Graham Coxon addresses "grumpy" crowd at Blur's Coachella set

23 July 2024, 10:28

The Blur guitarist discussed how he deals with less receptive crowds on stage and referred to their Coachella show earlier this year.

Blur's Graham Coxon has talked about Blur's 2024 Coachella set and how he coped with the "bored" crowd.

The Britpop legends performed at the festival - which takes place at Indio, California - on Sunday 14th April and footage of Damon Albarn trying to encourage the lacklustre crowd went viral, leaving music-lovers divided over the audience's response.

Now, speaking to GQ about live performances,Coxon has touched upon the gig, in which he suggested people didn't "give a s***".

"I like making albums," he told the outlet. "I’m perfectly happy on stage, but sometimes, like at Coachella or something, it’s taken you 14 hours to get there, and then you’re playing to people who don’t give a s***. They’re looking at you like ‘who’s this old git?’"

The Coffee & TV guitarist went on: "I love an audience that are smiling their heads off and having a great time, because you’re doing it for them. And if I see audiences of people that are bored, like maybe Coachella, I just do it for myself."

The 55-year-old rocker added: "I just enjoy what I’m doing. I smile at the grumpy faces a couple of times just to see if I can change their expression, then I just get on with what I wanna do. Pull faces at Dave. Laugh at Damon when he’s getting things wrong or whatever, just have a laugh. What else can you do? You’ve gone all that way, there’s no point in having a miserable time."

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Coxon also spoke to Radio X at the premiere for Blur's To The End doc, where he hinted the film has its fair share of uncomfortable moments.

Named after their 1994 single, the Toby L-directed documentary charts the Britpop band's most recent reunion, the making of their first album in eight years, The Ballad of Darren and their two huge shows at Wembley Stadium.

Asked how it felt to let the fans peek behind the curtain, he replied: "It’s fine, I’ve never had a problem with that. I think it covers all emotions."

"I think there’s some nice paddies being thrown," he added. "I think there’s some sentimental moments. I think it has something from all the emotional food groups."

Watch the trailer for Blur's To The End documentary here:

Blur – To The End documentary trailer

Asked about working with the director Toby L., who's been involved in various music films, including Liam Gallagher: Kneboworth 22, the rocker said: "We just trusted him, because we like him and he’s got the most... He’s so committed to music generally and he’s so enthusiastic that we just trusted him to the most extent. And some of the interviews and the questions weren’t exactly easy and a bit squirmy, but I think that’s a good thing."

"He’s a good bloke," he added. "We know he’d do a good job.”

• What inspired Graham Coxon to write Blur’s Coffee & TV?
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Blur: To The End is out in cinemas across the UK and Ireland now.

A separate film, Live At Wembley, which showcases Blur's duo of dates at England's football ground, is also due from the same team (directed by Toby L and produced by Josh Connolly) via UK production company Up The Game.

Blur announce Live at Wembley album and concert film

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Danny Dyer joins Robbie Williams on cover of Blur's Parklife