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James was referring to Blur’s 2023 reunion, which included two sold-out Wembley Stadium concerts and the release of their latest album, The Ballad of Darren. Despite initially planning a hiatus at the end of 2023, Blur extended their comeback to headline Coachella 2024 after reportedly making the decision in just five minutes. Their Wembley shows drew 150,000 fans, and was released as an album this summer, proving that Britpop’s legacy remains strong.

Moyles pressed James further, asking whether Blur’s success inspired Liam and Noel Gallagher to reunite. James responded diplomatically, noting the difficulty of maintaining relationships in bands, especially between siblings. “I’m always reading statistics about how many marriages end in divorce… They’re brothers as well. I’m genuinely delighted for them, and I genuinely won’t be going.”  

James’ comments come against the backdrop of Blur and Oasis’ definitive rivalry, which peaked in 1995 when Blur’s ‘Country House’ and Oasis’ ‘Roll With It’ famously went head-to-head for the number-one spot on the UK charts. Oasis mocked Blur’s victory at the time, but decades later, the relationship between the bands appears to have mellowed. Liam Gallagher even tweeted in October 2024, “I love Blur and at some point we need to do an old dears tour.”

I love blur and at sone point we have to do n old dears tours — Liam Gallagher (@liamgallagher) October 4, 2024

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree seems to echo this newfound camaraderie. Speaking after his defeat in the 2024 General Election, where he ran as Labour’s candidate for Mid Sussex, Rowntree said he’d be first in line for Oasis tickets. Guitarist Graham Coxon, in an interview with The Sun, praised the reunion, calling it “good for them and good for fans.”

Damon Albarn, Blur’s frontman, has remained silent on the topic since Oasis announced their tour. However, in summer 2023, he confidently predicted the reunion, saying the path for it was clear. 

Oasis’ reunion, announced in August 2024, has generated massive demand. Tickets for their 14-date tour sold out almost instantly, though controversy erupted over Ticketmaster’s dynamic pricing, with some fans paying as much as £350 per ticket. Labour MP Rupa Huq has brought the issue to Parliament, with the second hearing of a proposed bill addressing ticket pricing set for tomorrow.

Hot off the press!

Due for debate this Friday

A Bill to make provision about transparency of ticket prices for sporting and cultural events; and for connected purposes.https://t.co/AlBGXyl9n2 pic.twitter.com/BRVAULv5fn

— Rupa Huq MP (@RupaHuq) December 4, 2024

Blur and Oasis both capitalised on nostalgia as a driving force behind their comebacks. With streaming revenue dwindling in the music industry, reunions offer bands a lucrative alternative to releasing new music. Reports suggest that the Gallaghers could earn over £50 million each from the tour, which is expected to gross £400 million.

For fans, these reunions offer a chance to relive the 1990s—a golden age defined by the rise of Britpop. As Blur’s Wembley success proved, audiences are still eager to connect with the music that shaped a generation. And with Oasis’ last performance dating back 15 years, the reunion opens the door for a new generation of fans to experience their music live.

While James’ “genuinely won’t be going” remark hints that not all rivalries are fully buried, the Oasis reunion represents a moment of celebration for fans and a symbolic end to one of Britpop’s fiercest feuds.

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The 58-year-old artist has spoken on his new haunting song, “When I was in my early 20s, in Colchester, I would start to see the number 126 everywhere. I lived at a house that was 126, I’d get a bus that was 126. It felt to me that the universe was trying to alert my attention to 126 for some reason, even though the rational part of me knew that that was b*******.”

Rowntree continues to discuss the track’s inspiration, “So, ‘London Bridge’ was one of those. Things just started happening when I was near London Bridge, or going past on the bus, or on the tube going underneath London Bridge. I would just notice events occurring, and it was slightly unsettling. I had to confront my London Bridge demons and that’s what the song is about.”

The artist continued to discuss his new solo career, “I’m really excited to release my first single as a solo artist. It’s from a body of work that I’ve been putting together over the last couple of years, and I’m humbled to be releasing it on the legendary Cooking Vinyl label.”

Fellow Blur bandmember Damon Albarn previously gave an interview which set the rumour mill into motion when he alluded to a possible union. The Britpop icons last toured together in 2015 when they embarked on a concert series in support of The Magic Whip, the band’s comeback album was released in 2015 and was their first release in twelve years. However, the group have reunited prior, in 2019 the “Parklife” band performed live in Albarn’s hometown of Leytonstone.

Within the discussion, Albarn was asked if this was the end of Blur, the singer replied, “Not At All”. The Gorillaz co-founder continued to discuss the band’s future, “I am just about to have a conversation with people about Blur and I would love to sing all those songs again. I miss the songs. I miss playing with Blur.”

Guitarist Graham Coxon has also spoken about a possible reunion, “That’s always been the thing with Blur – they’ll do it when they really need to and not for any other reason. It doesn’t really seem genuine to just get back together and just do gigs for a bit of spondage. We need to have some sort of focus for how we would work.”

