Original subtitles

[Mellow music; Surf laps gently]

[Birdsong]

[Damon] I've been coming here since 1996-7.

And I don't mind not being around people, that's the thing.

I'm not racing. My brain's not racing so fast.

I'm able to... relax.

I suppose that's what I've just realised. Yeah, I could actually live here now.

We did Think Tank a bit here, but it was very rough and ready.

Alex and Dave, they haven't been there since then.

And Graham's never been here.

[Music continues; No audible dialogue]

[Damon] We just carry a lot

of experience, collectively.

That's why I wanted to do it again.

It felt like, for some reason, it was wanted

at this moment in time.

[Music continues; Faint cheering]

[Cheering subsides]

[Damon] I'm 55, I'm, like

have to accept that, you know

time is not infinite.

I'm training to be a rally driver.

Everything else is based on our reaction to it.

My great grandmother was 103,

and my gran was 100.

Might as well just start thinking about it.

To be totally fair, she was a month shy of 100.

But it's trying to see... it's trying to see an upside...

[He chuckles]

...I suppose.

[Director] How long do you think you'll live till?

- [Damon] Me? - [Director] Yeah.

Who knows?

How long will anyone live, Toby?

[Recording, on stereo] When you're young, you don't have wisdom,

you don't have knowledge, you don't have stamina,

you don't have dedication, especially...

[Tyres screech]

[Recording continues faintly]

He was going too fast. Luckily, I was going really slowly.

- [He chuckles] - Did you... Did you film that?

Fucking wanker, nearly killed me!

And now you're making me do this.

[He exhales frustratedly]

It's classic, though. We were just talking about mortality, weren't we?

I mean, you couldn't have timed it better, which is...

This is what I've learnt in life, is that, you know,

you never know what's round the corner.

[Music - "To the End" by Blur]

[Cockerel clucks]

♪ All those dirty words

♪ Jusqu'a la fin

♪ They make us look so dumb

♪ En plein soleil

♪ Been drinking far too much

- ♪ Jusqu'a la fin... ♪ - [Damon] Hello.

♪ And neither of us mean what we say

♪ En plein amour

♪ Well, you and I... ♪

[Cockerels cluck]

They can get very, um

lively round this area.

I have to have a stick.

No prob... Eh, eh, eh, eh!

Oi, oi, oi! Go on! Move, move!

It's a very big day today because we, uh

got our first egg.

We've got quite a rambunctious cockerel. His name's Tony.

First, I'm going to put this down, 'cause I know that is your...

[Damon mimics squawking]

Come on. Calm down, everyone.

There we go. Wow, look at all of that.

See, while you're busy protecting everyone,

- you're missing out on the treats. - [Cockerel crows]

Did you like that? Ooh. Wasn't that nice?

- Thank you for the eggs. - [Cockerel crows]

[He chuckles]

[Damon] Well, I've been here for ages, but Blur are coming here.

I think it's going to be okay.

I'm just concerned that we do it as honestly as humanly possible for

you know... people like us.

[Birdsong; Vehicle approaches]

[He groans, sighs]

[Alex] Whoop, whoop!

[Alex groans, strains]

[Child coos]

- [Child yells] - [Alex] Uh-oh!

[Alex chuckles]

[Claire] All right, I'll see you on Wednesday.

[Alex] Love you.

- Thanks for last night. - No, you're welcome.

[Birdsong]

[Door opens, shuts]

[Alex] Driving down, it's fucking enchanted, man.

- [Damon laughs] - [Alex] Jurassic Park...

- Fuckin' hell! - How are you? You all right? Nice, innit?

- Hey! - Hey, man, how's it going?

- You've been in the sun, mate! - Yeah.

[Alex] So, where's this... you're taking me?

[Damon] This is a very, very old smuggling...

- Argh! - ...pub, in a very old smuggling village.

Sometimes you get ghosts. It's kind of famous for it.

- Cider-swilling... - [Alex] Oh, really?

Peasants with smocks and red kerchiefs, with bright blue eyes.

[Damon chuckles]

[Alex] We've barely communicated

for the last ten years.

I get more from Downing Street and the Palace

in an average year than I do from Albarn and Coxon.

I mean, even when we really split up, it didn't take this long to make a record.

But what's wonderful is, as soon as the four of us get in a room together,

it's just exactly the same as it was when we were all 19.

It's just four sweaty blokes annoying each other.

Oh!

[Both laugh]

[Birdsong]

- This is brilliant. - [Damon] Wooden floor.

- You all right? - Yeah!

- I'm all right. - [He chuckles]

- [Graham] Oh, Jesus. - Oh, big fuckin'...

- How are you doing? - Ah, you've been diddling.

I've just been working, just trying to get this sounding amazing,

and, you know...

[Graham pats rhythm, Damon exhales]

Trying to fulfil the potential of our, uh...

[Graham sings cheerfully, unaccompanied]

- [Damon chuckles] - Exactly!

[Graham] Damon and I communicate musically a lot, really. We always have.

Then that developed into friendship or whatever else,

and I haven't got many friends,

so it's a bit like, every now and then, we have to check up on each other

and see if there's something there that's been brewing.

[He plays shuffling rhythm]

[He sings, cheerfully]

[Drumming stops; Singing continues]

[Graham] How's your knee?

I've already told them that my knee's knackered, so they know.

But, no, how's your one?

- How's your one? - It's all right.

It went to crap after my first gig,

but now it's absolutely fine.

[Dave] I was the very last member of Blur

to get a very big house in the country, but we've all done it.

And it's funny how these sneering comments you make in your twenties

turn round and bite you in the arse.

- [Dave] Is it gluten-free cake? - [Tanyel] I'm pretty sure.

[Dave] That would be fucking spectacular.

I will be like, "I'll have the whole thing," if it is.

If it's not, I shall just, you know... I'll be grown-up about it.

[Damon] There's some rye bread.

Is there some cold porridge left over from yesterday?

Stoical face.

[Birdsong]

[Indistinct chatter]

I shall unselfconsciously put this fishcake into my mouth.

No, I'll do it like that

the way chefs place their food.

[Indistinct chatter]

I think it's lovely that I'm getting into an old codger who's falling to bits

and I'm flippin' doing the biggest gig... you know, with me old band.

[Dave] We haven't played Wembley before

'cause we haven't been big enough to play Wembley before.

That's the reality.

We're getting bigger and bigger. The less we do, the bigger we get.

[Graham] Me and Damon watched Live Aid together,

you know, round my house.

We were, like, 16. We sat watching it all day.

[Damon] So, why are you doing it?

You're doing it because there's a pureness to it.

So basically

when I come back from America,

we've got, like, two weeks, and then we're on tour.

- Yeah. - Is that really it?

New album plus a couple of oldies.

So, like, three weeks' time, we start rehearsing.

- May 1st. - May 1st?

Fuuuuuck!

[Music - "Come Together" by Blur]

[Damon] Graham and I spent a lot of our adolescence

just hanging out by the river behind the village.

[Graham] It was not a thing of being in a band.

It was a thing of hanging out on Friday nights at his house.

Him writing and me coming round and maybe playing some saxophone.

Mainly, it was sort of hanging out and going for walks.

[Damon] And trying to, uh, race on cows when we were drunk.

Which never went well, and I don't recommend that to anybody.

[Graham] And just talking about music and life and everything else,

and sharing, you know, our feelings, or whatever that was.

First time I met Dave, I had to go round his flat for a rehearsal.

[Dave] Everybody I knew played an instrument.

Everybody was constantly in bands, three or four bands at a time.

[Graham] And I went down and knocked on his flat,

and he was still in bed, and he got up, and

he had this sort of floppy Mohican haircut, and he was in his pyjamas,

and he sat on the edge of his bed eating his cornflakes.

His drum kit was there in his bedroom,

and then I got me sax out.

[Dave] I wanted to be in a band with Damon because of his songwriting.

Graham took me along to see him.

He was playing with, uh, some guy in a hat, I remember.

Or did Damon wear the hat? I don't know.

A hat definitely featured in their performance.

[Damon] At one point, I think I jumped into the audience,

but there were so few people there that it was actually really embarrassing.

Then I kind of sort of went for the toilets, I think,

just to make it not feel quite so awkward.

[Dave] I had a chat to Damon afterwards and said, "Really like what you're doing.

"If you ever need a drummer for any of your projects, let me know."

That was the start of that, really.

[Graham] Alex was just who I met when we got to halls of residence,

who lived underneath me in the block there, in Camberwell.

I said, "Alex plays bass, he's this bloke in my halls," and we all met.

[Alex] I kind of liked Graham instantly.

Damon was very kind of, "What you got?"

- [He chuckles] - You know, which I respond well to.

Um... And, yeah, I think Dave made me a cup of tea.

You know, I think we'd got each other's backs.

[Dave] It was Alex joining, really, that was the kind of missing piece.

After he joined, we were signed within six months.

[Music continues]

[Music concludes, drum thuds]

[Birdsong]

[Dave] There's one more on here.

[He plays booming rhythm]

[Drumming continues]

[Dave] I think our legacy is pretty good.

