After an epic weekend which saw blur perform to over 150,000 fans across two truly unforgettable Wembley Stadium shows, the band today announced a very special global performance of their highly-anticipated new album ‘The Ballad of Darren’- live streamed via Driift from London’s Eventim Apollo, Hammersmith on Thursday 25th July 2023 at 9pm BST. Tickets and information here.
The one hour show – titled ‘blur present The Ballad of Darren’ – is the first and only time the band will play the complete album live from start to finish. The performance will allow fans around the world to experience the new record – together, live – with this intimate one-off event, streamed live from London.
Eight years since their chart-topping album The Magic Whip (2015), blur burst out of the traps in May with an already legendary performance at the tiny Colchester Arts Centre in Essex; the announcement of a brand new album; and the release of‘The Narcissist’, racking up over 12m global streams – and counting – with a song which THE GUARDIAN (4/5 stars) describes as sounding like “…Blur have never been away”. Last week, they dropped follow up ‘St. Charles Square’, a track with “… a sense of gleeful invention that recalls their early days… a terrific piece of music.” (CLASH), driving a fever of excitement amongst fans ahead of the release of The Ballad of Darren in less than two weeks, on 21st July on Parlophone.
Produced by Driift, the fully-live one-hour performance of The Ballad of Darren will be streamed worldwide at 9.00pm London-time (BST), before being rebroadcast three more times to allow fans around the world to watch at time more convenient for their timezone. Following that, the show will also be available to watch On Demand for another 2 days, timings as follows:
- Live: Tuesday 25 July 9.00pm BST
- Rebroadcast #1: Tuesday 25 July 8.00pm EDT
- Rebroadcast #2: Tuesday 25 July 8.00pm PDT
- Rebroadcast #3: Wednesday 26 July 8.00pm AEST
- On Demand: Wednesday 26 July at 1.00pm BST – Friday 28 July at 1.00pm BST
Ticket Information: here.
Livestream Tickets are on sale now
Physical tickets will go on sale on Tuesday 18th July – 10am BST for fans who have pre-ordered the album. To receive your access code for the ticket sale, pre-order The Ballad of Darren from blur’s official Eurpean store here.
Tickets are priced as follows: Hammersmith Apollo show £25 + booking fees; Livestream £13.50. Tickets and information here.