“London Bridge” has been released across all major streaming services and serves as the first taste of Rowntree’s upcoming album.  Although the artist’s hotly anticipated album has yet to be given a release date, fans are eager to hear the rest of Rowntree’s solo material.

An array of football anthems found themselves in the Top 100 this week due to the EURO 2020 games, further escalated by the final on Sunday. But amid the anthems, Ed Sheeran’s 2021 single ‘Bad Habits’ has extended its top billing.

This week marks the second week at number one for the ‘Shape of You’ singer, ‘Bad Habits’ was teased on popular app TikTok in late June of this year where the singer debuted the single’s horror-esque look. Within the video, the artist also gave fans a glimpse into the aesthetic of the new single’s video. The single, released on 25th June 2021 through Asylum Records is the lead single off the 30-year-old singer’s upcoming fifth album. The track also marks the artist’s first solo release from a studio album in four years.

The artist took to his Instagram page to post an acoustic version of the hit single.

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The single has racked up an impressive sales count and has outsold its opening week, selling 103,000 chart sales including 10.9 million streams. The release outsold the six football anthems which entered the chart this week. Out of the newly introduced anthems, it is no surprise that ‘3 Lions’ by David Baddiel, The Lightning Seeds and Frank Skinner is the forerunner, climbing 18 spots to reach number 4.  Another popular football song that entered the charts this week, ‘Vindaloo’ by Fat Les came in at number 36, its highest position since 2010. The track was originally released in 1998 and was co-written by Alex James, bassist for Blur. Much like any other anthem, the track had a purpose, it was written and recorded for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. The charts appeared to follow a theme this week as the pub classic ‘Sweet Caroline’ re-entered the charts at number 48, originally released in 1971 by Neil Diamond, the song has been adopted in recent years as an English classic.

Sheeran’s newest single also outsold Olivia Rodrigo’s hugely popular release ‘Good 4 U’ this week, which remains at number 2. Stealing the bronze this week is ‘Heartbreak Anthem’ by Swedish DJ Galantis, David Guetta and Little Mix. The collaboration is Little Mix’s first release since the single ‘Confetti’ on 30th April 2021, the newly made trio took part in this year’s record store day with a release of 2021 album ‘Confetti’ on Vinyl with a new decorated cover. Just below ‘3 Lions’ at number five is ‘I Wanna Be Your Slave’ by Maneskin, the Italian band famously won this year’s Eurovision Song Contest with the song ‘Zitti e Buoni’.

Unlike the 1990s a specific football anthem has not been written for this year’s games, although we have seen plenty of old-school favourites get their second chance in the charts. Perhaps ‘Bad Habits’ by Ed Sheeran is the unofficial anthem for the EURO game. However, this weekend’s game may provide a different answer, depending on the result we may see an anthem at number one next week.

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The music and food festival, sponsored by British food conglomerate M&S, had been postponed due to COVID last year but will return for this year’s August Bank Holiday weekend. The three-day event will now take place on 27th August 2021 until 29th August 2021. The event, which is held at James’ picturesque farm located in the Cotswolds has announced three more acts to join the already impressive line-up. The three new additions, Maisie Peters, Tom Grennan and ‘Murder on the Dancefloor’ singer, Sophie Ellis Bextor, and will be joined by the existing line-up. Acts that are returning this August Bank Holiday include Rag’n’Bone Man, Zara Larsson, Sigala, Ella Eyre, All Saints, Morcheeba, Norman Jay, Reef, The Cuban Brothers, Tom Walker, Max and Harvey and disco legends Nile Rodgers and Chic.

James gave a statement expressing his joy concerning the festival going ahead this year, “I cannot wait to welcome everyone back to the farm this summer for our 10th Birthday party. We’re all in need of a serious celebration this year so we’re pulling out all the stops to ensure this is our best line-up yet. Roll on August!”

Also joining the line-up is the unlikely couple, rapper Professor Green and celebrity chef Gizzi Erskine.Erskine, who came into focus with her appearances on shows such as Cook Yourself Thin, teamed up with Professor Green last year to create their online series ‘Monday Night Fakeaways’. The series became so popular that the two launched a pop-up restaurant in London, and now the duo will bring their show Giz ‘n’ Greens and culinary expertise to this year’s festival. Joining them in the food component of the event includes, Romy Gill, Steven Lamb, James Knappett and Matt Tebbutt, the presenter of the BBC show ‘Saturday Kitchen’.

The first music and food festival which the 52-year-old musician held at his farm was titled ‘Alex James Presents Harvest’ and took place in September 2011. However, the festival was not successful after the promoters, Big Wheel Promotions went bankrupt and left vendors and ticket companies unpaid. In 2012 James, along with friend and famous chef Jamie Oliver, started The Big Feastival and from then on the celebration of food and music has been an event to which many look forward to each year. The festival’s first year included performers such as Paloma Faith, Noisettes and English Indie rockers Razorlight.

Along with the exciting line up of artists and food exhibitions, ticket goers will also get a chance to see James perform in his own band, Alex James Orchestra. With an amazing line up of artists and an impressive array of culinary entertainment, the event has something for everyone and will surely be an amazing experience.

Click here to buy tickets.