SHOW: First Avenue, Minneapolis, Minnesota May 4, 1992

Here is one of only two shows from Blur's legendary (and ill-fated) 1992 US tour...enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=C2RJ25DA

TRAILER for No Distance Left to Run (January 2010)

My contact (the fellow I was donating material/research to, who is the producer of this film) informed me that it is OK to link to the trailer, so here it is:

Blur: No Distance Left to Run

This is a high quality version...check it out and get excited!!!

SHOW: MTV Studios, London March 6, 2003

Here is the broadcast of Blur's concert on BBC TV. While they played an entire show, this is all that was broadcast and is available. Hopefully sometime soon the entire show will surface, but in the meantime, enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=EA373WKG

Blur: No Distance Left to Run in UK (January 2010)

Blur's carrer-spanning documentary, No Distance Left to Run, is due to be released in cinemas in the UK in January 2010. The trailer can be seen HERE.

Besides being mega excited for the obvious reasons of being a maniacal fan of the band, I'm also excited as I was able to contribute in my own small way to this by donating material and doing some research for the film, so I'm proud, in a way, that I could give back to my favorite band. Plus, it looks like it's going to be bloody marvelous!

SHOW: Roskilde Festival, Denmark June 28, 2003

Here's Blur's show at the Roskilde Festival in 2003. A solid and very enjoyable show in great sound quality. Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=CYS30AA4

Newly confirmed recording

Just found that an audience recording for Blur's show in London on December 12, 1997 exists (this is the night after the famous and common soundboard from the previous night)...

Wouldn't that be great to hear someday?

The Five-Night Astoria Run in London, 2003

In May 2003 during the week of Think Tank's release, Blur played a 5-night run of concerts at the famous (and sadly now-defunct) Astoria in London, on May 8-10, 12-13.

During these shows, Blur played most of the songs from their new album, introduced touring guitarist Simon Tong to the London audiences, and threw some nuggets into the long and varied set lists. Luckily, recordings exist for four of the five nights (the middle night, May 10, so far has no available recordings. Of course, if you have one, please email me ASAP!)

The set lists were as follows:

May 8

Ambulance
Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club
Out Of Time
Beetlebum
Girls & Boys
Good Song
Badhead
Gene By Gene
Top Man
For Tomorrow
Brothers And Sisters
Crazy Beat
Song 2
Trimm Trabb
Battery In Your Leg
Popscene
On The Way To The Club
We've Got A File On You
This Is A Low

May 9

Ambulance
Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club
Beetlebum
Girls & Boys
Sweet Song
Badhead
Gene By Gene
Top Man
For Tomorrow
Out Of Time
Brothers And Sisters
Crazy Beat
Song 2
Trimm Trabb
Battery In Your Leg
Caravan
Popscene
On The Way To The Club
We've Got A File On You
Coping
This Is A Low

May 10

Ambulance
Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club
Beetlebum
Girls & Boys
Good Song
Badhead
Gene By Gene
Top Man
For Tomorrow
Tender
Out Of Time
Brothers And Sisters
Crazy Beat
Song 2
Trimm Trabb
Battery In Your Leg
Caravan
Popscene
On The Way To The Club
We've Got A File On You
This Is A Low

May 12

Ambulance
Moroccan Peoples Revolutionary Bowls Club
Beetlebum
Girls & Boys
Good Song
Badhead
Gene By Gene
For Tomorrow
Tender
Out Of Time
Brothers And Sisters
Crazy Beat
Song 2
Trimm Trabb
Battery In Your Leg
Caravan
Popscene
On The Way To The Club
Me, Whitenoise
We've Got A File On You
This Is A Low

May 13

Ambulance
Beetlebum
Girls & Boys
Good Song
Badhead
Gene By Gene
For Tomorrow
Top Man
Tender
Caravan
Out Of Time
Crazy Beat
Brothers And Sisters
Song 2
Trimm Trabb
Battery In Your Leg
Popscene
On The Way To The Club
Me, Whitenoise
We've Got A File On You
This Is A Low

Some interesting things to note is that the set order didn't really stabilize until the final night, when Beetlebum was installed as the second song, where it would remain (with a few exceptions) for the remainder of the year. This shifting of the song order is most apparent during the first half of the set...the encore sections remained relatively consistent. Also, Top Man was surprisingly played during the first three shows, although it was dropped by the fourth night. A rare (and so far, the only) version of Coping from 2003 was played on the second night. Me,Whitenoise was played during the final two nights, both times with Phil Daniels reprising his role from the album version.

