Blur Adds More Summer U.K. Shows

Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and the rest of the band will get a chance to play “Parklife” and “Girls & Boys” for U.K. fans a few more times before Blur’s big show in London in August.

An announcement on Blur’s website refers to the four new gigs as “warm up dates” for the Britpop band’s Aug. 12 performance at London’s 60,585-capacity Hyde Park. The concert, which also features The Specials and New Order, coincides with the end of the 2012 London Olympics. Giant screens at the concert will broadcast the Olympic closing ceremony.

Photo: AP Photo

Brit Awards, The O2, London, UK

In February Blur took the stage at the Brit Awards, marking the band’s first performance since July 2009. The next opportunity to see the band is Aug. 1 in Margate, United Kingdom, at the Winter Gardens.

The other three U.K. dates are booked Aug. 5-6 at the Wolverhampton Civic Hall and Aug. 7 in Plymouth at the Plymouth Pavilions.

Blur will also play Smukfest in Skanderborg, Denmark, Aug. 9 and Way Out West Festival in Goteborg, Sweden, Aug. 10.

Pre-sale tickets for the warm up dates will be available May 16 to fans registered at Blur’s website. The general onsale is May 18.

For more information visit Blur.Co.Uk