Blur have announced that they'll be performing a one-off exclusive gig of their new record 'The Magic Whip', returning them to the stage for the first time this era.
Blur
Made up of Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree, the group will perform ahead of the LP's released on April 27 through Parlophone, at a small venue in West London on Friday, March 20.
First starting work on the album when they toured Asia last year, the group didn't decide for some time that it'd become an official eighth studio record.
Damon explained"We had some downtime, we had a cancellation when we were in Hong Kong, so we thought we'd put five or six days to good use.
"We just went in there and knocked about loads of ideas. Nothing happened after that. And I said, 'I really don't think anything's going to happen.'"
Graham added: "It was casual and just something we did off our own backs and I thought it would be great to let it ferment and go back and have a look."
The news came after the release of the album's cover online, which sees a neon ice cream cone between Chinese lettering reading 'Blur' and 'The Magic Whip'.
Of the artwork, Damon said: "It's in simplified Chinese characters. On the left it says Blur and on the right it says 'The Magic Whip'."
He added that the foursome are now looking forward to showcasing music from the LP when they go on to headline this year's Hyde Park's British Summertime in London.
"On this occasion we will have a whole new set of things to get excited about so we'll have even more music. I love it [playing in Hyde Park] because I can cycle to work!"
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