What is special about these shows is that, apart from having recordings for all but one of them, the set lists are a little different each night...it's a portrait of the band tinkering and fine-tuning their live act, onstage and in front of an audience. In addition, we get some treats like the aforementioned Top Man and the rare (for 2003) Coping. The stage banter is revealing as well (see Black Book), as Damon is constantly trying to explain why Graham is not there but "it doesn't mean he's not coming back," something we now know was no sure thing, even though this was a line constantly brought up by Damon throughout 2003.

While the recording quality of these shows ranges from good audience to excellent soundboard, they are all worth seeking out, not only for the performances, but for their glimpse into the band when they were still rather unsure in the wake of their emergence as a 3-piece playing new material in front of their hometown crowd on the week of the new album's release.

And as I said before, if anyone out there has a recording of the show from May 10, 2003, please email me! It will, of course, be kept confidential.

Recordings update...

Just got and listened to Summersonic Festival, Osaka August 3, 2003 and have a solid lead on Roseland Ballroom, New York City March 30,1999...stay tuned...

SHOW: Ein Abend in Wien Festival, De Doelen, Rotterdam, Holland August 31, 1991

Here is Blur's complete set from this festival in Holland in 1991. Runs a touch fast but is a decent (for its age) soundboard recording. Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=VLVXDTWF

SHOW: Roxy Theatre, Los Angeles November 14, 1991

Here's a nice little free noontime concert Blur put on in 1991 during their first visit to America. Very energetic and nice to listen to. Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=7NWBL2J0

SHOW: Point Depot, Dublin November 23, 1995

Here's Blur's nearly annual (during the 1990s) show at the Point in Dublin from 1995. Not the greatest sounding recording but a cracking performance. Incomplete, sadly...the encore section, which supposedly contains a rare live version of Best Days, is missing...hopefully it will surface someday, but in the meantime, here you go!


http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U82G4OBM

Currently listening...

...to the Wolverhampton show from May 11, 1994. Sound quality is not great but the performance is fantastic. It's the 2nd show from the Spring 1994 UK tour and the 4th show overall from 1994...first available live recordings of loads of Parklife songs. Really great.

Seaside Tour 1995

In September 1995, at the time of the release of The Great Escape, Blur undertook a tour of British seaside towns that few (if any) bands ever went to. (Pictured above is the actual program, which I own a copy of...it seems to be the only common Blur tour program available). This tour has long been one I've been interested in. The tour dates and venues are below:

September 12th - Pier 39, Cleethorpes, UK
September 13th - Queens Hall, Dunoon, UK
September 14th - The Dome, Morecombe, UK
September 15th - Rooftop concert at HMV Oxford Street, London, UK
September 16th - Floral Hall, Eastbourne, UK
September 17th - Oscars, Clacton, UK
September 18th - The Showbar, Bournemouth, UK
September 19th - The Paradox, Brighton, UK
September 20th - Ocean Room, Great Yarmouth, UK

Besides the towns, which Blur would never visit again (except for Bournemouth and Brighton, which certainly don't fit in with the rest of the towns in terms of bands, including Blur, never visited), they snuck in a rooftop concert in London.

The typical set list for this tour was:

Jubilee
Charmless Man
Popscene
End Of A Century
Top Man
Mr. Robinson's Quango
To The End
Fade Away
It Could Be You
Stereotypes
Supa Shoppa
Girls & Boys
Parklife
Bank Holiday
Country House
This Is A Low
He Thought Of Cars
Globe Alone
The Universal

While the rooftop set list was:

Country House
Top Man
The Universal
Globe Alone
Parklife

(set list info courtesy of Veikko's Blur Page)

The most interesting thing is that these shows (along with the secret BBC gig from September 7, 1995) were the only times that Top Man was played live pre-early 2003.
All of these shows have been "Holy Grails" for me in terms of ever finding a recording (there MUST be some out there), mainly because of the uniqueness of this tour. If you have any, let me know! It's shocking how little documentation, in terms of video, audio, or photographs, there are of this seaside jaunt.

What generosity!

A fellow Blur fan who saw my post below on preservation has offered to send me a couple of hard drives *free of charge* in order to doubly back up every Blur show I have. I'm speechless at his generosity...thanks, mate!!

Progress...well, a teeny bit...

Just heard from the taper who has the Riviera, Chicago show from 6/26/97...says the show is stored an hour from his home but next time he goes out that way, he'll get it over to me. So that's promising, although more waiting...

UPDATE: Just heard from a fellow who has the 3/30/99 Roseland Ballroom, NYC show, in process of setting up a trade with him...stay tuned...

