Blur at Wembley Stadium: Songs we hope to hear

Virgin Radio

17 Nov 2022, 10:37

Set a reminder, because tickets to Blur’s hotly-anticipated gig at London’s Wembley Stadium go on general sale tomorrow.

With the general sale opening at 10am on Friday morning (18th November), fans are getting excited about seeing the legendary band play at the iconic venue for the first time ever, on 8th July 2023. 

But what will Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree’s set-list look like? After all, the four-piece have an array of classics from which to choose. 

Here are just a few songs that we hope make the cut. Let's start with an obvious one...

Song 2

If you want to get even more excited about the Wembley gig, just imagine a stadium full of people going bonkers to this short, punchy classic.

It is, appropriately, the second track on the band’s eponymous fifth record from 1997.

“Woo-hoo!” 

Girls and Boys

Another song seemingly built to invoke a massive singalong, this poppy/dancy summer anthem from the Parklife album was apparently inspired by a holiday that frontman Damon Albarn took to Magaluf, Spain. 

It’s almost impossible not to join in with the infectious chorus.

The Universal

Yes, another singalong song, but in more of a ‘sitting on your mate’s shoulders with your arms above your head and a tear in your eye’ than ‘pogoing around the mosh pit’ kind of way. 

Whilst album The Great Escape had plenty of hits on it, including the renowned "Battle of Britpop" song, Country House, The Universal was perhaps the gem in the LP’s crown.

Popscene

This 1992 single didn’t feature on any album, and arrived before the band made their breakthrough into the mainstream, but is nonetheless seen by critics as one of the songs that opened the door to the Britpop era. 

It remains a favourite of Blur fans from the early years.

Beetlebum

Lifted from their self-titled album, the song was inspired by the drug experiences that Albarn had with his then-girlfriend, Justine Frischmann of Elastica.

Despite being a clear step away from the poppier sound of previous record The Great Escape, Beetlebum nonetheless became the band's second number-one single, after Country House.

Coffee and TV

Guitarist Graham Coxon wrote the song and also performs lead vocals. It tells of his struggle with alcoholism. It features the touching lyrics: “Take me away from this big bad world / And agree to marry me”. 

The song featured on the 1999 album, 13.

Parklife

“I get up when I want, except on Friday 18th November when I… try to get tickets to Blur at Wembley Stadium at 10am!”

The title-track from Blur’s third album features the spoken-word vocals of actor Phil Daniels.

Obviously these are just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to songs we’d love to see the band play next summer, and there are loads more crackers that we could have included. Sunday Sunday, Out of Time, No Distance Left To Run, To The End... the list goes on and on.

Roll on next July! 

Tickets go on general sale on Friday 18th November at 10am via Ticketmaster.