You know, not wanting to trample on that,

not wanting to release some rubbish, you know, 'cause we're going out on tour.

You know, in the context of the legacy,

let's just try and make the very best music we can.

[Damon] Well, doing a whole new album is the difference between

this just being a nostalgia-looking thing and something

that feels totally

part of our lives now.

Again. Part of my life again, anyway, definitely.

[James] So, yeah, I think it's a bar of click, and then you're in.

[Music plays - "Sticks and Stones" by Blur]

♪ Smooth exterior

♪ Mess inside... ♪

[Dave] Before we, uh, dipped our toe in the water with Blur,

I hadn't played drums for quite some time.

I have been making film music, by and large.

I've done a lot of things.

You know, my legal career started and ended in the last ten years.

I don't know, I just... I've always been someone

that just does whatever seems most interesting at the time.

I've never really had a plan.

[Music stops]

[James] Would you mind doing one more all the way?

Yeah, let's do it like that.

- [He plucks brief notes] - [Sam] Same again?

[James] Yeah, it gives it loads of energy. It's cool.

- [Music resumes] - ♪ The service station on the road

♪ I took the acid... ♪

You know, the process, I wasn't sure how it was going to be coming into it.

You never know, going in with these kind of, like, hero bands

what it's actually going to be like.

And from the very first meetings, there were some kind of, like

sort of little warning flags of tension,

and, like, I was like, "Oh, no, it could be a nightmare."

♪ If you see darkness, look away... ♪

[James] Graham's got a young family and is touring with his new band.

You know, Alex is coming back in maybe a little apprehensive.

Damon's just, like, a powerhouse

and almost, like, pathologically kind of addicted

to making new stuff up all the time, you know?

And to that end, it feels like you're on shifting sands a little bit.

Great. Do one more chorus,

then we'll go back to the verse, then we'll go and have dinner.

[Graham] Yeah, sure.

♪ You'll probably shine it back on me

♪ But I won't fall this time

♪ With godspeed, I'll heed the signs

♪ I won't fall this time

♪ With godspeed, I'll heed the signs... ♪

[Graham] We were with each other a lot in the '90s.

And it was a very intense time.

It's the sort of time, and on the same sort of level,

as a relationship or marriages and things like that.

And I think it's okay to say that time apart

was taken up with other friendships and just

just sort of recuperating,

- or, you know, doing other things. - [Mellow music]

[Alex] Since everybody kind of went their separate ways,

I got married and started making some cheese.

That was in 2003.

I've sort of organised my life so I don't have to go on tour.

I've moved the mountain to Mohammed, having a festival on the farm.

It takes all day

to just be a dad and run a farm and a festival.

Bass playing is the easiest job in the entire world.

But, you know, I have to be in Devon to do that.

[Music continues]

[Damon] Yeah, we could just about manage.

- There's been a bit of a storm... - [Alex] Oh, Christ, Albarn!

- [Damon] What? - [Alex] Fuck this!

- [Damon] Fuck that? - [Alex] It's horrible!

- [He chuckles] - No, but it's... I mean, it's...

- You feel good afterwards, right? - Um, I mean...

- That doesn't, you know... - No, I promise you...

I'm in. I'm all in...

- I promise you... - ...but blimey!

- Uh, we could go to another... - No, no, no, no. But this is...

No, do you know what? Should we go to another one?

No, this is the perfect spot. This is lovely.

[Music continues]

[Damon] Bands start, usually, when people are quite young,

you're still finding yourself.

[Dave] You have to work through that relationship

where you can be relaxed and comfortable

and not want to push each other's buttons and want to be supportive.

You know, that takes time to work through.

And ideally, the best place to do that working through

- is not in the full glare of the public. - [He laughs]

We've had times where we've really

not wanted to be even in the same room as each other.

[Dave] When you're in the thick of it and, you know,

you've just been touring for three years with two days off,

it can feel like what you're actually engaged in is politics

and the music is a kind of sideshow to that.

[Alex roars]

[Damon] When I last saw them, it was great.

So... yeah, I mean

we grew up together, so, you know, family.

The bedrooms aren't finished here yet, so we've got back to the

house where we're staying down the road, and, uh.

- [Seagulls caw] - ...I made me and Graham

some bacon and eggs.

- And... - [He chuckles]

...it's just like when we were staying in halls of residence at college.

You know, the midnight snacks.

But it's actually

sort of quite good to be kind of removed

from the kind of noise of

running a farm and a festival and a family

to drink scrumpy

and make bacon and eggs in peace.

I don't know how he can stay in there. Hangover's history.

Wa-hey!

[He cackles]

[Both chuckle]

[Music continues]

[Seagulls caw]

[Music fades]

[James] Um, when do you want to do a playback? Soon?

[Graham] What is it that we're going to be hearing?

- Basically... - What we heard before but with...

With full vocals. Everything... Damon's done every song.

[Indistinct chatter]

Let's get this party started.

[Damon] I don't think any of us thought we'd make another record.

Especially not a record like this.

I suppose that's why I wanted to try and make it as good as possible.

'Cause otherwise it's just some bunch of old cunts

trying to relive their past.

I mean, you know, it's not the finished record.

Everybody ready?

[Indistinct chatter]

- [Music plays - "The Everglades" by Blur] - ♪ You of grace

♪ Many ghosts alive in my mind

♪ Many paths I wish I'd taken

♪ Many times I thought I'd break... ♪

[Graham] Emotionally, I think, with this album,

something has been dislodged within the group, within Damon.

♪ ...It seems to be... ♪

[Damon] Well, I suppose it's about

it's... about loss.

It's about the aftershock of... of loss.

♪ ...Songs to play... ♪

[Damon] Once something dramatic has happened,

whether it's a break-up or pandemic...

♪ ...grace for everyone... ♪

[Damon] I mean, what do you want me to say?

Now I live alone, essentially, in the countryside.

That's what's happened.

And this record, obviously, very much feels like that.

[Music continues]

♪ Why everything

♪ In this world been lost... ♪

[Graham] A boulder has fallen out.

You know, there's 40 years' worth of stuff in this boulder

that has been dislodged,

and now rolls down

towards us.

♪ Pursuing God with change

♪ And furthermore

♪ I think it's just

♪ Too late. ♪

[Music concludes]

That was the hardest ever...

It sounds effortless, for all your hard work.

[Damon] Well, I promise you, I really worked hard.

[James] It seems like lots of little stories,

like, came out while he was just recording...

"Oh, this is about this thing, and that is about..."

"Up and down the town clock" is about

when I went round to Alex's flat in New Cross

and took acid, and thought it was a good idea to jump up...

'Cause there was a very, very narrow, like, sort of, um

- distance between. - [Graham] It's not that narrow.

I've seen it plenty of times. It's quite wide.

It's about from here to... It's about from here to you.

- [Damon] Really? No, shut up! - [Graham] It's not narrow.

[Damon] No, but anyway, I jumped over that,

and then went and orienteered myself

onto New Cross Town Hall clock

and changed the time, on acid.

- [Tanyel] You actually changed the time? - Yes, I changed time, yes.

[Deep voice] I ch... I... I changed time!

We literally haven't spoken to each other for ten years,

and it's... straight back together, like...

And actually evolved in some...

This, um

has come into all of our lives unexpectedly, really, in a way.

It's made us, uh... something else, you know?

- Wow, this is such a treat to have... - Like 10cc, ABBA

- me old muckers! - [He chuckles]

That's great. I can't wait to decipher more words.

- Oh, we have a lot. - The singing is fucking ace.

Yeah, you think so?

- Yeah, and your voice sounds really good. - Thanks.

- But it's an expensive microphone. - I know, well...

[All laugh]

It's kind of a bit overwhelming having all that emotion coming out at me.

I'm a bit kind of gobsmacked, to be honest.

I'm just getting sentimental in me old age, that's what it is.

[Mellow music]

[Music continues]

[Cellist plays slow, undulant melody]

[No distinct dialogue]

[Playing stops; Indistinct chatter]

- How are you feeling? - How am I feeling? I'm feeling

- a little discombobulated. - I am not surprised.

I saw some footage of the weekend.

- It looked pretty mega. - Yeah, yeah.

[Damon] Went on tour in the Autumn with Gorillaz,

wrote the album, came back, recorded the album,

went on tour with Gorillaz again, then came back.

So, it's just... it's non-stop really.

So, there's headphones and stuff, if you want to sit here.

[Dave] Everything's quite frenetic at the moment.

The amount of stuff there is to do is peaking around this week,

because we're in rehearsals for the shows

and, uh, we've got promo starting.

- Is it possible to have the sound on it? - Oh, yes! Reuben, hi.

They're all getting fuckin' younger and younger, aren't they?

[Dave] And it's been quite a while since we've been in this position, really,

of doing everything all at the same time.

[Mike] One, two, three, and...

♪ Blow, blow me out

♪ I am so sad, I don't know why

♪ Blow, blow me out

♪ I am so sad, I don't know why... ♪

[Staccato guitar strumming]

- [Guitar rings out] - [Damon] ♪ He... He... ♪

- [Synth noodling] - [Graham] Hang on a minute.

