Blur’s Wembley shows have been a (very) long time coming

“It was a longstanding plan to do Wembley and I thought this year it wasn’t going to happen again - [that] maybe it would be pushed to next year,” says Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, speaking to DIY for our just-launched July issue. “But then suddenly the venue released some new dates and we got this phone call from our agent going ‘it’s on, but we’ve got to put the tickets on sale tomorrow!.’” If the shows came as a surprise to the band, then they were even more well received by fans, who’ll descend on the 90,000-capacity venue this weekend for what are two of this summer’s most anticipated gigs.

The Wembley shows are, in part, a way to mark it being 30 years since the release of Blur’s second album, ‘Modern Life Is Rubbish’. Of the anniversary, guitarist Graham Coxon comments: “It’s great that, 30 years later, people are celebrating it so much, because they didn’t back then…”. Dave agrees, explaining that “The idea of a band like us at [that] time playing Wembley Stadium is almost laughable. I remember there being a column in the NME making fun of our lofty ambitions to want to be anything more than a little miserable indie band still signed on the dole, making fun of the fact that we might even be successful”.

And what better way to prove the naysayers wrong? Not only commemorating their second album in style, but launching their ninth to rapturous reception, 2023 finds Blur very much alive and kicking.

Our interview with Blur features in DIY’s July 2023 issue - for more info, head here and grab your copy here.