Plenty of history for Blur in city as they prepare for night at the Halls
Tickets for Blur's grand reopening of Wolverhampton's Civil Hall have been snapped up.
And, as excitement mounts, the concert has brought back plenty of discussion among fans of previous visits of the Britpop giants to the city.
The band will be at The Halls on May 26, which will be the first concert there since the venue's refurbishment – and the first use of the venue since it shut back in December 2015.
Blur have been regular visitors to the city since they formed in Colchester in 1989, playing nine previous shows across a span of 18 years and in a range of different venues.
Wolverhampton Polytechnic, as it was then, was the setting for the first show by Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Dave Rowntree and Alex James in April 1991 as part of the Leisure Tour, the tour to promote the release of the band's debut album, with the biggest hit being There's No Other Way.
As the band became more successful and well-known at the start of the Britpop era, the band played to 483 fans at the Wulfrun Hall in October 1993 for the Modern Life is Rubbish tour, then progressed to the larger Civic Hall in May 1994 for the Parklife Tour.
That show featured the biggest hits from the Parklife album, including the eponymous single, End of a Century and Lot 105, as well as hits like Girls & Boys and This Is a Low, thrilling the more than 2,000 fans in attendance.
It was to be another nine years before the band returned to the Civic Hall for a two-night stint in November 2003, this time without Graham Coxon, who had left the previous year.
The Think Tank World Tour saw the band, with former Verve guitarist Simon Tong filling in for Coxon, play several tracks from the new album, as well as play the big hits such as Beetlebum and Song 2, with This Is a Low closing both shows after encores.
It seemed like that would be the last show Blur would play in Wolverhampton after the band went on hiatus shortly after the Think Tank tour, but after taking time away and a defrosting of tension between Albarn and Coxon, Blur announced a reunion tour in 2009.
That show in June 2009 was a tour-de-force of hits, featuring everything from There's No Other Way to Coffee and TV and Tender, with two encores giving the fans in attendance a night to remember.
The Civic Hall was also the venue for a two-night stint by the band in August 2012 ahead of their Hyde Park shows, with both nights bringing two hours worth of hits.
Finally, the ninth show played in Wolverhampton, played as part of the Magic Whip Tour, saw Blur play the smaller and more intimate surroundings of the Newhampton Centre in June 2015 in aid of the centre.
The set showed the evolution of the band over the past 26 years, with songs such as Country House and There's No Other Way left out in favour of newer songs, although Girls and Boys and This Is a Low were included as part of the encore.
Now, with the 10th show by the band set to hit the Halls and pre-sale tickets already sold out, fans have taken to Facebook to remember past shows and look forward to the show in May. Pre-sale tickets sold out within a few minutes, guaranteeing a sell-out for the re-opening of the Civic.
Tracy Baker said: "The best news! What a band to kick start the new look Civic off."
House Martin said: "Shout out to Nick Moore, former ents manger at Wolves Poly for booking these guys way back when and his contribution to the live music scene both in Wolves and the Great Metropolis."
