Alex James says Blur will allow Oasis “to get their stuff out of the way” before they reunite again.
With rumours swirling that Oasis are planning more shows in 2027 after their epic Oasis Live ’25 tour, the bassist insists Blur don’t want to risk reigniting their ’90s Britpop rivalry by hitting the road at the same time as the Gallaghers.
He told Chris Moyles on Radio X of the chances of more Blur gigs after their 2023 reunion: “I think we need to let Oasis get their stuff out of the way before we even sort of countenance.”
The DJ quipped that Blur should have headlined Knebworth, where Oasis hosted two landmark concerts in 1996, performing to 250,000 people across two nights, to mark the 30th anniversary.
Alex replied: “No, no. Honestly, honestly, I don’t want to poke that hornet’s nest again, trust me!”
The Big Feastival founder recently attended Blur frontman Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz concert at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and compared it to seeing an ex.
He said: “[Gorillaz] Absolutely smashed it.
“Going to see Gorillaz, it’s like – have you seen La La Land? You know, the bit at the end of La La Land where the girl goes to see Ryan Gosling. Emma Stone goes to see Ryan Gosling, and they’re both kind of living their dream, but they’re not together anymore.”
Alex’s latest project is his hugely popular Britpop Classical tour.
The 57-year-old musician debuted the four-hour long orchestral celebration of Britpop at his Big Feastival, held at his farm in Oxfordshire in 2025, and this month he took it on the road.
Speaking to In-Common, Alex said of the reaction to the tunes: “We did it at Feastival and oh my goodness! It was incredible.
“Thank goodness because I’d bet the farm on it, but it really, really landed and it was great fun so I thought why not trot it out on tour?
“We did a bunch of concert halls and symphony halls back in spring but this is the start of the summer run after Farmfest. I’m just absolutely loving it, it’s brilliant.”
Alex went on to say that the songs included in the setlist “seem to mean more to more people now than they did”.
He added: “There are not as many new bands breaking through now as they were, but music still seems to be as central in everyone’s life as it always has.
“When Blur got back together in 2023 I was staggered by how much my kids’ mates were into it and how many of them bought tickets to come and see us.
“It was the same with the Oasis show, it was a different generation but there were people coming with their parents and these songs just become part of the national consciousness.”