[Staccato guitar strumming]

♪ He... ♪

[Synth noodling]

♪ He was crowned on a Saturday... ♪

[Synth noodling]

[Dave] There's nothing more boring than rehearsing.

People are always going to be bad-tempered and, uh, testy

and irritable, because nobody wants to be there.

- [Mike] Turn down. - I'm just playing it with what's here.

[Bright synth chords; Graham chuckles]

[Damon] I'm playing what's here.

[Graham] When you get over here with Blur,

it is like when you see those fucking gorillas in the zoo.

How does it feel to be back? You guys are back. How does it feel?

[Staccato guitar strumming, synth noodling]

When you're in a band, it's a relationship like brothers and sisters, isn't it?

- I'm playing normal. I've always... - Play that in A-minor.

I mean, is it different? Have the dynamics changed?

[Indistinct arguing; Voices overlap]

Have you enjoyed being back in the studio together?

[Damon] Um...

Can't you just stake me out on a beach and send some vultures over?

Yeah, we could do that.

[Gentle strings]

[Dave] They handed out cigarettes to the kids.

- Did they? To the kids? - Did they?

- They did. - [Alex chuckles]

Like they hand out sweets on take-off.

They went round with a little basket, handing out...

- What, packets of, um, tens? - On a school trip?

- Packets? - Yeah.

I do like smoking with my kids, I have to admit.

You like having a fag with your kids?

I used to quite like sitting with a bottle of scotch, with my mum.

[James] So, what about just doing the

from the "up close" bit, just go from there.

[Keyboard noodling]

So, it's kind of that twice, yeah.

[Graham] Damon's work ethic is very strong.

That's just part of who he is.

[Dave] Where you and I might be watching TV, or, uh, playing video games,

Damon doesn't do any of that, he just writes songs.

[High string notes]

[Dave] We all go to the bar, Damon goes to his room,

gets his equipment out and writes songs.

On the bus, he's writing songs. At home, he's writing songs.

And if we don't keep him focused on the job in hand,

he will literally be doing another opera before the third single's out.

- Take in one... - One, two, three...

[String players vocalise brief melody, repeats on synth]

[James] He's also exhausted from doing Coachella,

and so, will basically have an idea and then fall asleep.

[James] Do you want to keep going, Damon, or...?

Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Don't worry about my, uh, demeanour. It's just.

[Laughter] It's just standard utter exhaustion.

[Laughter]

[Indistinct chatter]

[James] Come on, let's do it again.

- [Music - "The Ballad" by Blur] - ♪ It comes

♪ Like me

♪ Up close

♪ I fell in love with you... ♪

[Damon] This idea of the workaholic,

there must be some sort of brain condition

that drives you to just

pursue something so sort of relentlessly.

Yeah, it's just sort of never believing, really, that it's happening.

It needs to be right for me to be able to sleep properly.

[Laughter]

♪ It comes

♪ Like me

♪ Up close... ♪

[Graham] And I guess if he didn't work, he'd have to

do nothing, and maybe, you know,

have to take a long look at himself,

and, you know, God, that would be a freaky thing for him.

♪ I'll fall along

♪ We travelled round the world together. ♪

[Music concludes]

[Indistinct chatter]

[Choir, unaccompanied] ♪ Really, really, really could happen

♪ Really, really, really could happen... ♪

Where are we? We're in this fuckin' big shithole.

Concrete floor polished, so everything sounds insane and bad.

Um, it's a great way to make you feel awful about everything you're doing.

And then they've got all these silly lights, and some of them,

like, I look down at my fretboard and I'm blinded by these stupid lights.

It's as far away as creating music together as you can possibly get,

when you start incorporating all this shit.

But, you know, Wembley's a big stage.

So, we have to, like, employ all these people

because they've decided to come to a venue that is so large,

they're going to see ant-like figures,

like I did when I saw The Osmonds in the early '70s.

Um, thankfully, there was some luncheon, and I've had that,

and I'm going to try and give it another go.

Right, for this run-through, Let's just go straight through, okay?

[Graham] Yeah.

- [Buzzing synth notes] - [Damon] Wrong one, son. Come on.

[Bright synth chords]

[Chugging distorted guitar]

[Graham plays "Popscene" intro on guitar]

[Damon] Going back to the classic model of the Beatles,

I suppose the appeal of the band was the psycho-dramas

that accompanied everything, you know?

Even though, at the time, we just wanted to be on Top of the Pops.

Well, Alex and I did.

[Band plays "Popscene"]

This is next-level madness for all of us.

And we're all... we're all hanging on.

[Music continues]

[Damon] I've definitely mellowed a bit.

You know, I'm more tolerant of some things.

I'm completely intolerant of most other things.

[He chuckles]

[Damon plays "Intermission" pattern on piano]

[Graham plays erratic distorted guitar chords]

[Alex plays "Intermission" pattern on bass]

[Alex] I'll be packing my bag tomorrow

and, uh, hitting the road.

Is it daunting?

It's like children. It takes absolutely everything out of you.

It takes everything out of you.

- [He groans] - Hanging on.

It's a really busy time, and I'm not used to it.

I mean, I'm not lazy or anything,

and I'm going to do everything I can for it to be completely brilliant.

But we're a bit older.

You're doing everything you can to make it completely brilliant.

You know, it's like, we don't want to have a flippin' hip replacement

because we've pushed it a bit too far in Eastbourne.

You know, end up living in Eastbourne.

And I fully expect myself to not make it through the year, at the moment.

I do. I think, at some point, I'm not going to be able to do it.

But I'll just not think about that until it happens.

[Alex] It's a massive trigger for all of us. It's on a knife edge.

- I never know when it's just going to... - [He mimics explosion]

[Damon] I want to hear my fucking band.

I want to fucking hear it played properly!

Stupid... Just makes you feel like an amateur!

- Concentrate! - Is there another bit?

No, it's left how you've left it yesterday.

- [Graham] Yeah. - [Damon] We've learnt a lot of songs,

but now we need to start concentrating a bit,

just so that we've got something

coherent,

and then, you know

see how long we can hold it together without collapsing,

in one form or another,

'cause there are many, many, many ways to collapse on the road.

[Music - "Coping" by Blur]

[Interviewer] I love the choice of the warm-up venues that you guys have picked.

Eastbourne Winter Gardens, Wolverhampton, Newcastle City Hall,

- Colchester Arts Centre... - [Interviewer 2] Well, there you go.

[Interviewer] 'Cause those venues remind me of some of the venues

that Blur would have played back in the early days.

[Alex] Really from Parklife onward, we had full brass,

full backing singers, percussionist.

There was always someone playing a fucking gourd or something.

This time, we've stripped it right back.

[Damon] If the four of us can't get on in a room and make music,

then there's absolutely no point in doing it as a band,

just back to how we started.

♪ ...Feel this strange

♪ Can I go through this again?... ♪

- Hello. - All right?

- Hiya. - Hi.

- [Tanyel] Damon, this is John. - Hello. Nice to meet you.

- Hiya. I'm the head teacher, so... - Excellent.

I just wanted to welcome you to the Stanway.

- Really good to have you here. - [Damon] It's changed a lot.

- Was any of this here when you were here? - [Damon] No, none of it.

- Are the Portakabins still here? - No, they've all gone.

- Why'd you get rid of that? It's... - They're Portakabins.

[Birdsong]

Well, look, I have named a room after you both.

Do you remember me getting in contact a few years back?

So, where we're going now...

- I'll let you off, then. - [Damon, John laugh]

No, I just really wanted to see the Portakabins.

You know, 'cause I've kind of... I've sort of...

I've sort of mythologised that in my own memory, that place, you know.

We were given the key to it, weren't we?

- Yeah. - We had a few...

There were a few nice things. Like, they had a synthesiser.

Okay.

And, uh, yeah, we used to go in there on our breaks

- and just do that. - Yeah, there was a piano in there.

And also, it was quite dangerous for me to go out at

- at lunchtime... - Oh, was it?

'Cause I was always getting beaten up.

Oh, okay. Well, we don't have much of that here anymore.

No, well, you had a lot back then.

- Yeah, all right. - Fuckin' hell.

No, no, I'm just saying, for us, it's...

- "The Albarn & Coxon Room." - [John] Yeah, this is it.

- This is what we've... - Oh, that is... this is sweet.

- Well, for... - Can I take a picture?

Yeah, come on, we've got to have a photo taken.

Can someone take a little picture of that?

Oh, they've all got huge pieces of equipment in their hands.

[Ruminative music]

It looks like a serious school now.

I'm not saying it wasn't serious, but it was... seriously odd.

[Graham] You know, my dad lives down the road here.

[Damon] Behind... Behind the school...

[John] And he's still in the same house where he used to live? Wow.

He only had to walk up the road to school. I had to cycle from Ford Street every day.

- [John] Oh, really? - And I'd do a paper round before that.

As soon as I put my bike in, walked it by, I'd get beaten up.

[Director] Why did you get beaten up so much?

'Cause everyone thought I was a cunt.

[He chuckles]

[Director] Tell me about the energy of Colchester when you were growing up

- and what it felt like to be... - Bit scary.

