Blur to release first album together in 16 years

Blur have announced that they will release their first album together in 16 years next month.

The band made the surprise announcement on their Facebook page today. One of the stalwarts of Britpop, they last recorded a studio album in 2003 but that was without guitarist Graham Coxon.

The Magic Whip is the first that the four members have recorded together since 13, released in 1999.

The new release came about as a result of a fortuitous gig cancellation in Hong Kong last year. The band decided to reallocate the days they had set aside for the concert to see if they could create music together again.

Singer Damon Albarn said the process of creating new music was "completely natural".

The full tracklisting is: Lonesome Street, New World Towers, Go Out, Ice Cream Man, Thought I Was a Spaceman, I Broadcast, My Terracotta Heart, There are Too Many of Us, Ghost Ship, Pyongyang, Ong Ong and Mirror Ball.

Blur re-formed for a series of big shows in 2009, headlining Oxegen and Glastonbury. They also played the Royal Hospital in Kilmainham in 2013.

They will headline a show on Saturday 20th June 2015 as part of Barclaycard presents British Summer Time Hyde Park.

News of Blur’s new album and show was announced via Facebook at a press conference in London’s Chinatown, which gave fans across the world the chance to be part of the event via a Q&A session.

See the video for the first track off the album, Go Out, here: http://smarturl.it/61i8sg