Blur bassist Alex James has revealed he was “delighted” by reports that Liam Gallagher might become his neighbour.
James — who lives in Chipping Norton as a cheese farmer — made the comments during a recent interview with Radio X‘s Johnny Vaughan, saying he was “delighted to hear” that Gallagher had been looking at a nearby £3.5million property in the Cotswolds, Oxfordshire.
“I hope he does take the plunge, but farms are the nearest thing there is to a natural habitat for the rock gentlemen,” he said of his former musical rival. “I don’t think anyone ever bought a farm and said ‘oh no’.”
Speaking about his own lifestyle on the farm, James added: “It’s just a walking, living, breathing cliché I’m afraid.”
Earlier this week, Blur announced they’ll be performing a reunion show at Wembley Stadium next year, marking their first headline show since 2015. It was announced as a one-off performance for July 8, 2023, but the band have also added a second date (July 9), due to high demand.
They’ll be joined by Slowthai, Self Esteem and Jockstrap for the first show, but it’s not yet confirmed if they’ll also be supports for the second.
Blur’s setlist will comprise their greatest hits, with frontman Damon Albarn saying: “We really love playing these songs and thought it’s about time we did it again.” Find tickets here.
It comes after NME sat down with Albarn earlier in the year, who at the time said the band had been in talks about the idea of a reunion show.
“Well, we did have a chat recently, but we haven’t really progressed further than that,” he said back in June. “We did have an idea though; I’ve just been a bit busy at the moment obviously. When it happens, I’ll be made up.”