Newcastle O2 Academy WARMING up for forthcoming shows at Glastonbury and Hyde Park, famous foursome Blur arrived on stage in the usual fashion: Graham Coxon with his signature black-framed spectacles, Damon Albarn sporting a black polo, Alex James in a classic white T and Dave Rowntree behind the drum kit in his element, all accompanied by massive applause.

They dived straight into She’s So High and the crowd instantly flew into a frenzy, singing back every word.

There’s No Other Way gave way to Beetlebum and Girls and Boys and, of course, signature tracks Coffee & TV, Charmless Man and For Tomorrow played a big part in the set.

Usually, these songs would be reserved for the final stretch, but Blur spat them out in the first 20 minutes.

Tender was the signal for a mass sing-along and a sea of hands and voices filled the air.

Following on was popular track Parklife, during which Albarn shouted the lyrics directly into the delighted faces of the front row, before spraying them with water.

Next, the band launched into Song 2 and Albarn asked the crowd: “Do you want something faster?” and they begin to play Country House.

The crowd was soon dancing like crazy, people literally bouncing off the walls.

As he sang the encore, The Universal, Albarn looked on the sold-out crowd and, for a few seconds, you could see tears of happiness in his eyes, as the audience sang lyrics, “It could really really happen”.

At that moment the band really came together and you got the impression that things have never been better in Blur.

The reasons for the band’s reunion are not obvious, but judging by this performance, they’re in it for the love, not the money.

Sophie Stratford