Lot of squaddies.

Lot of people who were, you know,

somewhat more Anglo-Saxon than myself.

But the music department was amazing. And, you know, that's where we met.

And we did all these amazing school productions.

Orpheus in the Underworld, The Boyfriend...

Starring role in that one.

- Guys and Dolls. - [Graham] Who were you in Guys and Dolls?

[Damon] I was Nathan Detroit.

♪ All right, already

♪ So, call a policeman... ♪

Then we did West Side Story.

- I got a social disease! - I was like, "Who is that kid?"

"He does not care."

- [Damon] So, yeah, I did a lot of... - Where did he get that confidence from?

- I was like, "Oh, my God." - I loved it.

I absolutely loved it. I mean, our first-ever gig together

was at an assembly.

- Now destroyed. - Now destroyed.

The first-ever gig Graham and I did was at 9:00 in the morning.

[Young Damon] This song is called "It May Be Our Best Chance Yet,"

a song about a child with no future.

[Rhythmic post-punk music]

[Damon] We were called Real Lives.

- We played a song. - [Graham] We did a couple of songs,

but we did a gig one evening there as well, didn't we?

And we made programmes and everything, with drawings and...

I need to give 'em... I want to give 'em some more stuff in here, though.

Just sort of, you know...

It's quite dry, isn't it? You know what I mean?

Music rooms should be posters and...

They need to have some, like, batik wall hangings.

- [Damon] Yeah. - Some paisley.

No, they need to have some nice weed, like in a bowl,

which they can all kind of...

- Thank you very much. - Thanks, mate.

- Appreciate it. - Yeah, really nice to have met you.

[Indistinct chatter]

[Music - "Fool's Day" by Blur]

♪ Wake up straight

♪ Caught out by the sun

♪ On the first day of April... ♪

[Nigel] Did you know that the tower there was the base

of the legend of Humpty Dumpty? Did you know that?

The Royalists occupied the town,

and when they came in, they put a cannon up the top there,

which they nicknamed Humpty Dumpty 'cause it was a bit round.

Parliamentarians were over in the field across there, Hilly Fields,

and they were coming up.

Of course, the Parliamentarians, they actually got the cannon,

and it tumbled down.

And all the king's horses and all the king's men

couldn't put Humpty together again.

And that is one of the legends about Humpty Dumpty

here at Colchester Arts Centre.

My name's Nigel Hildreth.

I was the person who taught Damon and Graham music.

So, I taught them at Stanway School.

They were fantastic students, they were very musical.

And they had an electrifying effect upon their audience.

You could see that stage presence.

[Graham plays "The Narcissist" intro on guitar]

Is the barrier going to go in-between the PA?

[Indistinct chatter]

[Dave] It's part of the rehearsal process, this.

We're not quite at Wembley, as you can see.

[Damon] I mean, it's going to be enough just to get through it, really.

For us, I think we're really...

[Graham] It's going to be odd to have that thing with an audience again,

playing these songs,

because you do get, you know, a hell of a lift

from just having an audience there.

And just the atmosphere and the volume and all of that. So...

[Damon] And there's one or two sing-alongs.

"Sing-along. The new record from Blur."

[Graham] Ling-along-a-Blur.

[Damon] Revisiting all their

'90s favourites

auto-tuned.

- Okay, gentlemen... - Play your music now!

When we go up, do I go on that way? Yeah.

[Indistinct chatter]

[Alex] Is the chemistry still there? Apparently, that's not a given.

Have a great show, everyone.

[Cheering]

[Damon] It's a weird thing when you go back to something that was so,

so well-documented.

People feel like that's what you are,

but it was so long ago.

[Cheering continues; Tense music]

[Music plays - "Theme from Crossroads" by Terry Hatch]

[Mike] Wow, what a sound!

[Indistinct chatter]

[Music continues; Cheering]

Good evening.

[Music stops, cheering continues]

Isn't it nice to see everyone back together?

[Cheering]

[Graham plays "Popscene" intro on guitar]

[Music builds, band plays together]

[Music builds; Bright organ chords]

♪ I'm leaving town to run away

♪ Run into your twisted arms

♪ No queues and there's no panic there

♪ I'm just dangling my feet in the grass

♪ My lack of natural lustre now

♪ Seems to be losing me my friends

♪ So, in the absence of a way of life

♪ I'll repeat this again and again

♪ And again

♪ Hey, hey, come out tonight

♪ Hey, hey, come out tonight

♪ Popscene, all right

♪ Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah... ♪

[Music continues]

♪ Popscene. ♪

[Music concludes, distorted guitar chord rings out]

[Cheering]

[Laid-back jazz music, indistinct chatter]

[Crew Member] Whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo-whoo!

- What's that? - Apple juice.

- Ooh, some champagne! - That was, uh...

- And apéritifs. - That was bloody good.

- Champagne, sir. - Oh, thank you.

- Chin-chin. - No, thank you, I'm working.

[Bustling chatter]

I was surprised how natural that whole thing felt, you know? I really was.

You don't get hit by a flying beer.

I hate it when they throw beer.

No, I love it. I love it when they throw beer.

You got hit by a good one,

and then you did some exotic stuff with a towel.

So, if you multiply that 400 to 80,000,

- I reckon it'll be okay. - [Smoggy] Just about, yeah.

What are they doing? Are they sneaking in, getting...?

Are they sneaking in?

The whole thing was good.

I'm very happy with it. Well done, everyone.

I know there's a lot more to go, but...

One day at a time, sweeties.

[Brass band plays "A Whiter Shade of Pale"]

[Alex] When I was very small,

the South Coast still had the vestiges of an upper crust.

There still is a Dorset Ladies Luncheon Club,

which my mum's a stalwart of.

But as cheap flights became available,

people were able to get sunshine guaranteed.

And the bottom was really falling out of the great British bucket.

[Damon] I haven't spent much time, really,

playing this country for a long, long, long time.

I always really enjoy it.

Modern Life is Rubbish turned 30 last week, I think.

[Damon] A lot of those older songs

they make more sense to me now.

Even though I wrote them, they make more sense now,

the language I was using.

My kind of obsession back then,

which was, by some people, seen as me being quite cruel to people,

about, like, media and absorption

and the sort of paralysing effects of it, hypnotic effects of it.

I can see that there were some kind of

quite challenging stories from all those songs.

I believe the role of the artist is to somehow be... a mirror.

Post-Brexit... And I really do think Brexit was a terrible mistake.

Post-that, I think there's an appetite once more in the country

for something that pokes a bit of fun at that right-wing, conservative aspect

of our society.

[Dave] The UK seems to be in some kind of, uh,

slow-motion collapse, at the moment, at least the UK public services.

Much, much bigger kind of ways

of stealing from the poor and giving to the rich

have been going on over the past five years.

Why aren't we taking to the streets?

I don't understand, it's like people have given up.

How bad do things have to get?

[Music concludes; Applause]

I would like to introduce our first soloist of the afternoon.

It's a... um,

a good-looking young man.

Hello!

[Sprightly organ notes]

I used to play football for the New Musical Express,

and, uh, our manager and centre-half was a guy called Steve Sutherland,

who was the editor of NME.

And he said, "There's some young band

"who are interested in you doing a bit of a record with 'em.

I said, "Oh, I don't know."

And he said, "No," he said, "they're going to be big."

- "Oh, all right, then." - [Band plays "Parklife"]

- I'd like to invite someone... - [Music stops]

very unique onto this stage.

He's a unique human being.

[Cheering]

Eastbourne!

[Graham plays "Parklife" intro on guitar]

- [Music builds, band plays together] - Oi!

♪ Confidence is a preference for the habitual voyeur of what is known as

♪ Parklife

♪ Morning soup can be avoided if you take a route straight through what is known as

♪ Parklife

♪ John's got brewer's droop, he gets intimidated by the dirty pigeons

- ♪ They love a bit of him! - ♪ Parklife

♪ Who's that gut-lord marching?

♪ Cut down on your porklife, mate, get some exercise

♪ All the people

♪ So many people... ♪

[Phil] I never really ever thought it would come into the British psyche.

I think Graham felt it was a bit of a novelty song.

♪ Parklife... ♪

[Phil] All the dustmen know me, and, uh,

I get "Parklife" shouted at me all over the place.

[Music continues]

♪ Put my trousers on, have a cup of tea

♪ And I think about leaving the house

♪ Parklife... ♪

[Phil] Damon always said to me, "Whenever you want to do a gig,

"you're welcome."

I enjoy their songs and, you know, the social commentary.

♪ ...The knowledge there will always be a bit of my heart devoted to it... ♪

[Phil] But I just look at this country.

Hopefully, they can dig theirs elves out of a mess,

um, but it seems to me, you know

if poo was fertiliser, working-class people wouldn't have an arse.

♪ Parklife. ♪

[Music concludes]

- Arrivederci, Eastbourne! - [Cheering]

[Music - "Get Out of Cities" by Blur]

After we came off on Friday, we all felt absolutely exhilarated.

It's sort of like in a video game, when you get the cloak of invincibility.

And there was all these kind of people

that I really admire and respect, who were at the gig.

