Alex James is taking his Britpop Classical charabanc on the road this week, starting off with a date at the Royal Albert Hall tonight (March 11) and he’s been talking to the NME about the project and the prospect of another Blur reunion.
For Britpop Classical, James has hired a full band and orchestra (of course) and roped in Gary Stringer of Reef, Saffron from Republic and good ol’ Phil Daniels. And the bassist-turned-cheese farmer has promised some “big surprises” too.
So far, there’s only been one show, last year at James’s own Big Feastival festival: That “exceeded all expectations,” the bassist said. “The phone was literally ringing from Live Nation the next day, asking if we wanted to take it on the road.
“We’ve got some brilliant special guests and I think it’s going to go next level. I’m really looking forward to a springtime jaunt around the UK.”
Apparently, the show begins with songs from Britpop’s progenitors – The Beatles, The Kinks, David Bowie et al, before they move on to all those big 90s hits, by Pulp, Elastica, Supergrass, Nirvana (who aren’t Britpop, but – hey – never mind), Radiohead and Oasis.
“The moment I knew it was all going to work was the one rehearsal ahead of Feastival,” James revealed. “I was cacking it, I really didn’t know if it was going to work or not. We did Creep by Radiohead and I noticed I was crying halfway through. It’s so emotive.”
Inevitably, there are a few Blur classics in there too. “Those shows we did back in 2023 were definitely the best we’ve ever done,” he said of the band. “They’re such a part of me and of all of us. I hope I’ve done them (the songs) justice.”
He suggested that, having wound up their most recent reunion on good terms, they won’t be in any rush to return. “It’ll be three years this summer since Wembley,” he said. “That’s the first time we’ve ever got to the end of a tour or album cycle without at least one of the band going, ‘Fuck this, fuck that, fuck you, fuck off’. It was a good place to leave it.”
Blur’s last official gig was the now-infamous Coachella show when Damon Albarn berated the crowd for their – supposed lack of enthusiasm. In interviews since, Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon have suggested that they’re in no hurry to return to the festival, but James sounds open to the idea, saying: “The booker from Coachella loves British rock music. It’s popular all over the world. South America are loving the Britpop, which is what made me think this might actually work. These songs resonate all over the world 30 years after they were written, so who knows what’s next?”
