Watch Blur Play “Ong Ong” & “Tender” With Jimmy Fallon On The Tonight Show

By The Audio Mug | October 27, 2015

Blur returned to US TV after 15 years and they were the musical guests on The Tonight Show. They played “Ong Ong,” from the band new album The Magic Whip. The band hanging up backstage later on to record an unplugged rendition of “Tender,” the timeless opening track from 1999’s landmark 13, with the host Jimmy Fallon sitting in. Watch both performances below.

Watch Blur’s New World Towers Concert Film Trailer

By The Audio Mug | October 20, 2015

Blur: New World Towers is marketed as “a vital hybrid performance film about Blur.” Directed by Sam Wrench, the film stitches together clips from two gigs last summer at London’s Hyde Park and Hong Kong’s Convention And Exposition Centre along with background about the “unfinished business” that spurred on Blur’s comeback album The Magic Whip. It’s not to be confused with the 30-minute Magic Whip documentary Blur released earlier this year. New World Towers will screen Dec. 12 in the UK, with an international release to follow. Watch the trailer below.

Blur The Great Escape Turns 20

By The Audio Mug | September 12, 2015

In the simplest terms, The Great Escape is the flip side of Parklife. Where Blur's breakthrough album was a celebration of the working class, drawing on British pop from the '60s and reaching through the '80s, The Great Escape concentrates on the suburbs, featuring a cast of characters all trying to cope with the numbing pressures of modern life. Consequently, it's darker than Parklife, even if the melancholia is hidden underneath the crisp production and catchy melodies. Even the bright, infectious numbers on The Great Escape have gloomy subtexts, whether it's the disillusioned millionaire of "Country House" and the sycophant of "Charmless Man" or the bleak loneliness of "Globe Alone" and "Entertain Me." Naturally, the slower numbers are even more despairing, with the acoustic "Best Days," the lush, sweeping strings of "The Universal," and the stark, moving electronic ballad "Yuko & Hiro" ranking as the most affecting work Blur has ever recorded. However, none of this makes The Great Escape a burden or a difficult album. The music bristles with invention throughout, as Blur delves deeper into experimentation with synthesizers, horns, and strings; guitarist Graham Coxon twists out unusual chords and lead lines, and Damon Albarn spits out unexpected lyrical couplets filled with wit and venomous intelligence in each song. But Blur's most remarkable accomplishment is that it can reference the past -- the Scott Walker homage of "The Universal," the Terry Hall/Fun Boy Three cop on "Top Man," the skittish, XTC-flavored pop of "It Could Be You," and Albarn's devotion to Ray Davies -- while still moving forward, creating a vibrant, invigorating record.

Blur – “I Broadcast” Music Video

By The Audio Mug | September 9, 2015

Music video by Blur performing “I Broadcast” from the band new album The Magic Whip. Watch video below

Blur - “Under The Westway” Music Video

By The Audio Mug | July 5, 2012

Music video by Blur performing “Under The Westway”

Watch the video below and buy the single album Under The Westway on iTunes

Watch Blur Play “Under The Westway” & “The Puritan” In Secret UK Location

By The Audio Mug | July 3, 2012

Blur performed  “Under The Westway” and “The Puritan” live from a secret UK location. The two new songs which the band have never publicly performed, as the band played secretly on the rooftop.

Watch both performances below and buy the single album Under The Westway on iTunes


“Under The Westway” “The Puritan”

Blur - “Under The Westway” + “The Puritan”

By The Audio Mug | July 2, 2012

Blur has debuted two new songs “Under The Westway” and “The Puritan”, written for the upcoming Hyde Park concert on August 12, 2012.

Listen to both songs below and buy the single album Under The Westway on iTunes






“Under The Westway”


“The Puritan”

Blur Debut Two New Songs “Under The Westway” & “The Puritan”

By The Audio Mug | July 2, 2012

Blur are kicking off the week with a pair of new songs, debuting live via Twitter. It’s the band’s first new material since the 2010 Record Store Day single “Fool’s Day.”


The first song of the day is “Under The Westway,” a pared-down version of which has been kicking around the interwebs since February, when it was performed by Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon at a Brit Awards War Child benefit show in London. “The Puritan” was first on live in mid-June when it was performed by Damon Albarn at London’s Poetry Olympics.

Blur will perform both songs, written for their forthcoming sold-out Hyde Park concert on August 12, 2012.


Damon Albarn said - "I wrote these songs for Hyde Park and I'm really excited about getting out there and playing them for people."


Blur performed both songs in the rain in front of a group of 50 invited guests at a secret UK location before both songs made available for download on iTunes. A limited edition double-A-side 7″ featuring both songs will be released on August 6, 2012. Pre-order here.


Along with the new material, Blur will also release their past efforts contain of a 21-disc boxset, Titled '21', the collection includes the band's seven studio albums as well as over five hours of previously unreleased material including 65 tracks, rarities, three DVDs, a collector’s edition book and special limited edition Seymour 7″ vinyl, which will be released on July 30, 2012. 

Click to listen to “Under The Westway” and “The Puritan”