Blur close Glastonbury 2009 in epic fashion

Blur have closed 2009's Glastonbury festival in spectacular fashion tonight (June 28) with a career-spanning set.

Topping the bill on the Pyramid Stage on the final night of this year's event, frontman Damon Albarn greeted the crowd as they kicked the set off with their first single 'She's So High'.

"Wow, there's a lot of people here!" shouted the singer as he surveyed one of the weekend's biggest crowds, before the band powered into 'Girls And Boys'.

"I came here yesterday really early in the morning, it seems like there's a positive atmosphere," Albarn then declared ahead of 'There's No Other Way', before cryptically adding, "That's what I want to say about something else, let's keep it positive!"

With the set following a similar pattern to the band's recent intimate warm-up shows, the band seemed to have no problem with the radical increase in scale. A video of the performance can be watched below.

Blur were joined by extra musicians, including brass and backing singers, at various points throughout the set, with '13' tracks 'Trimm Trabb' and 'Tender' particularly benefiting from the enhanced arrangements.

"I'm enjoying this," declared Albarn midway through the set. "Thank you!"

The feeling was clearly mutual, with the crowd singing along to practically ever song, although Number One single 'Country House' drew especially loud applause from the crowd.

A trio of tracks from second album 'Modern Life Is Rubbish' followed, in the form of 'Oily Water', 'Chemical World' and 'Sunday Sunday', before the band welcomed a special guest to the stage.

Actor Phil Daniels emerged onstage offering Glastonbury "a bit of 'Parklife'".

'End Of A Century' and 'To The End' followed, before the band ended their main set with a stunning version of 'This Is A Low'.

The band briefly left the stage, before returning to kick off their encore with 'Popscene'.

"I'm pleased we decided to do these gigs now," quipped Albarn as Blur launched into a raucous version of the former single.

Keeping the pace up, 'Advert' and 'Song 2' saw the whole field go wild.

Again they left the stage, leaving the crowd to sing the refrain from 'Tender' in their absence, until the band returned, starting their second encore with 'For Tomorrow'

"This is the fourth time we've played here," said Albarn ahead of the song. "It's really, really fantastic!"

The band then rounded off action on the Pyramid Stage with an epic version of 'The Universal' that had the whole field singing along.

"Take care, goodnight," Albarn told the crowd as he and his bandmates left the stage for the final time.

Blur played:

'She's So High'
'Girls And Boys'
'Tracy Jacks'
'There's No Other Way'
'Jubilee'
'Badhead'
'Beetlebum'
'Out Of Time'
'Trimm Trabb'
'Coffee And TV'
'Tender'
'Country House'
'Oily Water'
'Chemical World'
'Sunday Sunday'
'Parklife'
'End Of A Century'
'To The End'
'This Is A Low'
'Popscene'
'Advert'
'Song 2'
'For Tomorrow'
'The Universal'

Blur Video Interview: Watch the band talk about the moment they decided to reform and perform live once again:


Blur Glastonbury 2009 Live Video: Watch the band play live on the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2009, courtesy of the BBC:


Blur Glastonbury 2009 Video Interview, courtesy of the BBC:


NME.COM is coming live from Glastonbury throughout the 2009 festival. Stay tuned for the latest news, pictures, blogs and video interviews.

Head to our NME Festivals section for the latest Glastonbury picture gallery, and check out the NME Festivals Glastonbury blog for dispatches straight from Worthy Farm. For all of our coverage go to the Glastonbury 2009 homepage now.

Plus make sure you get next week's issue of NME, on UK newsstands from July 1, for the ultimate Glastonbury 2009 review.

Blur tickets:

• Nov 11, 2009 19:30 at Rncm (bruntwood Theatre), Manchester - Buy from Seetickets

More Blur tickets