Blur: To the End

Review: Blur: To the End (2024)

I wouldn't call myself a massive Blur fan,just as I was never particularly into Oasis, but growing up in the UK in the '90s, the whole Britpop rivalry was impossible to avoid. Whether you liked it or not, you ended up taking sides. So watching 'Blur: To the End' was like dipping back into that familiar cultural moment, but with the benefit of time and hindsight.

The documentary was actually quite interesting. It gave a surprisingly intimate look at the band as they are now- older, greyer, a little more reflective (at least some of them). It was striking to see how they'd all aged, not just physically but emotionally too. Each member clearly has their own quirks, and while it felt like half the band had mellowed into sobriety, the other half still seemed to enjoy a drink or two. That contrast gave the film a kind of odd charm- like watching old schoolmates reunite for a creative project that still means something to them.

One thing that really surprised me was how many 'young' fans they have. You see it in the live footage- crowds full of people who weren't even born during Blur's heyday, singing every word. I genuinely found myself wondering how they even know who Blur are! It was quite touching in a way, to see that the music has travelled across generations.

It's not trying to mythologise the band or retell the Britpop glory days- it's more about now: who they are, what holds them together, and why they keep doing this. Even as a casual viewer, I found it entertaining, thoughtful in places, and at times even quite funny. Worth a watch, even if your Blur years were mostly spent on the sidelines.

Chronicling the experience of the Britpop legends emergence together after nearly a decade since recording their most recent studio album, "Blur: To the End" is a revealing glimpse at aging, human interaction and great music. Converging at lead singer Damon Albarn's rural domicile away from the limelight the band record their comeback album "The Ballad of Darren" and the film follows the lads with the English countryside and coasts as picturesque backdrops as they trek across Britain and Spain to tour in support of the new album. Interviews with the group and classic footage and images of them from their teens and younger peak years as a band during the 1990s add a touch of the legend. Laughs, insights, tempers, broken bones and rocking performances constitute the human drama as the tour culminates in a solid performance at Wembley Stadium in London where the band rock out for the first time and cap a deep and moving experience with a triumphant bow.

Proof that Rock 'n' Roll and it's attendant lifestyle are for the young after seeing what those can do here with what once were four trim, young handsome men transform into weary, miserable, craggy-faced old men with rotund bellies and protruding chests prove that one should know when to make a grand exit. But no matter. After viewing these four amiable and easy-going gentlemen and the stories and lessons they share on living a rollercoaster life topped by outstanding artistry one can see why these rockumentaries are made. A simple and direct tribute to a great band this is for fans and for us '90s kids who carry our great time within us like a weapon and a soul.

For a few years during the 1990s, British band Blur was defining the new cool for Britons and Anglophiles, as the middle-class, middle-brow alternative to Oasis' in-your-face working-class ethos, in what became known as 'The Battle of Britpop', arguably to the ultimate detriment of both bands. This new documentary about the band is unruly, repetitive, and often unappealing, but it's also contemplative, beautiful, and ultimately triumphant. The sort of music documentary made for all the right reasons and willing to get stuck in without resorting to pure adulation. The band members and the music scene they once were a part of (and to a certain degree still are), come across as something of a curiosity in today's world, making those of us who were there to witness and experience it realise that pop music, such as it once was, arguably isn't at all pop anymore. Like Blur themselves, the scene they belonged to and largely defined, just appears to be holding on to the end.

You'd think there's not too much to write about To The End. It's a documentary about Blur, with Blur. The band, Blur. If you're not a Blur fan, you're probably not watching this. It follows the band recording and releasing their 2023 album The Ballad of Darren, rehearsing and the celebratory gigs that culminate at Wembley. Shot over the course of a year it's intimate and honest. Well paced and in depth, with plenty of time with Damon, Alex, Graham and Dave. Filmed in part in a very big house in the remote coastal countryside, it has a bohemian air. This is latter-day Blur, gone are the young cheeky lads. There's a weight of expectation now. Especially now in that they're leading up to the biggest gigs of their career, all whilst being less active than ever before. As Dave says "The less we do, the bigger we get". They are genuinely interesting people to watch. There's a clear bond, but they are all very different and have had different lives outside the band. It's a lot of people sitting around, smoking in scruffy clothes that probably cost a fortune in barn-like rooms which certainly do cost a fortune. "I live alone in the countryside and this record feels very much like that" states Damon and Graham echos "A boulder had fallen out and there's 40 years worth of stuff in this boulder that's been dislodged". It's raw and emotional, particularly from Damon who's clearly the driving force. He famously doesn't switch off and this does seem to add some friction to the band dynamic. It works though doesn't it, the songs are wonderful. Speaking of wonderful, Graham is wonderfully dour, moaning about the environment of practice spaces and being "blinded by stupid lights". Alex is dramatic and Dave, well Dave is the sensible one as ever. He's the one you can understand, relate to. It's oddly shambolic, but there's tons of depth. They're not afraid to show the process and delve into the past. There's no Britpop focus, what's the point that's story has been told. There is plenty of the origin story told around the rehearsals and the warm up gigs. In Colchester we get 'Popscene' and Eastbourne is treated 'Parklife', it effortlessly makes me want to see them live again. This is much more than the music though. Blur are a band that despite their success have always been oddly undersold as genuine artists. This documentary shows them in their best light, warts and all. Still pushing creatively, emotionally, to the end.

I am not a massive Blur fan. I don't own any of their CDs, however as someone who was around in the 90's, like Oasis, Blur were part of everyone in the UK's psyche. It was impossible to not hear their music on Top Of The Pops, radio or even nightclubs and pubs if you were socialising at this time. They were not as popular as the more working class Oasis. However Blur did have their fans, which seemed to be mainly female and/or students. They were hyped as being more cerebral than Oasis. But were mocked by their rivals as playing "Cockney Chimney Sweep Music" by one Liam Gallagher.

This is an odd documentary as it finds the band prepping for their Wembley gig. While they apparently haven't been in touch, that is almost irrelevant as they are still pretty much well known to the UK press. One for cheese and the others for playing music. However this is more intimate camera work and that is the rub of this doc. Because Blur have almost a bad reputation for not being that pleasant. There have been numerous stories about their behaviour and theres the infamous Naurduar interview. This documentary doesn't exactly negate that image. They come across as a but whiny and irritable, unlikable almost. They don't even seem to like each other. The Wembley gig seems like a cash grab and they are simply enduring each other for the payday. So not a million miles from Oasis. However it is still good to see they are still functioning as a band. And some of the convert footage is good. But the much covered incident of Damon breaking down crying on stage isn't in this doc. An obvious omission. I've no idea whats next for Blur but what I do know is a UK tour wasnt on the cards. Like I said, they weren't as popular as Oasis.