Damon Albarn has gone from using heroin at the height of his Britpop pomp to needing an autocue to remind him of his lyrics.
And instead of bottles of beer on stage, the Blur frontman now has water and a pot of Japanese tea on standby.
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Damon was also reflective about his mortality in a new chat – saying hitting 55 in March has left him feeling he is at the “end of the book” in his career and life.
He added about the motivation behind mounting a Blur reunion as the group heads towards 60: “Well, I just feel it sort of makes sense, because we’ve been on this journey together.
(Image: Mairo Cinquetti/SOPA Images/REX/Shutterstock)
“I mean, it’s definitely towards the latter end of the book, isn’t it? In on form of the other, whether it’s the end of the book, but it’s not like the beginning of the book, is it? Let’s face it, none of us are getting younger.”
He added about maturing “hopefully it’s not excessive age – yet”, adding: “I’ve still got a few things to learn, I think, is the most significant thing about time.
“It’s like what is the reward? The reward for everything, surely, is somehow some sort of understanding of existence, if not a definitive explanation of it.
“But just some sort of instinctual kind of understanding of the great mystery… I mean, I’m just trying to be as reasonable to the rest of mankind as I can be.”
Damon added he reckons one of the few upsides of ageing is that his Blur bandmates – Graham Coxon, 54, Alex James, also 54, and 59-year-old Dave Rowntree – have become better at putting up with one another.
He said: “I think everyone’s wiser, more tolerant of each other, you know, generally sort of better people, all of us.
“It’s just inevitable really isn’t it? It’s one of the few benefits of getting older.”
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
But he added it’s more to do with giving up wild living – and replacing it with becoming grumpy old men.
He said: “Having a drink in amongst my drinking friends, is not something that is sort of, you know… we enjoy having a drink together.“Obviously, we don’t drink as much as we used to when we were younger. We don’t do anything as much as we used to when we were younger, except maybe moan about life.
“We do that more. But, yeah, it’s all connected. And that’s why making a record with very old friends is an interesting thing.”
Damon also said he looks back in anger on the phrase Britpop because it reminds him Brexit happened – and says it was a marketing product from “dark forces”.
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Source: Celebrities - dailystar.co.uk
