March 2, 2012 11:30

Graham Coxon on Blur's reunion shows: 'We want to take it up a notch from 2009' - video

Guitarist also reveals he's planning an onstage collaboration with The Vaccines

Video: Graham Coxon - 'Blur's Shows Will Be Big'

Graham Coxon has said that Blur are hoping they can take things "up a notch" from their 2009 reunion shows when they reunite this summer.

The band will headline a special one-off show in London's Hyde Park to celebrate the end of the Olympic Games this summer. The band will play the outdoor show on August 12 to coincide with the games' closing ceremony. They will also play festivals in Denmark and Sweden in the days before their Hyde Park show.

Speaking to NME at Wednesday's (February 29) NME Awards in a video interview which you can see by scrolling up to the top of the page and clicking, Coxon said that the band would begin rehearsing for their summer shows soon.

Asked about Blur's summer plans, Coxon said: "We're going to start rehearsing soon and we've been back playing together for a bit. We're going to concentrate on making it a really nice experience in the summer. We're going to try and get it up a notch from 2009, which seems almost impossible to me in a way because the Glastonbury appearance was so phenomenally amazing. We're going to try and go one better."

Coxon had presented The Vaccines with the Best New Band award at the ceremony and revealed that he had been given the opportunity to join the band onstage a number of times last summer, but had been unable to do so. He added that he hoped to perform with them this summer instead.

He said of this: "I've always had the opportunity to do a little bit of guest with them onstage at a couple of festivals last year, but it never worked out. But maybe this year."

To watch the 2012 NME Awards in full, tune in to Channel 4 on Saturday night (March 3) at 11.55pm (GMT). Half an hour of highlights will be shown on T4 at 9.25am (GMT) the same day.

To read all about the awards and all the shenanigans from the night, pick up next week's issue of NME, which is on UK newsstands next Wednesday (March 7) or available digitally.

NME Awards - as it happened

NME Awards in photos

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