With his Britpop Classical tour set to kick off tonight (Wednesday March 11), Alex James has spoken to NME about revisiting the music of Blur as well as opening up about his love of The Stone Roses and why Radiohead make him cry.
- READ MORE: Graham Coxon on the return of Blur: “We can’t leave it too long because we’re knocking on!”
The bassist and cheese/wine maestro this month announced big plans to take his orchestral celebration of the ’90s on the road for the first time in 2026, after premiering the show at his Big Feastival event this summer.
Now, with the opening night at London’s Royal Albert Hall, James will be bringing the biggest hits of the Britpop era to life with a full live orchestra, rock band and chorus, along with special guests including ‘Parklife’ icon Phil Daniels, Saffron of Republica and Gary Stringer of Reef – along with more “big surprises”.
“We’ve done one show, which exceeded all expectations,” James told NME, looking back on the Big Feastival debut. “The phone was literally ringing from Live Nation the next day asking if we wanted to take it on the road.
“We’ve got some brilliant special guests and I think it’s going to go next level. I’m really looking forward to a springtime jaunt around the UK.”
Speaking to NME last year, James explained how the show opened with a medley by the artists who predated but shaped Britpop – namely the likes of The Beatles, The Kinks, T-Rex, The Who and David Bowie – before kicking in with the orchestra and a full-bodied version of ‘The Riverboat Song’ by Ocean Colour Scene with frontman Simon Fowler. Then comes the orchestral treatment for the ’90’s biggest indie hits by the likes of Pulp, Elastica, Supergrass, Reef, Nirvana, Radiohead and former rivals Oasis.
“The songs mean more to people now than they did when they came out. They’ve matured like fine wine,” James told NME in a new interview ahead of the shows kicking off. “It’s actually been wonderful studying all these songs. They’re songs that everybody knows but when you dig in, they all have this brilliant simplicity, but there’s a cleverness and craft there.”
- READ MORE: Alex James on covering Oasis and going ‘classical’: “Britpop? It’s anything I fucking say it is!”
He continued: “Singing any of them in the shower would give you goosebumps, even just singing them with an acoustic guitar is probably enough to make you cry, so when you add all the majesty and and might of a symphony orchestra and a chorus of singers and the special guests, it’s overwhelming.”
Asked about his own personal highlight of the set, James replied: “My favourite to play is ‘Ready To Go’ by Republica, and there’s a really good Elastica x EMF mash-up too. We haven’t messed with most of them or tried to reinvent them.
“The moment I knew it was all going to work was the one rehearsal ahead of Feastival. I was cacking it, I really didn’t know if it was going to work or not. We did ‘Creep’ by Radiohead and I noticed I was crying halfway through. It’s so emotive.”
Britpop Classical have performed a handful of Blur classics – including ‘Country House’, ‘Girls & Boys’, ‘Song 2’ and ‘The Universal’ – which James said simply reminded him of “how much I love the boys” in the band. “Those shows we did back in 2023 were definitely the best we’ve ever done,” he continued. “They’re such a part of me and of all of us. I hope I’ve done them justice.”
And will the rest of Blur be coming along to the shows?
“They’re all invited to everything I do. We’re quite good at inviting each other. Dave [Rowntree, drummer] and Graham [Coxon, guitarist] were both at Feastival. I went to see the new Gorillaz show before Christmas, it was great. Come on down, boys! I can’t wait to see you.”
After Coxon told NME back in 2024 last year that Blur best reunite again sooner rather than later as they’ll all be “knocking on” a bit in years before long, James said that the band left things on good terms and that they were in no immediate rush to return.
“It’ll be three years this summer since Wembley,” James told us. “That’s the first time we’ve ever got to the end of a tour or album cycle with at least one of the band going, ‘Fuck this, fuck that, fuck you, fuck off’. It was a good place to leave it.”
Blur’s last shows together were their now infamous Coachella 2024 performances. The first of the two headline shows made headlines when Albarn had a pop at the lacklustre crowd, telling them: “You’re never seeing us again so you might as well fucking sing it”. The frontman went on to call the booking “a slight mismatch” and say that the festival is “the embodiment of social media now”, while Coxon agreed that it was all a bit “weird“.
Now with a new project to tour, would James ever consider rocking up at the desert with Britpop Classical?
“The booker from Coachella loves British rock music,” he replied. “It’s popular all over the world. South America are loving the Britpop, which is what made me think this might actually work. These songs resonate all the world 30 years after they were written, so who knows what’s next?”
So there are no hard feelings towards the festival after last time?
“Coachella is the biggest festival in the world,” James said. “As someone who runs a festival, I was impressed by that. I thought it was great.”
In his post-Britpop years, the now 57-year-old James admitted that most new music failed to touch him in the same way. “It’s the music of your teenage years that really affects you,” he revealed. “You can’t really be impressed by anyone having a hit record after you’ve had a hit record! Anyone who’s had a hit record before you, I find I have a total hero worship for. It’s really weird.”
He admitted that “pop music is really the dreams of youth expressed by the voice of youth” when it’s at its best, and while he listens to a lot more classical and opera now, it’s still his old favourites that he draws from the most – sharing that his favourite album of all time is the “masterpiece” of The Stone Roses’ 1989 self-titled debut.
“They were the ultimate band,” he added. “An amazing drummer singing backing vocals, brilliant grooves, great guitar and a genius savant singer. They opened the door for everything that happened after.”
As well as being announced for Latitude 2026, the full list of ‘Britpop Classical’ tour dates are below. Tickets are on sale now and available here.
Alex James’ ‘Britpop Classical’ 2026 UK tour dates are:
MARCH
11 – Royal Albert Hall, London
12 – Symphony Hall, Birmingham
14 – O2 Apollo, Manchester
15 – Brighton Centre, Brighton
17 – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham
18 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
19 – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow
21 – Sheffield City Hall, Sheffield
JUNE
13 – Guildhall Square, Southampton
18 – Lincoln Castle, Lincoln
28 – Llangollen Pavilion, Llangollen
JULY
17 – Scarborough Open Air Theatre, Scarborough
19 – The Piece Hall, Halifax
24 – Dreamland, Margate
26 – Latitude Festival