Just, like, completely overwhelmed and overcome.

And I got really drunk, and I woke up feeling ashamed.

Touring's just like being on a roller-coaster.

- You're on it, you know? - [He groans]

And it's kind of terrifying and brilliant and scary.

And then you get off, and you're not sure whether you never want to do it again

or whether you want to get straight back on.

But you can't actually remember what it's like

until you're actually doing it.

[Director] How's it feel for you guys, being back in Wolves?

Oh, I mean, I'm just kind of slightly overwhelmed by the

by the grey peas,

and their effect on my

on my bowels.

[Tanyel] What is it, Stu, that we ate?

It's just very low-grade peas.

- [Stu] Grey peas and bacon. - [Tanyel] Grey peas and bacon.

- Grey peas and bacon. - Grey peas and bacon.

[Mike] Do you need anything? I've got paracetamol, ibuprofen...

- [Graham] I've had an IV drip today. - Have you? Already?

- Yeah. - Crikey.

I've found, during rehearsals, there's just a bit of spikiness.

It's real life, innit? And they've had a lot of it.

We've all had a lot of real life.

And I think, you know, the more you go through,

the more you've got to be accepting of everyone's shit.

You understand it.

So, I think that's, you know, a big part of it.

[Smoggy] Was it JB's, the first gig? I think it was, wasn't it?

JB's was the first gig we saw Blur.

[Alex] I remember, it was the beginning of summer,

and I'd just got my exam results from college,

and I got 2% in my French Language.

The examiner had written, "Is the candidate lucid?"

And I thought I'd kind of burnt my bridges there.

And, uh, we just landed it.

[Stuart] It was just, like, epic, you know what I mean?

It was a stage invasion.

[Alex] That was the first time we were going to a completely new place

with just the four of us, and letting rip,

and we blew the doors off.

[Stuart] We didn't know back then

- how long it would go on. - [Smoggy] Exactly.

Here we are, 30 years later...

- None the wiser. - [Both laugh]

[Alex plays bass slide; Indistinct conversation]

[Graham] It's a bit like drawing up from a well.

And I've never really understood that about age, really, until now.

That, actually

when it gets to sort of decades,

it's like, actually, that was quite a while ago.

In a lot of ways, you're drawing you then back up,

and it's, like, a bit odd sometimes.

Well, you know, just got to go for it, haven't you, really?

[Indistinct chatter]

Knock 'em dead, mate.

Good luck, good luck, good luck.

[Cheering]

Well, the album's called The Ballad of Darren, okay?

[Cheering]

I'd like to bring onstage Darren.

[Cheering]

[Siren wails]

[Dave plays count-in]

[Band plays "Advert"]

[No distinct dialogue]

[Music intensifies]

♪ It's six o'clock on the dot, and I'm halfway home

♪ I feel foul-mouthed as I stand and wait for the Underground

♪ And a nervous disposition doesn't agree with this

♪ I need something to remind me that there's something else

♪ You need a holiday somewhere in the sun

♪ With all the people who are waiting

♪ There never seems to be one

- ♪ Say something, say something else... ♪ - [Voice echoes]

- ♪ Say something, say something else... ♪ - [Microphone thuds]

- ♪ Say something, say something... ♪ - [Voice echoes]

♪ Say something, say something else. ♪

[Music continues]

[Music concludes; Cheering]

- Fuck off! - [Amused chuckle]

It's all right, it's all right. It's okay, just...

[Engine hums]

[Damon] I wish we were on a tour bus. I don't know why we're not on a tour bus.

I've never, ever done this. I haven't...

Drive around individually in cars, doesn't make any sense to me.

Oh, I'd happily never get on another tour bus.

Just not knowing where the... ever knowing where the toilet is.

Newcastle city centre's basically a street party every weekend.

Got stuck into the Jägerbombs,

posted a lot of stupid stuff on socials that I shouldn't have done.

[He chuckles]

The missus is cross with me.

Uh, I've been ordered to come home and wash up.

So, I'll be leaving... I'll be leaving after the show tonight.

What is actually really scary is pitching up to a sound check

with an excruciating hangover.

I mean, it's not like, you know, being a coal miner, but it's, um

the travel is

is tiring.

[Indistinct chatter]

[Director] 30 years ago, they said, "modern life is rubbish."

How would you describe the current feeling of the world?

- It is rubbish. - It's still rubbish.

Modern life is still rubbish.

It doesn't feel very optimistic.

[Damon] I'm always interested in new fans.

I'm like this sort of weird storyteller.

I go on, and I can completely inhabit the characters of those songs.

But for something that we haven't done for so long,

they kind of have a totally different relationship with them, obviously.

When I feel sad, I just went into the mood

and I need something to soothe me,

and Blur has, like, become my first choice.

There's, like, a deep depression inside.

But then they use, like, a very enthusiastic way

- to express it. - True.

And I feel like it's the most beautiful thing ever.

[Indistinct chatter]

[Stirring music]

[Cheering]

[Damon] Ours is a brotherhood that has been sustained

by our musical relationship.

It's a long time, so it's a very, uh

precious one.

We're happy to see each other and get on that stage together.

You know, and then we're happy to go our separate ways.

I mean, that's... that's where we're at.

[Graham] We're not quite as patient as we were.

And our idiosyncrasies have sort of amplified somewhat.

But I think, at the same time,

we have more humility, maybe, a bit more gratitude.

[Dave] It's just bloody hard. People are just really hard work.

How much do you want to be in the band? That's the thing.

What are you willing to sacrifice to be in the band?

Are you willing to subsume your ego for the sake of the whole?

[Graham] I think it's like any sort of family.

Individuals in the family come in and out,

some are closer to you,

and you have to balance your own needs at any given moment in the day

with whoever you're prioritising at that moment in time.

[Dave] It's like a marriage, isn't it, really?

You can be right, or you can be happy.

When everybody's doing something you know is doomed to fail,

do you bite your lip and just go with it,

or not?

[Alex] I never know how any of them are feeling.

You know, we're not very good at communicating.

I mean, I don't think blokes do spend much time

asking each other if they're all right, do they?

I mean, it's like, you know, "Are you all right?"

That means, like, "Are you pissed off with me?"

Or, you know, "Are you blitzed?"

There was a point in Devon when Damon,

I thought he was laughing, singing along with the songs.

He was crying. You know, I completely misread it.

It is the music and the job that kind of locks us all together.

[Dave] You know, the fact that we haven't always got on,

you know, that's one of the chemistry points

that has led to us being able to make the music we do.

I'm absolutely convinced of it.

[Alex] So, no matter how tired we are, or how annoying anyone's being,

it just

there's something very healing

about creating a beautiful noise.

And I never know

if it'll be the last time I hear that noise.

And it's really nice to hear it again.

[Muffled cheering grows clear]

[Plane engine roars]

[Reverberant chatter]

[Dave] It's a very late show, this one, starting at 2:00 in the morning.

Which isn't actually late for Spain, but it is obviously late for me.

I'm quite relieved that we've, uh, we've all arrived relatively unscathed.

[Director] What happens between now and stage time?

- [Graham] No bloody idea. - [Damon] Nothing.

Just void.

You go through the days in a sort of semi-sleep mode.

Battery preserve

till you have to summon up the energy.

Well, yeah, because every bit of energy,

it depletes quick during the gig.

So, you need a good bank of it, so you can do what you need to do.

"No Other Way," Goldie on capo two with the neck pick-up.

"Popscene," Preston. "Tracy Jacks" is Ray.

"Chemical World" is back to Preston

[Band plays "St Charles Square"] ♪ I fucked up

♪ I'm not the first to do it... ♪

[Graham] We're all different types of people.

So, when we're away, it's not like the four of us

like the Beatles in A Hard Day's Night.

You know, we're all kind of doing different things.

We're quite sheltered. We don't really have to be out among it.

You know, historically, it's been a lot of to do with anxiety,

why I won't go out in the streets.

That even stops me going for a swim in the swimming pool sometimes as well.

It's the sort of thing that, "Oh, no, I won't today."

I think it's because I've got these tiny swimming trunks.

- Maybe that's why it is. - [He chuckles]

[City hums; Indistinct chatter]

[Alex] I got home from Newcastle,

there was a massive party going on at my house.

All the kids had all their friends over.

So, I got involved in a...

"Rasputin" dance competition,

and, uh, didn't get to bed till late,

and then I got here, and New Order,

my favourite band, whole reason I started playing the bass,

they're here, and they want to go out for dinner, and, oh, my God.

You know, I remember this now. You know, the...

Just exhausting, but there's just always a really good reason not to go to bed.

[Music - "Peach" by Blur]

[Alex] It's easy to confuse touring with going on a massive, self-indulgent binge

of sex and drugs and rock and roll.

[Cheering]

[Alex] I think when we went into the studio to make the record,

nobody kind of really knew, I mean, is this going to work or not?

But it did, straight away.

I mean, the only thing that could really jeopardise this now,

other than physical injury and death, is... Graham drinking.

That would be really bad. Dave drinking would be even worse.

Um, me drinking's bad enough, trust me.

