During a recent interview, Damon Albarn was asked if the first time he came to Buenos Aires with Blur he ended up getting into a fight with Graham Coxon and punching each other.
Here is what he said:
“We used to fight a lot back then, yes, we did.”
– Is it true that the first time you came to Buenos Aires with Blur you ended up getting into a fight with Graham and punching each other?
– We used to fight a lot back then, yes, we did.😄 pic.twitter.com/ahvCgKlW8x
— Damon Albarn Unofficial (@DamonUnofficial) July 24, 2023
The Ballad Of Darren is Blur’s first album in eight years, and balances their buoyant, angular indie instincts with the more contemplative atmosphere of Albarn’s solo albums. Several songs tackle grief and loss. Damon Albarn says he felt “quite lost” and “sad” while writing Blur’s new album, The Ballad Of Darren via BBC.
The singer penned the new songs while touring with Gorillaz last year, and a sense of melancholy pervades the music.
Albarn has called it an “aftershock record”, dealing with the pandemic and the deaths of his musician friends Bobby Womack and Tony Allen, and Blur’s tour manager Craig Duffy.
“There was a lot on my mind,” he told BBC 6 Music’s Steve Lamacq.
“But it’s OK being lost. It’s OK being sad.
“There’s a panic that’s bestowed on these emotions that I don’t think is very helpful.
“Sometimes, if you’re lost, it’s exciting because you’re in a place where you could discover something new. I think it helps [in] writing songs, sometimes.”
Guitarist Graham Coxon agreed: “It’s a good thing to consciously say, ‘This is a temporary state’, and make as much use of it as possible.
“Don’t waste that sadness. All of these things are there to be used,” he said.