SHOW: Point Depot, Dublin July 22, 1999

Enjoy! Not the best sounding, but a cracking gig!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=U4WQQ690

Similar Books

Here is the book that inspired me to write Black Book:

Led Zeppelin Live

And here is another similar book on U2

I'm glad Blur now has an entry into this type of book!

COMPLETE list of known uncirculating live recordings as of 11/10/2009

Here is the COMPLETE list, accurate as of today, for all of the KNOWN CONFIRMED Blur live recordings that are not currently in general circulation:

3/30/90 Falcon, Camden, London
5/29/93 University, Manchester
9/3/93 Barrowlands, Glasgow
10/4/93 Queen’s Hall, Bradford
10/25/93 Vaartkapoen, Brussels
12/4/93 Theatre of the Living Arts, Philadelphia
5/16/94 Plaza, Glasgow
5/19/94 Academy, Manchester
9/19/94 Masquerade, Atlanta
9/24/94 The Palace, Los Angeles
9/25/94 The Fillmore, San Francisco
5/21/95 Molson Amphitheatre, Toronto
6/10/95 Sonoria Festival, Milan
10/3/95 Metro, Chicago
11/4/95 Festival Hall, Osaka
1/26/96 Moe’s, Seattle
1/27/96 La Luna, Portland (full show)
2/6/96 Cotton Club, Atlanta
2/26/96 Aqualung, Madrid (full show)
3/18/96 Capitol, Hannover, Germany
5/26/97 Budokan, Tokyo
6/10/97 Electric Factory, Philadelphia
6/18/97 Showbox, Seattle
6/22/97 Ogden Theatre, Denver
6/24/97 The Rave, Milwaukee
6/26/97 Riviera, Chicago
6/27/97 Clutch Cargos, Detroit
7/1/97 K-Rock Dysfunctional Family Picnic, New York City
8/8/97 Sudoeste Festival, Portugal
9/13/97 Orpheum, Boston (w/soundcheck)
11/8/97 MBK Hall, Bangkok
3/30/99 Roseland Ballroom, NYC
4/1/99 Mayan Theatre, LA
6/20/99 Heineken Music Festival, Imola, Italy
7/31/99 Fuji Rock Festival, Japan (full show)
8/26/99 Goldsmiths College, London
8/28/99 Leeds Festival
11/18/99 Metrolpolitan Theatre, Mexico City (full show)
11/21/99 Credit Card Hall, Sao Paulo, Brazil (full show)
11/23/99 Metropolitan, Rio De Janeiro, Brazil
6/20/03 Showbox, Seattle
6/21/03 Vogue Theatre, Vancouver, Canada
7/23/03 Metropolis, Montreal
7/24/03 Theatre of Living Arts, Philadelphia
7/26/03 Tabernacle, Atlanta
10/13/03 Circus, Stockholm
11/3/03 Riviera, Madrid, Spain
11/9/03 Gasometer, Vienna, Austria
11/22/03 Barrowlands, Glasow
11/28/03 Apollo, Manchester
6/24/09 Civic Hall, Wolverhampton, England (full show)
6/26/09 MEN, Manchester, England (full show)

As you can see, this is a *HUGE* list!!

I've contacted the tapers/collectors who have all of these shows. Some of them I am currently in the process of obtaining, others I am wrangling with the holders, and others I am waiting to hear back.

For me, it's shocking that so many new recordings of Blur exist (and I'm sure there are LOADS more out there) and are not generally available. All of these were listed by people on their trade lists, so it's not as if they are hiding the fact that they have them (they are not hoarding)...these were clearly listed as "FOR TRADE". However, the fact that these are difficult to find, let alone get copies of, is amazing. I wonder why this is? My guess is there is not a huge demand for live Blur and thus these end up buried in boxes in people's houses or on seldom seen trade lists.

I will continue my work in trying to obtain copies of these shows and sharing them with the fan community. In the meantime, if anyone reading this has any of these or knows someone who has any of these, please contact me (my email address is in my profile, found on the right side of this page). Your correspondence will be kept completely confidential.

Wolves

Just found that a the Wolverhampton show from 5/11/94 is available on recording...in the process of getting a copy...

Also, these exist:

10/4/93 Queen’s Hall, Bradford
10/25/93 Vaartkapoen, Brussels
5/16/94 Plaza, Glasgow

Now to try and get copies of them!

New Discoveries

I learned this weekend that videos (and thus audio) exist for the following shows:

11/8/97 MBK Hall, Bangkok
6/20/99 Heineken Festival, Italy
11/21/99 Credit Card Hall, Sao Paolo

And so the work begins to liberate them...

