THERE'S MORE TO THIS LOT THAN YOU THINK

As a fan, I'm really pleased to hear that Blur are geting back together and playing some gigs later this year. I've three memories of seeing them live.

Firstly, in 1994 just before Parklife changed their lives forever when they played the now-demolished Plaza Ballroom in Glasgow when supported by Sleeper - a gig that convinced me they were on the cusp of greatness.

Next time was late 1995 at the cavernous SECC when they struggled to make themselves heard above loads of screaming pre-pubescent girls who were there solely to catch a glimpse of Damon in the flesh and who yapped incessantly when the boys played something that wasn't familiar from being played on the radio. Not a great night all things considered.

Then, in 1999, they played the first ever gig at The Corn Exchange in Edinburgh as part of a Greatest Hits tour in which they performed every single in the order they had been released. A great night, albeit spoiled a bit by knowing exactly what song was coming next.

I hope that the summer events prove to be a success and that it does lead to some new material getting recorded and released. If you only know Blur by the hit singles, then you are missing out on some great bits of music that have only appeared as LP tracks or indeed b-sides, some of which will really surprise you.

For instance, here's everything that was available on the 2xCD singles on one of their best-known and biggest hit singles from 1997:-

mp3 : Blur - Song 2
mp3 : Blur - Get Out Of Cities
mp3 : Blur - Polished Stone
mp3 : Blur - Bustin' + Dronin'
mp3 : Blur - Country Sad Ballad Man (live acoustic version)

If any of the marketing men are reading this, then I reckon a box-set of the difficult to find and obscure stuff is well overdue.

Happy Listening.