The Blur tour was a worldwide concert tour by the British rock band Blur. It supported their sixth studio album Blur, released in February 1997. The tour started with a short run of British shows in June 1997 before the band embarked on a five-month tour of the United States, Canada, Australia and the Far East.
Background
After the massive commercial success of their previous album Parklife, Blur faced serious difficulties while recording their follow-up in London during 1996. Lead singer Damon Albarn later described the sessions as “the dark ages”, and said that each band member had been going through a “mini-breakdown”. Guitarist Graham Coxon, in particular, had fallen deeply into alcoholism, leaving him hospitalised and the group’s future uncertain. After a long break, the band eventually regrouped in Iceland in early 1997 to complete the recording of their new album.
Blur chose to self-produce the record, a move that surprised observers considering their reliance on producer Stephen Street for the hugely successful Parklife. Albarn said the band felt they knew better than any outsider how their music should sound. He described the album as capturing “that feeling of being lost … because we were, really”.
Tour announcement
On 3 March 1997, Blur announced details of an upcoming world tour in support of the new album. The short UK leg would run from 9–18 June, including four nights at the 5000-capacity Brixton Academy in London. Their first ever shows in South America were scheduled for September. The tour was billed as the band’s first series of full-blown concerts since late 1994.
After the tour was announced, Blur’s US record company executives began voicing serious concerns about the planned extensive American leg. Relations between Blur and their American label Geffen had long been fraught over the band’s apparent lack of interest in breaking the US market. Despite only modest sales, Geffen had spent over $500,000 funding the group’s previous tour of the States in 1994.
For the new album, Albarn insisted Blur would only tour the US if they could play theatres and halls, but Geffen pushed for large arenas to recoup their costs. A compromise was eventually reached, scaling the tour back to five weeks of theatre shows.
Set list
Most shows on the Blur tour featured a 20-song set list, focusing largely on tracks from their most recent two albums. The concerts typically opened with the noisy instrumental “M.O.R.” from Blur, followed by hit singles like “Beetlebum”, “Song 2” and “Girls & Boys” played early on. The shows mixed chaotic new material with more melodic previous hits.
Some of the most frequently performed songs on the tour were:
Song | Album |
---|---|
Song 2 | Blur |
Beetlebum | Blur |
On Your Own | Blur |
M.O.R. | Blur |
Death of a Party | Blur |
Country House | The Great Escape |
Girls & Boys | Parklife |
Advert | Modern Life Is Rubbish |
For Tomorrow | Modern Life Is Rubbish |
The set list remained mostly the same throughout the tour, with minor variations. The encore frequently consisted of the popular Parklife tracks “End of a Century” and “Parklife”.
Special guest performances
At some dates on the tour, members of other bands joined Blur on stage as special guests. Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker appeared during shows in Sheffield and London to duet on the Pulp classic “Sorted for E’s & W’s”. Meanwhile Graham Coxon’s friend Stephen Malkmus sang and played guitar on the Blur b-side “Red Necks” at a New York City gig.
Tour dates
The Blur world tour officially began on 9 June 1997 with a short string of six dates across the UK. They then crossed the Atlantic for a lengthy North American leg from late July to September. Further autumn dates followed in Australia, Japan, Europe and a first ever visit to South America.
Some key shows on the tour itinerary included:
Date | City | Venue |
---|---|---|
9 June 1997 | Bournemouth | Bournemouth International Centre |
13 June 1997 | London | Brixton Academy |
26 July 1997 | Los Angeles | Hollywood Palladium |
29 July 1997 | San Francisco | The Warfield |
4 August 1997 | New York City | Radio City Music Hall |
3 September 1997 | Santiago | Teatro Caupolicán |
22 September 1997 | Osaka | Imp Hall |
The tour concluded after 97 dates on 18 November 1997 with a homecoming show at Wembley Arena in London.
Cancelled shows
A small number of scheduled concerts on the tour had to be cancelled. Dates in Arizona and New Mexico were pulled after slow ticket sales, while shows in Jakarta and Singapore were axed when the Asian financial crisis hit.
The band also had to call off gigs in Poznań and Istanbul when a fire broke out on their tour bus while driving through Poland. The vehicle was destroyed but everyone escaped unhurt.
Critical reception
Blur’s huge world tour met with an extremely positive critical response overall. Reviews praised the revamped live set showcasing their fresh musical direction.
Kerrang! said the tour showed Blur had “left their pop past behind them” and lauded their renewed “raw energy”. Melody Maker described the shows as “resurrecting Blur as a sort of art-punk hooligan outfit”. Select called them “a band who’ve rediscovered the power that first inspired them to form”.
The most frequent criticism focused on the short UK leg comprising their only 1997 dates in their home country. Many fans complained tickets were impossible to get hold of. However, the NME argued the high demand proved Blur’s immense popularity was still intact despite their change of direction.
Some critics found the set list rather one-paced, suggesting more variation between hard-rocking new songs could have improved the concerts. However, the overall fan and media reaction was overwhelmingly positive.
Band tensions
Away from the glowing reviews, significant tensions continued to simmer within Blur throughout the stressful tour. Graham Coxon in particular was struggling badly with alcoholism, frequently turning up to soundchecks too drunk to play.
According to bassist Alex James, the band came close to splitting up altogether several times on the road. He recalled having to forcibly dress a naked Coxon before a concert in New York because the guitarist was too wasted to stand up.
Coxon later said he spent much of the tour in a loneliest, darkest place” due to his drinking and depression. But somehow Blur managed to hold things together professionally to complete their global live comeback.
Legacy
While Blur’s eponymous 1997 album met modest commercial success, the ensuing world tour stands out as a definitive statement cementing Blur’s critical revival.
The extensive concerts completely changed the public perception of the band, wiping out memories of their previous cheery Britpop image. This set Blur on the road to becoming respected experimental rock artists instead of just pop stars.
Blur never again embarked on such a mammoth international touring schedule after 1997. However, the importance of the tour in rejuvenating Blur at a pivotal moment remains clear. It forms a crucial chapter in the band’s history.
Recent revival
In recent years, Blur have begun incorporating more 1990s material back into their set lists after long avoiding their Britpop past. Rare songs from the 1997 tour like “Death of a Party” and “Essex Dogs” have returned to Blur’s concerts since their 2012 reunion.
This suggests the band themselves have recognised the tour’s significance in their journey as artists. While once eager to leave Britpop behind, they now seem able to embrace that era with perspective.
Conclusion
Blur’s 1997 world tour marked a defiant return to form for the band as they completely reinvented their sound and image. While the tour was gruelling and nearly tore Blur apart off stage, their onstage energy enthralled critics and fans globally.
The tour has gone down as a career-defining moment that launched experimental new Blur. It set them on the road to critical acclaim and lasting respect as artists, far beyond their initial fame as Britpop chart-toppers. Blur remain rightly proud of the tour 25 years later.