Rocker reveals ‘car crash’ reunion with his iconic 90s band before huge tour-Lillie Rohan-Entertainment – Metro

The iconic 90s band had a ‘car crash’ reunion ahead of their more successful one(Photo by JMEnternational/Redferns)

While we’d all like to believe band reunions are a fairytale ending, a member of a popular 90s group has shared that the reality is a little less wholesome and a little more of a ‘car crash’. 

London-founded Britpop band Blur dominated the charts in the 90s with hits including Song 2 and Parklife, but after 15 years together, they disbanded.

While they eventually came back together, bass guitarist Alex James, 56, has revealed the tale of their reunion isn’t exactly a moving one. 

In a recent interview promoting the release of his memoir, Over the Rainbow: Tales from an Unexpected Year, James said one catch-up he and his bandmates Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, and Dave Rowntree had before their reunion tour was so bad that it ‘haunted’ him daily. 

Admitting it was so much of a disaster that he blocked it from his memory, he elaborated further by adding: ‘I’ve sort of blocked it out. But we… couldn’t. Weren’t really communicating at all,’ he told The Times. 

Sharing an extract from his book, he continued to say the meeting, ahead of the band’s most recent reunion, which included a sold-out show at Wembley Stadium and a new album, was the ‘first’ in years. 

Blur were known for their top charting hit, Song 2 (Picture: Paul Bergen/Redferns)

‘The previous meeting was a car crash that had haunted me daily ever since, and there had been very little communication between us or with management. Until the live rep had called,’ he wrote. 

Recalling what happened as he walked into the meeting, James described the ‘really sad’ look drummer Rowntree had on his face: ‘Dave was really pale. Looked really sad. Said, “I don’t think it’s going to happen,”’ as Albarn and Coxon arrived.

James said that when the band first came together after a long break, a ‘little bit of awks [awkward]’ lingered as they spoke about how the reunion would work. Thankfully, though, once they began playing music together again, the dynamic changed. 

James said he has ‘blocked’ one of the band’s meetings from his memory (Picture: PA)

Once they began playing together, it was like no time had passed (Picture: Danny Martindale/Getty Images)

Choosing to play their 1990 song, She’s So High, James said it was like going back in time: ‘The world falls away and we’re all 19 years old again, the same as we were in that room, and it’s blissful and joyous.’

It was a feeling that continued into their shows and James said while playing last July, their first headline performance since 2015, it felt ‘brilliant’.

He continues to write in his book: ‘You know when you’re in the car and Uptown Funk is on and you’re singing your head off and it feels brilliant? It just feels like that. It feels exactly like that.’

The group have disbanded once again (Picture: PA)

Despite releasing an album and touring over the past 18 months, Albarn announced last December that Blur would be entering another hiatus, telling fans: ‘It’s too much for me. It was the right thing to do and an immense honour to play these songs again, spend time with these guys, make an album.’

He added that he isn’t ruling out another reunion but that he isn’t ‘dwelling’ on the past anymore. 

The band did, however, return to the stage in April for one last time to play at Coachella. 

Got a story?

If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.

Entertainment – MetroRead More