When a show goes really well,

It's nice to have a big night out afterwards.

And then, I woke up in Denmark

with absolutely no idea of how I'd got there.

Last thing I knew, I was in Holland.

[Music continues]

[Damon] Why did he bring that up?

Because, you know,

I have to tell you why it upset me.

No, I don't want to, because

then that just becomes clickbait.

[Alex] I famously said, when I was promoting my book,

that I sprazzed a million quid on booze

and drugs, and my kids now, you know,

they're asking me about that, and I have to kind of justify it.

[Damon] On one level, it was very entertaining.

But at the same time, you know,

I was concerned for him, to be honest with you.

Joking apart, I was a little bit concerned.

♪ You've got a gaping hole in your head

♪ I'd let the birds nest there instead... ♪

[Alex] Booze is probably...

It's certainly a big contributing factor

in why Blur stopped being a, you know, a full-time job.

[Graham] What happened towards the end of the '90s is

it always felt like I was the petulant brat, or treated that way,

and everybody else was really grown-up and wanted to be professional,

but I was the only one who was ruining it.

[Damon] It was quite dangerous time, wasn't it, really?

I think we live in an era that is somehow a reaction to that.

[Dave] There's a big sort of reality check that goes on.

All the artifice falls away, you know,

and you're left with just you, you know.

That's where I arrived with drinking.

"Do I really want to carry on down this path?"

I thought, "No, I don't."

[Graham] It takes practice to

to let go of something that was your absolute identity for a while

and then practice being you without all of that protection.

♪ I'd let the birds nest there... ♪

[Alex] I think the reasonable response

to getting all that kind of fame and attention

is to go bat-shit crazy.

You know, success will mess you up far more than failure.

It's hard to cope with it,

and what are you supposed to do after you come off stage at Wembley Stadium?

[Music continues]

[Damon] The way I look at it,

at different times, there were different people doing different things.

That's it. Could change again.

It's just... humans coexisting, isn't it?

When we were younger, you need to resolve it there and then,

whereas now, you realise it didn't need resolving,

we just needed to all disperse, you know?

It's just, well, at what point does that space become distance?

[Music continues]

[Music concludes; Cheering]

[Damon] I have this on my knee, and, uh

the specialist I went to see after I fucked it in Chile

said that I would no longer be able to perform in the way I used to,

and that was the end of that, and I had to come to terms with that.

But, um, I can jump again on it now and it doesn't...

I mean, maybe tomorrow I won't be able to walk, but...

It's the, uh, holistic power of, uh

musical commune.

It's the best cure for anything, really.

[Bustling chatter]

[Chatter fades]

[Birdsong]

[Dave] I was doing an interview,

and I was saying how, when we were making the album,

it was like those times when you play tennis

and it feels like the tennis racquet is huge,

and every shot goes in, every shot is brilliant.

Then, about two days later, I was playing tennis.

Oh, God!

[Music - "Russian Strings" by Blur]

[Dave] I need an operation,

but, obviously, I can't have an operation... while we're on tour.

What was he doing? He bent over to pick up a tennis ball?

He was playing tennis, was he? In Surrey?

Rock 'n' roll.

He just can't help himself, can he? He's totally rock 'n' roll.

[Dave] The doctor said mine wasn't the least rock' n' roll one

he'd seen that week.

The person before was a lady who'd been making a cup of tea

and turned to reach for the sugar bowl and did the same thing.

So, she won the least rock 'n' roll knee injury of the week.

Fortunately, I was spared.

[Graham] Hopefully, he's getting his feet up and, um...

[Director] Getting some rest.

That's not what I was going to say. But, yeah, getting some rest.

Get some rest, yeah.

[Band plays "Lot 105"]

[He plays warm organ chord]

[Director] It's been a month since we last caught up, Damon.

What's been going on?

Yes, 'cause you completely abandoned us.

You know, the whole point of charting something

is that you take it from the beginning to the end.

Don't have, like, a fucking sabbatical in the middle.

It's your moment, you know what I mean?

You're playing Wembley, and the fact that Dave was

is... you know, he's struggling,

and that's just not nice.

[Alex] The last thing I read before I went to sleep

was that, you know, France is burning again.

You know, the gilets jaunes are off, aren't they?

Setting everything on fire. It's... It's not great.

And then the phone rang on Saturday morning, and it was Blur's PR.

She said, "Just so you know, we're cancelling the show in France."

She's like, "Well, the reason is Dave's knee."

[Damon] Everything is massively impeded.

[Dave] You know, there are three of us with bad knees now in the band.

I was feeling a bit left out.

So, it's just really Alex, then we've got the set.

So, I'm going round there with a sledgehammer later.

You can tell him that.

[Director] And how has it been as an experience, the past month as well?

Everyone's kind of finding their... finding their way.

Graham's been playing gigs with his other band as well,

and he's got a kid.

You know, he's keeping it together...

I mean, it's just... it's amazing, really, the metamorphosis of Graham Coxon.

[Graham] I feel like we're getting on really well.

I feel close to everybody, and Damon, you know,

closer than I have done for years, in a way.

Well, the thing is, nothing is that important to fall out about,

or to have great big arguments about.

So, there's absolutely no point, and I think we see that.

And if there are harsh words,

the thing is, is to be quick to apologise and get it out.

And that's it.

It's amazing doing Wembley now.

I really hope that my family and my

what few friends I have

just really have an excellent time...

And, um, give me a lot of praise afterwards.

'Cause that's all I do it for, the praise.

That's it, no, I hope I flippin' make the rest of the band proud.

I hope I do it for 'em.

That's it, really.

Not much point in doing it otherwise.

[Music - "She's So High" by Blur]

[Security Guard] Morning, Mr Coxon. You all right?

- Morning, guys. - Hiya.

- Hiya. - Hi.

[Dave] When somebody asks me afterwards,

"How did it feel to play Wembley Stadium?"

I want to be able to come up with an answer.

It'd be good to be relaxed enough to have some feelings while I'm on stage,

other than anxiety.

- [Graham] Where's my coffee?! - [Laughter]

- Hi, Michael. - Hello, Damon, I must give you a hug.

- How's it going? - Thanks for having us.

- Hi! - Hi!

Oh, my God. So...

Ooh! I wasn't even... I wasn't paying attention, then.

Why have we got punnets of tomatoes?

- 'Cause they're from Alex's garden. - [Posh voice] Oh, wonderful!

Mm, umami.

[Graham] Was up till 3:30, up at 7:00.

But, you know, I've had a

coccyx massage and a vibrating bowl put on my back,

so I'm feeling pretty good.

[Damon] It's not the size, is it, really?

It's the story that you kind of feel it could tell

if the gods are with us, you know?

I mean, that's the way I look at it.

You know, I feel like I've got a big performance to deliver.

- Here we are. - [Graham] This is so weird.

This is so weird.

This place is...

[Graham] Flippin' heck. Big.

[News Crew] How are you, Damon? Very excited?

Yeah.

Suppose I've got to do it.

[Newsreader] Hit after hit led Blur to the biggest venues around the world.

♪ Girls who want boys who like boys to be girls

♪ Who do boys like they're girls... ♪

[Newsreader] But somehow, the iconic one on home soil eluded them.

This weekend, they can tick Wembley Stadium off their list.

It's amazing for Graham and me

- to sit here... - [Graham chuckles]

having started off in a little

humble Portakabin in Colchester, Essex,

at the age of 12 and 13, and to be here.

I've only been here really for football, watching Chelsea.

And I did play here once, years and years ago,

in a charity game against Scotland.

Did score the winning goal.

[Commentator] He shoots, he scores!

Goooooooooal!

[Commentator 2] Ooh, that looks like it hurt.

[Drum roll reverberates]

I want to approach it just like any other show,

but, of course, there's all these extra bits they're throwing in for Wembley,

which is kind of making it slightly more stressful.

"So, what are you wearing? You know, what footwear?"

And, you know, "We're including this in the performance.

"You know, this element on stage and that element."

[Indistinct chatter]

[He laughs]

That's hard!

[Dave] Keep going, sweetie.

[Graham] I imagine Dave is just really hoping

that he's going to be absolutely match fit.

I'm hoping that he's not feeling too anxious about how he's going to perform.

I know we all get a little bit anxious about things.

[He plays mellow, jazzy piano melody]

[Alex] I came down to the kitchen yesterday,

and Beatrix, my 13-year-old,

was singing "The Narcissist," she didn't know I was there.

And she was, like, completely in it,

and just like, "Oh, my God, we've connected."

My heart stopped.

'Cause, trust me, your children are your harshest critics.

You can't... You can't make them like it.

That was a wonderful thing.

Music is... strong magic.

[Damon plays upbeat piano riff]

[Cockney accent] When this is all over, I'm gonna have a nervous breakdown.

[Drone-like guitar music]

[Music builds, distorts]

[Music - "Music is My Radar" by Blur]

- [Music fades] - [Tanyel] Does anyone want a drink?

Ginger tea?

Ooh, I might bite some ginger.

Yeah, do you know what we'll do...

[Music resumes; Bustling chatter]

Oh, my God, you're so hardcore.

