More about: Blur

"We never really split up," shrugs Blur drummer Dave Rowntree, leaning in to be heard as the rain smashes down back stage ahead of their massive Hyde Park show. "There was always stuff going on in the background so it would be slightly dramatic to call it a reunion, but yes, when we decided to do some shows again back in 2009, the question was ‘is it going to be the same or the magic going to somehow have evaporated’? It might have done."

But, as anyone who caught them at British Summer Time in Hyde Park this weekend would agree, the magic is very much intact. It's one thing to blow away fans with an epic blast of nostalgia, but with 2015's exquisite The Magic Whip, Blur have found a renewed life and compulsion - living very much in the now. But was 'now' always on the cards? And do they have a future?

"I heard Stuart Copeland from The Police being interviewed on the first day of rehearsals and he said that their magic had evaporated," Rowntree continues. "He said it was like putting a jigsaw back together and finding the pieces had subtly changed and no longer fit. He said that was it for The Police and I thought ‘Christ, what if that’s true of us?’ Luckily it wasn’t.

"From the first day of rehearsals it was obvious that the chemistry was still there. I don’t know why I doubted it, because the chemistry comes from the four of us – it’s nothing else."

One might assume that getting the band together and running through the hits would be a little like riding a bike? Maybe, maybe not - but surely putting those pieces back together to create something entirely new must be quite the struggle?

"No, not really," laughs Dave. "It turns out that it might have been, but no. One of the first things we did when we got back together again was record some new material, we didn’t have to wait until The Magic Whip to find out – it was clear from the first five minutes in the studio. We recorded ‘Under The Westway’, ‘The Puritan’ or that Record Store Day one and everything slotted back into place like the old days – like we’d been on our summer holidays then got back together again."

But with the holidays over and the band seemingly at the peak of their powers, running on full steam with the weight of the world's good will behind them, might this fuel them back to the drawing board and back into the studio sooner than expected?

"Not really, we’re only just starting the touring cycle for this one," admits Dave. "The issue isn’t ‘shall we do material’, it’s ‘why should we do new material – why should we do anything?’ We all do this, but we all do loads of other things."

He continues: "We tend to do whatever seems most interesting at the time, The Magic Whip was interesting because we had a week off and we thought it would be fun to see how much new material we could do in a week. We're not really in a position now where we make plans for an album in 2017 and a tour in 2018. It doesn't work that way any more. If someone has an interesting idea and we're available then we'll do it."

The Magic Whip feels very much like Blur - but not as you know them. This is a highly evolved, matured and more artful Blur. Taking the charm, wit and character that made you fall in love with them in the first place but sending it racing into the 21st Century. They sound so comfortable in their own skin, resting with pride at the pinnacle of being statesman of British music. 

The band are more than aware that they had a legacy so pristine they daren't run the risk of tarnishing it. 

"It was important that it be good," Dave laughs. "We didn't want to put out something that was a shadow of the former records for the sake of putting a record out, which is why we delayed announcing it until we knew it was going to work and be cohesive. We didn't have to put a record out, we had nothing to prove really.

"The Blur legacy is the Blur legacy and if couldn't improve on it, then it didn't matter."

So with new material in doubt, will there even be more shows next year?

"That is a very good question. There's nothing in the diary beyond the end of this year at the moment. That's a discussion we've all got to have amongst ourselves."

Please do - just don't leave it so long this time please. 

This last weekend saw Blur headline British Summer Time in Hyde Park. Check out our full review of the show here. 

More about: Blur