Damon Albarn gets Blur back together for London gig

Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn, Dave Rowntree and Alex James (pictured from left to right) – aka the 1990s Brit pop band Blur – are reuniting to play a concert in Hyde Park in London on July 3.

"It just felt it was right again," Albarn told the New Musicial Express. "It somehow feels like there's something for us to do again, we're not completely useless or pointless, we've got a reason to exist."

Formed in 1989, Blur have recorded seven studio albums and had a string of UK top 10 singles, including number one hits with Country House and Beetlebum.

Since then, Albarn, 40, has been best known for his Gorillaz project with cartoonist Jamie Hewlett. The duo recently created a Chinese-themed opera called Monkey. Meanwhile, Coxon, 39, had made a number solo albums, while James, 40, has become a columnist for the Spectator in between making cheese on a farm he owns in Oxfordshire.

Drummer Dave Rowntree, 44, was recently selected by the Labour Party to be its candidate for the Cities of London and Westminster at the next general election.