Britpop fans rejoice: we’re getting another Blur documentary

Last year, during a sunny weekend in July, the city of London was divided. There were the hordes of sad girlies attending the Lana Del Rey show, and there were the hordes of Dads (with their children in tow) heading to Wembley Stadium for Blur. Surprisingly, the latter was the Britpop legend’s first ever time playing in the stadium, something so momentous the whole thing is being turned into both a documentary and a concert film. Made by the guys who also put together films on artists like Foals, Arlo Parks and Olivia Rodrigo, the feature-length documentary is said to capture the band’s return to music – their 2023 album ‘The Ballad of Darren” was their first in eight years. And the two-hour concert film will shed a light on the musical spectacular 90,000 fans saw last summer. Expect a cameo from Phil Daniels, the iconic voice on Blur’s equally iconic track ‘Parklife’.

While these films might seem a little off-brand given Blur’s lengthy hiatus in the late 2010s – during which, bassist Alex James took to making cheese and frontman Damon Albarn was busy with a little known band called the Gorillaz – it isn’t actually their first foray into movies. The 2010 film No Distance Left to Run followed the band during their 2009 reunion and tour, and in 2008 there was the little-known Bananaz, a documentary on the Gorillaz. Really, though, if there was a time to do a film like this, it’s now: just today it was also announced that Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour concert film sold to streaming platform Disney+ for more than $75 million. The singer also made headlines when she decided to release different versions of the concert film, her loyal fans having to cough up more money for each one. We don’t reckon Blur will do anything quite so crass and opportunistic – back in 2020, Albarn did his bit by launching Gorillaz hoodies where the profits went to The Black Curriculum – but we’re not ruling it out either. It would certainly be more lucrative than cheese.