Blur bassist Alex James said he hopes the band will keep going for “a very long time” in a recent interview.
The bassist of the Britpop group, who is releasing the memoir Over The Rainbow: Tales Of An Unexpected Year later this year, has said he is eager to continue collaborating with his bandmates.
When asked about the band’s future, James shared with The Sun newspaper: “Last year was truly magical. I hope we can keep doing it and keeping it special for as long as we live. And I hope that’s a very long time.”
The Britpop band played at this year’s Coachella Festival, during which frontman Damon Albarn said, “this is probably our last gig”.
Last December, frontman Damon Albarn shared that Blur will be going on a hiatus until further notice, saying “it’s too much for me”.
However, James is not the only Blur member to tease that this is not the end for the band. Last month drummer Dave Rowntree hinted there may still be a future for the band, despite them appearing to announce that they had played their last ever show.
In an interview with the Daily Star’s Wired column, Rowntree has offered renewed hope that there may still be more to come from the group.
“There’s still tons of stuff we could do,” he teased. “It’s about finding an offer that’s very hard to say no to.”
“When we first got back together in 2009, we were very happy to be the first people to play what has become the British Summer Time festival at Hyde Park. Then we were asked to headline the party to end the 2012 Olympics, and you can’t say no to that.”
“So there’s absolutely no reason why we couldn’t consider another interesting idea, if we’re all available,” he added. “But there’s absolutely nothing in the diary for Blur at the moment.”
Blur are the stars of two films this year; Blur: Live At Wembley captures the band’s huge reunion shows at the iconic London stadium last summer, while Blur: To The End finds the band reflecting on their legacy ahead of those same shows.
Both were directed by Transgressive Records founder Toby L. Blur: To The End received a five-star review from NME.
Last month NME interviewed Toby L about what he thinks the band’s future holds. He said: “What I love about Blur is that there have been so many times where I thought it was over. I have no idea. At the end of the film, there are allusions as to whether it could continue or not.
“Again, it is ambiguous. That’s what’s great about this film and the live concert movie from Wembley: regardless of what happens, these are wonderful souvenirs that will always exist.
“The band always have life and that impetus in them. I hope there’s more to come, but you’d have to ask the great men themselves.”