[Alex] I remember you drinking a bottle of Tabasco at a sound check in America.

- Yeah, I used to do that. - Why?

[Music - "Music is My Radar" by Blur]

[Alex] You had hiccups for about three hours.

- [Tanyel] I peel my ginger. - [Alex] Oh, my word.

[Tanyel] Dave, what's happening over there?

I'm having mechanised automated treatment on my knee.

[Tanyel] Wow, who gave you that?

That and juice.

- Oh, God. - [He chuckles]

I think there's something more interesting happening over there.

[Music - "Music is My Radar" by Blur]

[Steve] The last time I was at Wembley was playing in a charity football match,

and now I find myself being Blur's fluffers.

And we're in that sort of zone of not knowing what's going on

but loving the fact that we're here.

We still do not know why Blur asked us to DJ.

[Alex] So, tonight, after-show ice baths.

Tomorrow night, Britpop bat-shit bender.

Hard stop, Tuesday midday.

Sleep.

Then we get on a bus to France.

I got to have a haircut, and then I'm going to have a massage,

then I'm going to have a sleep.

Oh, no, I'm going to eat,

then I'm going to have a sleep,

and then it will be show time.

I mean, I'll get up to watch Jockstrap, but...

♪ Yeah, I gotta go, gotta think about that

♪ I gotta go, gotta think about that

♪ I gotta go, gotta think about that

♪ I gotta go, gotta think about that... ♪

♪ Frontline, out on the streets

♪ Frontline, out on the streets... ♪

[Pauline] Music brings people together.

I mean, look at all these people here, you know?

I thought modern life was rubbish about 60 years ago!

Should've grown up at the time I grew up, it was also rubbish, racist and sexist.

[The Selecter plays "Frontline"]

[Pauline] What motivates me?

Half the world is still bloody racist and sexist and all the other ists.

'Cause all that old rubbish

that we thought that we had managed to kind of push down,

push under the carpet, just tell those people to shut up,

has all come back out,

just vomited back out with all the Trumps and the Johnsons,

and all the rest, and I'm sick of that,

and while I've got breath in my body, I will do what I do.

I just had to run past security to get in.

- What happened? - No-one greeted me.

I'm dropped off out there,

the security man's, "Where's your wristband?"

- "I ain't got one." He's like, "Oi, oi." - [Damon] Oh, Graham.

- It's absolutely obscene. - [Damon] It is obscene.

I'm used to obsequiant toadying.

What you doing? Pumping your knee with a sort of electronic...

[Dave] Blood transfusion. Always have one before I go on stage.

Like Keith Richards.

[Both laugh]

Doesn't he just scoop his brain out, plop it in another body?

[Damon] Ten, nine,

eight, seven, six,

five, four, three, two, one.

[Alex groans, roars]

- [Alex groans] - [Smoggy] I think that's enough of that.

Ah!

Lovely!

[Paul Weller's band plays "That's Entertainment"]

♪ Waking up at 6am on a cool warm morning

♪ Opening the windows and breathing in petrol

♪ An amateur band rehearse in a nearby yard

♪ Watching the telly and thinking about your holidays

♪ That's entertainment

♪ That's entertainment... ♪

[Undulant vocalising]

[Staccato vocalising]

[Graham] Did you lose control in there, Damon?

- [Damon] Yeah, I... - [Graham laughs]

It's what happens to me. When I submerge in freezing water,

I... I immediately ejaculate.

- Oh! - [Graham] That's not what I was...

[Tanyel] Fuck off!

They were going to swing by at 7:30,

so if you want to start getting changed,

maybe in the next 10, 15.

[Indistinct chatter]

It's an hour before.

Sleaford Mods are on now. Come on, let's go round the side of the stage.

[Graham] Sleaford?

See a bit of that, that'll be good.

[Sleaford Mods play "Force 10 From Navarone"]

[Damon] Go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go, go!

♪ ...Going on about it in the morning to me

♪ I'm losing in the head, and I've gone too far

♪ Force ten from Navarone is a shot fired hard

♪ 'Cause we never aimed it

♪ In the box of isolation

♪ Jason, why does the darkness elope? ♪

[Jason] I mean, the environment's changed over the years.

We like the bigger venues now, don't we, a bit?

[Andrew] Yeah.

We've become wankers, if that's what you mean.

[Jason chuckles]

A lot of people in our game who are doing alright, but, um,

generally, it's hopeless, yeah.

Politically, it's a mess.

Either side is

is not really giving any people that really need help

any hope, are they?

[Damon] They've got the "cryro," uh

genic baths in there.

- Super cold. - Oh, yeah? What does that do?

It's like cocaine.

- Oh, is it? - Oh, is it?

[Laughter, indistinct chatter]

Honestly, it is. The same buzz.

♪ How can I help you feel better about you?

♪ How can I help you do what it is that you

♪ Always hoped you could set out to prove?

♪ 'Cause that's what I do, that's what I'm put here to do

♪ Isn't it, isn't it you? Wasn't it you, though?

♪ Want me eternally youthful, never grow old

♪ I'll always be wet, I'll always be up for it

♪ Politely sit, but I don't know shit, do I?

♪ I don't know shit... ♪

- We're... What? - [Graham] 17 minutes.

So, we don't want to go too early to stage, right? So...

- Yeah. - Let's go.

Be fashionably late.

- Fashionably late. - Not late. We've got a curfew issue.

[Music plays - "The Night" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons]

[Indistinct chatter, laughter]

And then he's on, that's it.

♪ Before I go forever

♪ Be sure

♪ Of what you say

♪ So, he paints a pretty picture

♪ And he tells you that he needs you

♪ And he covers you with flowers... ♪

[Damon laughs]

[Indistinct chatter, laughter]

[Laughter continues]

[Crew Member] Right, lads, two minutes to go. Two minutes to go.

[Laughter]

[Indistinct chatter]

- Well... - [He exhales]

this is it.

[Stirring music, indistinct chatter]

[Horn honks "Let's Go (Pony)" rhythm]

[All] Wembley!

[Honking continues]

[Indistinct chatter]

This is obviously a very special moment, and, you know, you're all

more than fucking custodians of what we're going to give them,

so go out there and just enjoy yourselves.

- 100%. - And to you, Dames.

Ten seconds, guys, we've got to clear the ramp.

Lydia, you got my earies?

[Graham] Moments before that pep talk or that huddle,

I was like, "Oh, my God, I need a wee."

And I was trying to tell people that, and no-one was listening to me.

I don't know whether I do, I just...

Do you need the loo? Do you not?

[Graham] You go up the ramp, you know, slowly

you know, with all the people going about their business,

- and then that... - [Cheering]

Suddenly, it's this big venue.

And I was like, "Where's the nearest loo?"

So, I just went backstage there.

Are we all good? Everyone happy?

How long have we got until we gotta go on?

[Graham] There was a half-empty tin of Diet Coke...

[Suspenseful music]

[Graham] ...so, I just had to go in that.

I think it was one of the road crew's, I hope they didn't go back and finish it.

Quite a lot of people.

[Niamh] A mile-long queue of people going in.

- Fuckin' hell. - You nervous?

- I am. - I'm not, at all.

Are you not? Are you Zen?

- No, I'm just dead. - [He laughs]

[Damon] I don't allow it to get to me, 'cause I accept

if my voice can't sing all those songs,

then that's just the way it is.

But, you know, if I was really neurotic about things like that,

then, yeah, I would be shitting myself.

[Tanyel squeals]

[Indistinct chatter]

[Alex] We were at college when we did "Sing."

You know, we wrote that in Damon's mum's studio,

and now, 35 years, there's going to be

80,000 people singing and crying.

[Stirring music]

[Alex] There's a million upsides. You know, credibility for my kids.

But actually, the brotherhood of

those cunts who I've known since I was 19,

and the music is its own greatest reward.

It really, really is.

[Music - "The Debt Collector" by Blur]

- Shall we go? - Yeah, let's go.

[Music continues; Cheering]

[Cheering intensifies]

[Music fades, cheering continues]

Good evening, Wembley.

[Cheering intensifies]

[Graham plays "Popscene" intro on guitar]

Come on!

I want to see you bounce!

[Music builds, band plays together]

[Music builds; Bright organ chords]

♪ A fervid image of another world

♪ Is nothing in particular now

♪ And imitation comes naturally

♪ But I never really stopped to think how

♪ And everyone is a clever clone

♪ A chrome-covered clone am I

♪ So, in the absence of a way of life

♪ I'll repeat this again and again and again

♪ Hey, hey, come out tonight

♪ Popscene, oh

♪ Oh! Oh! Oh! ♪

[Damon howls]

[Music continues, Graham playing squalling guitar solo]

Let's do this!

[Music continues]

♪ Hey, hey, come out tonight

♪ Hey, hey, come out tonight

♪ Popscene, all right

♪ Hey, hey, come out tonight

♪ Hey, hey, come out tonight

♪ Popscene. ♪

[Music concludes, guitar chord rings out]

[Cheering]

[Band plays "To the End"]

♪ All those dirty words

♪ They make us look so dumb

♪ Been drinking far too much

♪ And neither of us mean what we say

♪ Well, you and I

♪ We just collapsed in love

♪ And it looks like we might have made it

♪ Yes, it looks like we've made it to the end. ♪

[Music continues]

[Music continues]

[Music concludes, sustained string note resonates]

[Cheering]

[He plays "Song 2" intro]

- Stop that, stop that. - [Drumming stops]

Obviously, there's something vaguely hilarious

about old men throwing themselves around the stage.

