Blur’s Alex James: ‘I’m delighted Oasis are back 30 years after Britpop feud’

After over three decades as Blur’s bassist, you’d think Alex James would be enjoying a much slower way of life by now.

But despite having five teenage children, a sprawling 200-acre Oxfordshire farm, and trying his hand at cheesemaking, he’s still a rock star at heart.

The musician-turned-festival promoter, 56, spoke to Metro from his Cotswolds farm ahead of his collective, Alex James’ Britpop Classical, hitting the road for the first time on their UK tour.

But it doesn’t take long for Alex to reflect on the most talked about tour of the year – Oasis’ long-awaited Live ’25 which saw brothers Liam and Noel Gallagher reunite on stage.

While Blur and Oasis were at the forefront of Britpop’s so-called Big Two in the Battle of Britpop in the 1990s, Alex is now happy to see his former rivals reunite.

‘The tour was huge. Isn’t it brilliant? So many artists and bands end up hating each other, or they won’t play their hits anymore. But I’m so delighted they’re back.

‘They’re brothers as well, you know, and Liam’s such a good singer. They’re such good f*****g songs. I didn’t go to the reunion tour, but I remember seeing them in San Francisco in about 1993. We were both on tour in America at the same time so our paths kept crossing.

‘We went to see them and it was it was brilliant. Radiohead are back on the road too and it’s just great to see these bands on stage again.’

Alex reflects on his younger years in Blur with sheer delight, but admits it’s ‘amazing’ how much the music industry has changed since the height of their fame.

‘There’s a real charm and magic about a bunch of lairy, often boozy, snotty kids with guitars, just making a racket and being cheeky and singing from a full heart about what they care about,’ he laughs.

‘Musical instruments were affordable years ago, and even if you weren’t very musical, you could buy a bass for £200 and kind of hack it, which is what I did. Playing the bass is probably the one thing I’ve ever done with any real proficiency in my life. Everything else I’m blagging it a little bit.

‘I’m lucky that I had 15 years to learn a proper craft, because we spent hours every day playing. Making music live in the moment really connects viscerally with a crowd. Nowadays, you don’t really need a bass player or a guitar player, let alone a drummer. You can just ask Chat GPT!’

After a spectacular premiere that closed this summer’s Big Feastival in front of over 20,000 fans, Alex James’ Britpop Classical is now embarking on their first ever UK tour, bringing the biggest hits of the Britpop era to life with the epic scale of a full live orchestra.

‘It’s a rock band, a symphony orchestra, a chorus. Half a dozen singers and very special guests. It’s 90 minutes of tunes going live and going large, as we used to say in the 90s,’ Alex says.

‘It’s bringing life to tunes from what feels like a golden age of British music. It’s incredible how a lot of the bands and songs from that time mean more to people now than they did when they were first released.’

Despite being behind hits like Song 2 and Parklife, Alex revealed playing other group’s songs during rehearsals is what gets him really emotional.

‘We do a quick blast of The Beatles, David Bowie, T. Rex, The Kinks, The Who. By the time we get to the orchestral suite, about two thirds of the way through, we just let the orchestra f*****g let rip on The Verve’s Bitter Sweet Symphony and Creep by Radiohead. I noticed I was crying; it was just so emotive.

‘I thought, if I feel like that, I think it might work. It was absolutely terrifying stepping up there at Feastival and I literally bet the farm on it, but it totally landed. I could see people crying and that was so f*****g great.’

Alex is a man of many talents. Somewhere between Blur, Feastival, and parenting, he’s also found time to become a cheesemaker.

‘I’ve had so many people come to me and say, “cheese, music, isn’t that a bit weird?” But monks sing in the morning and make cheese in the afternoon. I’ve started making booze now as well, another pastime of mine.

‘I’ve realised that festivals were all originally religious festivals. So basically, I’m a monk.’

Alex James’ Britpop Classical’s tour kicks off at London’s Royal Albert Hall on 11 March. For tickets see www.britpopclassical.com. 

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