Nice review of Black Book

Here is a nice review of Black Book:

http://veikko.climax.dk/viewtopic.php?t=442&start=15

Evidence for two more recordings...

I found evidence today online that recordings for:

1/26/96 Moe's, Seattle
11/8/97 MBK Hall, Bangkok

exist. I've also contacted people regarding:

3/30/99 Roseland Ballroom, New York City
11/12/03 Alcatraz, Milan

Fingers crossed!!

1994 Japanese Tour (LONG POST ALERT!)

Blur has made multiple tours of Japan (1993-1995, 1997, 1999, 2003). However, based on the available recordings, none of them can compare to their 1994 tour there. Blur played eight concerts in Japan between November 18 and November 29, 1994. Three recordings are available:

November 19, 1994 Club Citta, Kawasaki
November 26, 1994 Shibuya Kokaido, Tokyo
November 29, 1994 U-Port Hall, Tokyo

What makes this tour so interesting to me as a fan and listener is that something special that always seems to happen in Japan with big bands. I'm going to make the analogy to another legendary band, Led Zeppelin.

Led Zeppelin played two tours in Japan, one in 1971 and one in 1972. Every show from each tour is available on recording, and while the 1972 was very good, 1971 was superlative. The band was followed by absolutely maniacal fans cheering loudly and enthusiastically from beginning to end. Additionally, they played with abandon, really stretching out with extended sets and throwing in covers and album tracks that they'd never play ever again. I'm making this analogy because Blur did the same thing during this 1994 tour, which saw rabid fans treated to long concerts with some real unique set lists. The typical set list for a late 1994 show (taken at random from the European tour) was:

Lot 105
Coping
Jubilee
Popscene
Tracy Jacks
End Of A Century
Chemical World
Badhead
There's No Other Way
To The End
Advert
Supa Shoppa
Parklife
Girls & Boys
The Debt Collector
Bank Holiday
This Is A Low

Contrast that with this set list from the set lists from the three Japanese recordings:

November 19, 1994

Lot 105
Coping
Jubilee
Tracy Jacks
Magic America
End Of A Century
Popscene
Chemical World
Badhead
There's No Other Way
To The End
Advert
Supa Shoppa
Parklife
Colin Zeal
For Tomorrow
Girls & Boys
Mr. Robinson's Quango
The Debt Collector
Bank Holiday
This Is A Low


November 26, 1994

Intermission
Sunday Sunday
Coping
Jubilee
Tracy Jacks
Magic America
Happy Birthday/The Tuning Song
End Of A Century
Popscene
Trouble In The Message Centre
Chemical World
Badhead
There's No Other Way
To The End
Advert
Supa Shoppa
Parklife
Colin Zeal
She's So High
Girls & Boys
The Debt Collector
Bank Holiday
Day Upon Day
This Is A Low


November 29, 1994

Intermission
Sunday Sunday
Coping
Jubilee
Tracy Jacks
Magic America
End Of A Century
Popscene
Trouble In The Message Centre
Chemical World
Badhead
There's No Other Way
To The End
Advert
Supa Shoppa
Parklife
She's So High
Colin Zeal
For Tomorrow
Girls & Boys
Theme from Batman and Robin
Mr. Robinson's Quango
The Debt Collector
Bank Holiday
This Is A Low
Day Upon Day


You can see the first show has a longer set list than typical for the European tour. However, they really let loose with the last two shows, extended the set with many more songs (bringing back Trouble in the Message Centre, She's So High), starting the shows with Intermission (Lot 105 was the opener used for all of 1994 previously), bringing Day Upon Day back into the set in the encore section. Additionally, they played these shows with reckless abandon and energy, making these some of the most exciting concerts of their career.

While recordings from Japan in 1995, 1997, 1999, and 2003 exist, all with their own treats (Yuko and Hiro in 1995, You're So Great, Beard, and Strange News From Another Star in 1997), none can match the mania and energy of these 1994 shows. I can only hope more recordings from this tour come to light in the future!

The Preservation Project

After thinking it over for a long while, I've decided that when I have the extra money, I'm going to invest in an external hard drive (1TB or so). Not only to back up the personal data my wife and I have, but my goal is to put all 225 (and counting) Blur shows on it to preserve them digitally as flac files. Right now everything is on CDR and arranged chronologically, but it will be great to have them backed up and preserved for years to come in a digital format.

