“Playing bass in a rock band is the easiest thing, compared to parenting”: Blur’s Alex James
“I think 16th birthdays are the worst of them all, all the years of rock ‘n’ roll, nothing can hold a candle to those parties…”
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Blur bassist Alex James has said that returning to the stage with the band has been relatively relaxing, compared to parenting.
Blur have recently performed at a number of shows across the UK and Europe, including two colossal dates at Wembley Stadium in London. The band also released their ninth studio album, The Ballad Of Darren, just last Friday (21 July).
In a new interview on the Parenting Hell podcast, James addressed on one of his previous quotes, where he claimed to have once spent “a million pounds on drugs and booze” while in the band, before going on to become a cheesemaker on his Cotswolds farm.
“I kind of made it up and everyone believed it. But that is coming back to haunt me now,” he states (via NME).
“Playing the bass in a rock band is the easiest thing, compared to parenting. It actually is relaxing going back into that Blur bubble,” he goes on to add.
James later explained how his children’s parties sometimes feel even more rock ‘n’ roll than his career history: “I think 16th birthdays are the worst of them all, all the years of rock ‘n’ roll, nothing can hold a candle to those parties when you’re like 16… rock ‘n’ roll had nothing on that actually.”
Listen to the episode below:
Following Blur’s reunion for this new era, frontman Damon Albarn predicted that their Britpop rivals Oasis are also due to reconvene at any moment soon: “I can guarantee they’re going to reform. In fact, I’ve put money on it. They’re brothers and it would be wonderful to see them reconcile,” he told The Sun.
But recent animosity between the Gallagher brothers suggests any such reunion is further off that Albarn thinks. In a recent interview, Noel claimed that Liam has been “going on” at him about an Oasis reunion, but isn’t showing much willingness to act in reality.
“I fucking dare you to call me,” challenged Noel, pointing directly into the camera. “I dare you to call me. And you won’t call me because if you do call me and I go, ‘Actually, that’s a good idea. Actually, that might work,’ then the arse falls out of his trousers because then, then you’ve got to be in the same room as me and then we both know how that ends up.”
Check out their upcoming live dates on the Blur website.