Live Review: Blur - Wembley Stadium, London 08/07/2023
Come rain or shine, Britpop sensations Blur astounded an audience of 90,000 at Wembley Stadium with an epic blowout performance to mark the first of their two largest headline shows to date.
Following a string of performances at intimate UK venues and European festivals, Blur have touched down in London for back-to-back headline shows at the iconic Wembley Stadium. This tour marks an exciting period for the band. It comes ahead of the release of their ninth studio album ‘The Ballad of Darren’, concluding their seven-year hiatus. After the cancellation of their set at Festival Beauregard due to drummer Dave Rowntree suffering a knee injury just days before the Wembley dates, fans held some concern as to whether the highly anticipated gigs would still go forward. However, the band rose to the occasion to grace the stadium stage for the very first time in their long-standing career.
While dreary shades of grey settled in the Saturday sky with the occasional sprinkle of rain, an eclectic line-up of support acts brightened up the venue. The evening kicked off with enigmatic experimental pop duo Jockstrap, who offered shimmering vocals and unpredictable electronic production. Between supporting bands, Steve Davis and John Doran kept things moving with lively DJ sets. After Jockstrap’s exhilarating performance, the growing audience was greeted by another duo. Post-punk pair Sleaford Mods blazed in with coarse, aggravated wordsmithing and pounding beats that shook the crowd. Self Esteem was the final support act, bringing in dynamic vocals and prominent drums against an affirmative backdrop that read ‘DON’T FUCK UP THE BLUR GIG’.
Around 8:30PM, the ‘blur’ sign descended. The teeming stadium was jolted by an eruption of cheers and applause when ‘The Debt Collector’ played over the speakers as the band entered, a sense of exuberance washing over the crowd. “Good evening, Wembley,” announced frontman Damon Albarn. With a shrill electric guitar riff that cut through the noise of the audience, they opened with ‘St. Charles’ Square’, the latest single from the upcoming record. It served as a vibrant introduction that took the band back to the beginning, bearing the brash 90s basement feel that defined their initial sound.
Despite its nostalgic touch, the fresh track hadn’t quite gripped the audience. There was no evident chronology to the arrangement of songs through the show, but their early albums were priorities. When the band revisited their ‘Leisure’ days with ‘There’s No Other Way’, fans joined in for an enthusiastic sing-along. “Come on, I wanna see you dance!” Damon commanded as they entered Popscene, to which the audience complied. The energy of the frontman was at an all-time high as he bounced on stage, howling through verses. “Obviously, we’ve been waiting for this moment our whole lives. So lovely to share it with you all.”
Damon levelled with the standing crowd for ‘Tracy Jacks’, standing at the barricade to set up for a call and response style refrain. ‘Beetlebum’ and ‘Out Of Time’ allowed the atmosphere to mellow out, with the latter taking on a particularly heartfelt tone as the audience was acknowledged as part of Blur’s family – in an abstract way. A sentimental tone carried through to ‘Under The Westway’, which the band hadn’t performed since 2014. “We haven’t played this song in awhile but because you know, we’re in London begrudgingly,” Damon joked before sitting down at the piano for the melancholic number. Attendees held their phone torches to the sky, thousands of lights coming together to illuminate the venue, highlighting one of the most significant moments of the night. The importance of playing at Wembley Stadium was never once lost on the band, and Damon frequently expressed gratitude for having the opportunity to do so. Just before ‘End Of A Century’, he called for a round of applause for the genius of Freddie Mercury and legendary band Queen, whose consecutive 1986 Wembley shows have gone down in rock history.
The night was laced with humour and surprise, some of which was confined to a work tent positioned at the corner of the stage. Damon investigated it just before ‘Country House’, only to emerge donning a deerstalker. It became the focus of his attention just before ‘Parklife”, but this time actor Phil Daniels stepped out to deliver his grand monologue supported by echoes of “parklife!” from the audience.
Dusk set a beautiful tone for the heartfelt delivery of ‘To The End’, for which the phone torches returned. This preceded the gritty ‘Oily Water’ and ‘Advert’, which included clever visuals of oil slicks and ‘ADVERT’ spelled out on the big screen, respectively. Damon’s vocals were carried through a megaphone for resounding impact against raging instrumentation. This built up the for excitement of ‘Song 2’, for which Damon had one simple request – that everyone gets up and bounces.
Closing with ‘This Is A Low’, the remains of blue light and reverberating sound indicated that the group wasn’t done just yet, and the roars of the crowd demanded more. As the stage was swallowed by darkness, the band emerged once more for a buzzing encore. Addressing the history of the temple that is Wembley Stadium, they returned with ‘Lot 105’ which was carried by opening chants of ‘Wembley!’ and audience-led clapping. They kept the energy going with the timelessly danceable ‘Girls And Boys’, and entertained the notion of putting on a very London event as Damon invited the London Community Gospel Choir to assist them with performing ‘Tender’. Coming back to ‘The Ballad of Darren’, realising smiles were present throughout ‘The Narcissist’, an affecting addition from the upcoming record. ‘The Universal’ drew the evening to its true close. The stadium was drenched in disco ball reflections for a stunning end, during which Damon questioned why fans had stuck with the band for so long. After a night that was nothing short of spectacular, the answer was pretty clear.
Looking out over the diverse crowd of 90,000, the four piece came together to take their final bow at the end of an exultant two hour performance. As Damon gazed into the distance and issued a choked up thank you before departing the stage, there was truly no question about it – Blur had truly made it.
Words by Kayla Sandiford
Photography provided by GOOD MACHINE