I take it very seriously to preserve their live history, as I consider them to be one of the best bands of the last 20 years and akin to the Beatles in cultural impact and importance (except for in the USA, although they do have a dedicated and hardcore cult following here).

SHOW: Fillmore West, San Francisco January 29, 1996

Here's a hard to find show from early 1996. Enjoy!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=KGNL8PY5

A breakthrough...

In the process of setting up a deal to obtain copies of several uncirculated shows from the taper himself...stay tuned...

SHOW: La Bataclan, Paris May 19, 2003

Here's Blur's Paris show from May 19, 2003. This is a newer soundboard source I've recently found that sounds bloody fantastic! Great show here, check it out!

http://www.megaupload.com/?d=T8JUVK7U

Tilting at windmills?

Throughout my crawling across the internet, I've come across a LOT of Blur recordings that people have that I'd love to get my hands on to add to the band's history, the book, and eventually share out. However, a lot of these are old postings on message boards or trade lists going back as far as 1995! And of course most of the webpage and email addresses bounce or are no longer active. These are the shows I have been passionately pursuing in this regard:

7/1/97 NYC (was available for download from the taper in 1997, webpage is down)

9/3/93 Glasgow
12/4/93 Philadelphia
6/10/95 Milan
10/3/95 Chicago
11/4/95 Tokyo
1/27/96 Portland (full show)
2/6/96 Atlanta
3/18/96 Hannover
5/26/97 Tokyo (all of these were for sale from a fellow in 1998, email address bounces)

8/8/97 Portugal (email address of taper bounces)

There are also numerous ones with active webpages/email addresses who never reply, including

3/30/90 London
1/27/96 Portland (full show)
3/18/96 Hannover
6/26/97 Chicago (fellow was replying to me but haven't heard back in a while)
8/26/99 (currently in talks to get this...)
6/20/03 Seattle (taper is going to send it to me in a bit)
6/21/03 Vancouver (taper hasn't responded)
11/3/03 Madrid (taper hasn't responded)
11/9/03 Vienna (taper hasn't responded)
11/12/03 Milan (taper hasn't responded)
6/24/09 Wolverhampton (full show, in talks with taper)
6/26/09 Manchester (full show, in talks with taper)

It can get awfully frustrating, but hopefully the "three P's" (see post below) will pay off!!

And of course, if you have any of these PLEASE CONTACT ME PRIVATELY IMMEDIATELY...your correspondence will remain confidential.

The Frustration

This post is not meant to sound whiny or complaining, but expresses genuine confusion and frustration over being a Blur fan and trying to collect their live recordings.

The main gist of this post is that it seems that there is MUCH more information, MANY more resources, and MORE available recordings for bands that are Blur's peers, while not for Blur themselves. I am speaking, for instance, of bands such as Radiohead, Oasis, Smashing Pumpkins, etc. As an example, I am routinely scouring the internet looking either for Blur shows I don't have, or (much more often) uncirculated/new recordings. While it's a very arduous task (although I've had much success over the years), I am constantly seeing a number of webpages devoted to Oasis, Radiohead, etc and their live shows. Large databases, trading pages, etc. In addition, the sheer number of available recordings from these two bands is astounding and numbers in the several hundred. In contrast, while Blur has played 600+ concerts in their 20 years, there aren't even half that many available. I have the largest collection of their recordings (as far as I know), numbering 225, which is a far cry from the number for bands like Oasis, for example. A quick search online, however, will give a webpage that has over 400 (!) Smashing Pumpkins shows available for download...

The frustration over very little information on Blur's recordings led me to write Black Book, which is both a history and a guide. That being said, I'm still puzzled as to why a band that is as popular and successful as Blur has such a small fanbase dedicated to their live recordings.

Thoughts, anyone?

Potential new recordings...

This is a list of shows where I am actually in contact/actively trying to contact the people (sometimes the taper themselves) who has the show:

3/30/90 London
3/18/96 Hannover
1/27/96 Portland (full show)
6/26/97 Chicago
3/30/99 New York
4/1/99 Los Angeles
8/26/99 London
11/3/03 Madrid
11/9/03 Vienna
11/22/03 Glasgow
6/24/09 Wolverhampton (full show)
6/26/09 Manchester (full show)

Stay tuned and wish me luck!

The three P's of seeking out recordings...

...are persistence, perseverance, and patience. They are all extremely important, although the last one perhaps more so. Currently I am trying to get a copy of an extremely rare recording from someone. After two months of back and forth, I got the first song last week and am eager to get the rest, but don't want to push the person away, so I'm being patient. It's hard to do, but I'm hoping in the end it will be worth it...