Blur announce exclusive ‘The Magic Whip’ performance

Blur have announced a one-off live performance of their new album ‘The Magic Whip’.

The ‘Parklife’ hitmakers – made up of vocalist Damon Albarn, guitarist and vocalist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree – will take to the stage for the first time to perform the tracks from their new record ahead of its release on Parlophone on 27th April.

The show will be free and take place at a small venue in West London on Friday 20th March.

The rock band first started working on the album – their first offering in 16 years – while they toured in Asia last year, but the group didn’t decide for some time that it would become their eighth studio album.

Damon, 46, said: ”We had some downtime, we had a cancellation when we were in Hong Kong, so we thought we’d put five or six days to good use.

”We just went in there and knocked about loads of ideas.

”Nothing happened after that. And I said, ‘I really don’t think anything’s going to happen.”’

Graham, 45, added: ”It was casual and just something we did off our own backs and I thought it would be great to let it ferment and go back and have a look.”

The news followed the release of the album’s cover online. The sleeve shows a neon ice cream cone between Chinese lettering which reads ‘Blur’ and ‘The Magic Whip’.

Damon said of the artwork: ”It’s in simplified Chinese characters. On the left it says Blur and on the right it says ‘The Magic Whip’.”

He added that the rockers are looking forward to playing tracks from the new album, which will be out April, when they headline Hyde Park’s British Summertime in London later this year.

The London-born singer said: ”On this occasion we will have a whole new set of things to get excited about so we’ll have even more music.

”I love it [playing in Hyde Park] because I can cycle to work!”