012 single Under The Westway – it was evident that the importance of playing Blur’s biggest ever headline shows, three decades on from their commercial peak, was not lost on the frontman.
The second of two nights at Wembley Stadium (the first of which sold out in two minutes flat), there was no question mark in the air as to whether the band could still cut it live. Having barely paused between Gorillaz commitments and various other projects, Albarn remains a tried and trusted festival-headliner, while Coxon has been a steady fixture on the indie circuit throughout. Even bassist Alex James has been posting about ditching the cheese farming in order to fit into his "Britpop trousers" in the run up to these shows.
