It started with a gentle “I need your participation, please,” as Blur frontman Damon Albarn looked for an audience to sing along to during a performance at Coachella.
But like the British rock band were consistently met with near-silence, an increasingly frustrated Albarn finally remarked, “You’ll never see us again.”
The English group have released nine albums since their formation in 1988, seven of which reached number one in the charts, including their latest record, The Ballad of Darren, produced after an eight-year hiatus.
But some of their successes do not seem to have resonated with the public of the famous Coachella festival, held at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, Californiaduring the weekend.
During their Saturday slot, the group, part of a star-studded line-up, performed a host of their hits including Song 2, Beetlebum and Tender.
As the band belted out the chords to their 1994 hit Girls & Boys, singer Albarn, 56, tried to encourage the crowd to sing along with the chorus, saying: “I need your participation, please please.”
In videos shared on social media, he is seen attempting to engage viewers repeatedly, telling them “you can do better than this”, but his efforts continued to receive a lackluster response from the American public .
The musician seemed increasingly frustrated until he told the audience, “You’ll never see us again, so you might as well
well, damn it, sing it. “
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Dressed in a white suit and black T-shirt teamed with a pair of black sunglasses, Albarn led the band, which also includes guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer. Dave Rowntree.
Get confused have released nine albums in total, including Parklife in 1994, The Great Escape in 1995, Blur in 1997, 13 in 1999, Think Tank in 2003 and The Magic Whip in 2015 – all of which reached number one on the charts.
The group helped pioneer the Britpop genre, competing fiercely with rival group Oasis in the charts over the years.
They took a break after their Magic Whip tour in 2015, but returned last year with their first record in eight years, titled The Ballad Of Darren, which went to number one.
Singer-songwriter Striped and dance group Jungle were also among the British acts who took to the Coachella stage this weekend.
London-born Raye revealed her next musical project during her set, the follow-up to her award-winning debut album My 21st Century Blues.
Last month she overtook Blur, Harry Styles And Adele by winning the most Brit Awards in a year at the 2024 ceremony.