It's a bit ridiculous, right?

You made us this way. It's your fault!

[Cheering]

I want to see every fucker in this fucking stadium

bounce to this song.

[Cheering]

[Dave plays "Song 2" intro]

[He plays "Song 2" intro riff; Cheering]

- [Music intensifies, band plays together] - ♪ Woo-hoo! When I feel heavy metal

- ♪ Woo-hoo! - ♪ And I'm pins and I'm needles

- ♪ Woo-hoo! - ♪ Well, I lie and I'm easy

♪ All of the time, but I'm never sure why I need you

♪ Pleased to meet you... ♪

[Music continues, Graham plays distorted guitar solo]

♪ I got my head done

- ♪ When I was young... ♪ - [He mimics sobbing]

♪ It's not my problem

♪ It's not my problem

- ♪ Woo-hoo! - ♪ When I feel heavy metal

- ♪ Woo-hoo! - ♪ And I'm pins and I'm needles

- ♪ Woo-hoo! - ♪ Well, I lie and I'm easy

♪ All of the time, but I'm never sure why I need you

♪ Pleased to meet you... ♪

[Music fades]

[Ruminative music]

[Damon] Music is something we've been doing

from the dawn of our species.

And, in fact, it is just a sort of complete abandonment

of the self and the ego in that moment,

and you're just one of the many billions of atoms in that space.

[Music continues]

[Dave] It's a way of expressing emotion to somebody else

that bypasses the rational senses of the brain.

The whole audience and band

kind of merging together into one 148,000-legged beast.

That has been just extraordinary and quite overwhelming.

[Music continues]

[Damon] It's the journey and the hunger for the sublime.

That is the essence of performance,

is when you become a vessel for everybody.

[Music continues, muffled cheering grows clear]

[Damon] Now, we really do have a treat for you now.

This is a very London moment.

[Graham plays "Tender" intro pattern]

I'd like to invite the London Community Gospel Choir.

[Music continues; Cheering]

[Damon] Yeah.

[He counts in]

[Music builds, band plays together]

♪ Tender is the night

♪ Lying by your side

♪ Tender is the touch

♪ Of someone that you love too much

♪ Tender is the day

♪ The demons go away

♪ Lord, I need to find

♪ Someone who can heal my mind... ♪

- [Choir joins in singing] - ♪ Come on, come on, come on

♪ Get through it

♪ Come on, come on, come on... ♪ Woo!

- ♪ Love's the greatest thing... ♪ - [Damon] Fuck me!

[Graham] I find my situation has been different on this tour

than it's been for any getting-together with Blur.

And it's to do with a lot of things,

you know, in my personal life and the Blur album and doing the shows.

But it's, like, we are having a good time.

And maybe it's to do with a certain amount of gratitude or acceptance

of who we are and feeling lucky to be able to do this.

Yeah, we do try and earn it,

and we don't think we can just have that for nothing.

But I think, really, we are free.

We're at our freest when we're on stage.

♪ Oh, my

♪ Oh, my baby

♪ Oh, my baby

♪ Oh, why?

♪ Oh, my... ♪

[Alex] What I've realised is that, you know,

Blur's something I can never, ever walk away from.

You know, even if I had an absolute hissy-fit,

threw my toys out the pram,

it would still say on my grave, "Alex from Blur,

"and cheese."

I remember a couple of years ago, I thought, you know,

"When is the first time in the day

"that I think of either Blur or one of the people in Blur?"

And I was sitting in the bath this morning, looking at my toes,

thinking about the boys, just thinking,

"Yeah, nice."

You know, it's just really

really

spiritually

good to just feel at peace with each other.

♪ Love's the greatest thing

♪ That we have... ♪

♪ I'm waiting for that feeling... ♪

[Dave] Long-term relationships are bloody hard work.

There's no way round that, and being in a band is just the same.

But if you put effort in over a long period of time,

you can really achieve great things.

I'm more confident now than I was at the start of the year

that this isn't the end of something, but the start of something.

[Music concludes; Cheering]

Oh, my goodness.

I hope you've had a good night tonight.

- [Cheering continues] - I've had a good night.

I really have. Thank you so much.

Honestly, dream come true.

[Band plays "The Universal"]

♪ This is the next century

♪ Where the universal's free

♪ You can find it anywhere

♪ Yes, the future's been sold

♪ Every night, we're gone

♪ And to karaoke songs

♪ How we like to sing along

♪ Though the words are wrong

♪ It really, really, really could happen

♪ Yes, it really, really, really could happen

♪ When the days, they seem to fall through you

♪ Well, just let them go

♪ Yes, it really, really, really could happen

♪ It really, really, really could happen

♪ When the days, they seem to fall through you

♪ Well, just let them go... ♪

[Damon] It's all up to you now.

[Deep chord rings out; Cheering]

[Music builds; Soaring string melody]

[Music continues]

[Music continues]

[Sustained chord rings out; Cheering]

[Music swells]

[Music concludes, cheering continues]

- Thank you so much. - [Cheering continues]

[Mellow music]

[Indistinct chatter]

[Indistinct chatter]

[Damon] Unfortunately for me, it doesn't get better than that.

[Chanting, yelling]

[Chanting, yelling continue]

[Dave] You know you used to get those competitions

where the band would come and play in your living room?

That was the experience of Wembley, really.

Felt like we were playing in London's living room.

We've got some champagne for you, sir. Friendly for Dave.

[Alex] Damon wrote an e-mail on Monday morning,

like, one of three he's ever written me,

going, "That was the best show I've ever done."

I think there was a kind of unselfconscious glee in the house.

And, yeah, it did feel like there was no-one watching, in a strange way.

We were just really, really, really enjoying ourselves.

[Laughter]

[Rose] It was so great. I loved every minute of it, it was great.

I really did, I'm so proud.

The ending made me feel really sort of teary.

[Graham] It made me feel happy. It made me feel a bit more valued.

I know I don't really care what people think,

but when they're saying they love me or they love Blur, and this and that,

you can't help but feel kind of good about that.

- [Indistinct chatter] - [Jamie Hewlett] I love you, man.

[Graham] Some people need to be affirmed once and it will last them a lifetime,

but some of us need it again and again and again and are a pain in the arse.

So, it's kind of nice to be told things like that.

In my grand tradition of being always down on everything

that was...

It's as good as it gets, really.

Good as it gets.

[Music continues; Reverberant chatter]

[Music, chatter fade]

[Music - "The Heights" by Blur]

[Damon] I wrote the songs

kind of intuitively feeling that something,

you know, heavy about to happen.

And, you know, the first part, I was on my own completely.

And then the second part of it, I had my brothers, essentially, back.

You know, we all have

hugely, like, involving and complicated lives,

and we're so lucky that we get to spend this time together,

just the four of us.

And that's... that's the beauty of it.

Do I want to repeat it next year? No.

- [Director] Why not? - [Damon] Because why would I?

I've already had an amazing year doing Blur. Fantastic.

And that's it, really.

I mean, I'm not saying that's it, it, it, it, it,

although it may be.

It will manifest itself again if

it's wanted.

It felt like, for some reason, it was wanted

at this moment in time.

[Music continues]

Oh!

[He chuckles]

[Damon] We've all been through a lot.

So, to be able to do something that carries a whole new energy,

I'm not saying I have dreams anymore, but if I did,

maybe how I would dream it to be.

[Music continues]

[Music builds; Distorted guitar chords, feedback]

[Music - "The Night" by Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons]

♪ Beware

♪ Of his promise

♪ Believe

♪ What I say

♪ Before I go forever

♪ Be sure of what you say

♪ So, he paints a pretty picture

♪ And he tells you that he needs you

♪ And he covers you with flowers

♪ And he always keeps you dreamin'

♪ If he always keeps you dreamin'

♪ You won't have a lonely hour

♪ If a day could last forever

♪ You might like your ivory tower

♪ But the night begins to turn your head around

♪ And you know you're gonna lose more than you found

♪ Yes, the night begins to turn your head around

♪ Beware

♪ Of his promise

♪ Believe

♪ What I say

♪ Before I go forever

♪ Be sure of what you say

♪ For the words may come too easy

♪ If you don't believe I'm leavin'

♪ And goodbye may come too quickly

♪ If you really think he loves you

♪ If you really think he loves you

♪ You would give your love so sweetly

♪ If the day could last forever

♪ You would fall in love completely

♪ But the night begins to turn your head around

♪ And you know you're gonna lose more than you found

♪ Yes, the night begins to turn your head around

♪ And the night begins to turn your head around

♪ And you know you're gonna lose more than you found

♪ Yes, the night begins to turn your head around

♪ And you know you're gonna lose more than you found

♪ Yes, the night begins to turn your head around. ♪