Blur's return at Colchester Arts Centre was a triumphant reminder of Britpop's power

“Hello, welcome, cheers, f****** awesome to be back,” shouts hardy-looking Alex James, 54, fists pumping A new album, sold-out Wembley shows…Blur, if you haven’t heard, are back

It’s one of two new numbers in the 110-minute set, with new single The Narcissist – a familiar but no less thrilling blast of peak Nineties Albarn pop – eventually following deep in the encore.

“In fact, the only way I really could do this was [to be] totally divorced from all the import that making a new record would have,” he says. “I wanted [to] just not think about it and write from the heart.” It’s big news: big enough to also merit a press conference at Colchester Castle, even if it’s actually the third time they’ve returned to the fray.

It all bodes well for The Ballad of Darren. But onstage at the Arts Centre, its the band’s back catalogue that sets the room alight: 21 songs that serve as stunning reminders of Blur’s kaleidoscopic brilliance.

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