Blur are set to perform a hometown show at the Colchester Arts Centre as part of a slew of Wembley warm-up shows.
The Britpop legends will play the converted church on May 19, the hometown of frontman Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree.
From there, the ‘Song 2’ rockers will head to Eastbourne Winter Gardens on May 2, The Halls Wolverhampton on May 26, and O2 City Hall Newcastle on May 28, in preparation for their major reunion shows at London’s Wembley Stadium on July 8 and July 9.
The rock band – also including bass player Alex James – are performing together for the first time in seven years.
They will also play Beauregard Festival in Hérouville-Saint-Clair, Normandy on July 6, however, the pair of Wembley shows are their only UK dates of 2023.
Paul Weller is supporting Blur at their second Wembley Stadium show.
The Modfather, 2 tone ska revival band The Selecter and Snooker Champion/DJ Steve Davis will join the reunited legends at the London gig on July 9.
A second date was added at the 90,000-capacity venue after the first night swiftly sold out.
Lead guitarist Graham described playing Wembley for the first time as a dream come true.
He told Sky News: “Turns out it’s incredibly difficult to arrange something like this, you know, the technical resources, the staff, the places to play. All of these things are in very, very short supply.
“So it went right up to the wire, but it’s very hard to turn something like that down.
“We’re a band that’s done almost everything it’s possible to do … what an iconic place, what an iconic venue. It’s just incredibly exciting.”
He added: “It’s one of these iconic places that are secretly up on your bucket list, even though you pretend they’re not.
“I sincerely hope we are a band that can fill a stadium like that. I don’t want there to be four people and a dog.”
Blur haven’t toured together since their run in support of their comeback LP ‘The Magic Whip’ in 2015, though Damon reunited with his three bandmates at his Africa Express show in his hometown of Leytonstone in 2019.
Tickets for the warm-up shows go on general sale at 10am BST on April 28.
There will be a maximum of two tickets available per show for each customer. For more information, sign up to mailing list at www.blur.co.uk.
Blur’s UK warm-up gigs:
19 May – Colchester
21 May – Eastbourne
26 May – Wolverhampton
28 May – Newcastle