I was 15 in 1991 when I first saw the videos for There's No Other Way and She's So High on MuchMusic (Canada). They had a late-night program called City Limits that had a huge influence on my burgeoning music taste...it's where I first saw other British bands (shoegaze was big at the time), Soundgarden, Tool etc...well before any of these artists broke into the mainstream. I admit that I was intrigued by how attractive the band was but the music really swept me away too and I still love those songs and get a little swept up in the nostalgia when I hear them. I bought Leisure on cassette and listened to it over and over on my Walkman.
I had a boyfriend who was also into the British scene so we would pay good money for Select, NME, Melody Maker etc and read up on the bands, many of whom never made any headway in North America. The boyfriend tried to convince me that the Happy Mondays were better and would have a longer career (LOL) but when we found out Blur were coming to Toronto in 1993, he volunteered to get us tickets and me a fake ID while he borrowed his brother's. They were playing a club and I was a few years'' shy of legal age - a frustrating situation for a teen music fan with less mainstream tastes. I lied to my parents, changed my clothes in his car and we went. My terrible ID claiming I was from Buffalo was confiscated from me but back then, they were less strict about underagers so I got some black sharpie Xs on my hands and we went in. Damon was a drunk mess who tried to climb the speakers while security pulled him down by the back of his pants. I was thrilled though...it was loud and sexy and dangerous.
So my fandom was cemented and I stuck with the band through MLIR...North America was enraptured with grunge but I still liked the Brit stuff. Parklife hit and Boys and Girls was a hit so that was a bit weird. It was around that time that I requested to interview the band for a student publication. I was told to expect a press conference but it ended up being me, a nervous teenage girl, alone in a hotel room with Graham and Dave. I think I did ok but my audiotape was hard to decipher as Graham mumbled and my article was later butchered by my editor. I remember asking a question about MLIR bombing in North America and causing a big, awkward pause. Oops. I also shared an elevator with Damon and sat on a bed across from him and Alex, trying not to pass out.
The Britpop showdown with Oasis was weird to watch from afar because only us Britpop kids really cared on the other side of the pond, and in the end it seemed that Oasis won overall. Then Song 2 became a massive hit and it was annoying to have to call Blur the "woohoo band" but that is STILL what people remember to this day. I felt sadness seeing the Think Tank tour without Graham and thought that was probably the end. Also saw a terribly boring Gorillaz show right before then and being a little miffed that Damon seemed less interested in Blur than in that. I've since come around to his other stuff - seen an amazing Gorillaz show, enjoyed TGTBATQ and I was the one who put the snippets of his Sundance performance of his solo stuff on Youtube (I was there by chance and begged my way in).
So when the UK 2009 shows were announced, I decided to make the commitment and fly over for a bunch of the warm-ups (no interest in Hyde Park...other than festivals, Blur were a club band over here). Met up with people from the old forum for Southend and Wolverhampton, begged my way into Goldsmiths and just had a wicked time. No Distance Left to Run is a lovely testament to that time. Then 2012 came around and I did the same thing but thought that would be the last time. I still remember standing in the London train station with the new friend I was crashing with and seeing the band (except for Alex) crossing the waiting room. Turned out they were on our train, the one we had chosen randomly based on the schedule... LOL. So we upgraded to first class and got up the courage to go talk to them for a couple of minutes.
So this era has been a nice surprise...I think the new album is great and I currently have tickets for Blackpool and Wales, hoping that I'll be able to come over once again since Canada/U.S. is still, frustratingly, a question mark (I couldn't make it to NYC so I didn't even try). So besides the great music over the last 20+years, I've also met a bunch of super great people I can share this insanity with.
Thanks for reading!
) in the Point in Dublin. It was an absolute dream come true. Hearing the likes of Bugman, Battle, Chinese Bombs and Song 2 et al as a wide eyed 13 year old boy is something I'll treasure for ever. And I can't think of a better way of celebrating turning 30 this year on September 4th than going to Electric Picnic to see the greatest band in the fucking universe. 
) found out about damon albarn, amazed to find his old band does the woo hoo song, listened to their songs and liked them then loved them after listening to their albums over and over.
