‘Put your hands together for Blur’, Jo Wiley encouraged the heaving crowd already making the walls of BBC’s Radio Theatre pulse with excitement. 

Led by the enigma that is Damon Albarn, the British rockers gleefully burst onto the small stage that would welcome them for the next non-stop hour or so. 

Packed to the rafters, the lucky few that nabbed tickets to the intimate live gig as part of Radio 2 In Concert left behind them a gaggle of desperate fans waiting outside the venue clutching placards that pleaded for a golden ticket.

Despite releasing their debut album over 30 years ago, the foursome was still very much a current obsession and Tuesday evening’s sparky spectacle proved it beyond doubt. 

Blur – featuring singer Damon, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree – wasted no time in getting started and riled the audience from the get-go as they launched into song while drenching the front row with cups of water. 

Establishing this would be no civilised affair – BBC building or no BBC building – the band showed off and exhibited their best from across the decades including a host of new tracks that would defined their next run at the charts. 

Blur took over the BBC on Tuesday night (Picture: Lucy Norris)

Nearing the noses of his fans, Damon, 55, belted out the words to the band’s 1992 single Popscene. 

Under the glare of the chaotic strobe lights, the Radio 2 listeners came alive and jumped to the beat of the charismatic frontman as he exuded infectious energy. 

Banger after banger filled the hall and so close-knit was the concert that when an eager fan screamed, ‘We love you’, at the musicians, the iconic singer locked eyes with them and retorted: ‘Well, that’s good because we love you too’.

Song 2’s woohoos rang out high above the excited fans and really announced the arrival of the Blur party as the deafening hundreds screeched the refrain right back at them. 

Mesmerising to watch, the pure fandom for the four was undeniable and the unusual access to the iconic band was a deeply special moment to experience.

Damon pre-empted the performance of their new material with a promise and said: ‘Don’t worry, they’re not s**t but obviously the beauty’s in the eye of the beholder’, and we can confirm beautifully Blur-esque they were. 

The band were joined by actor Phil Daniels for one song (Picture: Lucy Norris)

Making sure fans really got what they came for, it was time to jump around to Boys & Girls and this could only mean one thing for Gorillaz co-creator. 

Hoisting himself to stand above the audience, Damon called on the help of his security men to hold his legs while he powerfully released the lyrics to a mosh-pit of waving arms and springing bodies. 

Crowd interaction was a key element to this performance, as the singer later walked among his fans and sang to them personally – thrilling us all as we watched with a certain awe only the number one hit makers could inspire. 

Damon was the ultimate crowd-pleasing front man for the evening (Picture: Lucy Norris)

Parklife welcomed former music video star Phil Daniels to the stage and earned itself a spot as a real pleasure point of the evening as everyone joined in singing the famous lyrics. 

Pulling up his trousers – no, literally – Damon became emotional as he explained: ‘We’ve been away for a long time and to come back to such a reception is just…’ and peered out starry-eyed onto the studio floor that seated the likes of Dermot O’Leary, Sophie Ellis-Bexter and Josh Widdicombe. 

They rounded off the electric set by disappearing for a change of clothes and returning to debut a new track entitled Barbaric. 

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Sparking excitement, the teaser was well-received and hinted the band were back for good and coming for that number-one chart spot hot and heavy – they’d certainly have our vote following what we had just heard being bashed out on the piano’s keys. 

Saying their final farewell, they strummed out the chords to The Universal and had the room on their feet as we all suddenly understood a new-era takeover from the late 80s phenomenon really, really, really could happen. 

Radio 2 In Concert – Blur will be available to stream on iPlayer at a later date.

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