Entertainment
Blur frontman Damon Albarn ‘devastated’ by the death of his architect father, 85
Blur frontman Damon Albarn with his father Keith, an artist and architect.
August 13, 2024, published at 8:25 am ET
Blur frontman Damon Albarn He is said to be “devastated” by the death of his father.
RadarOnline.com can reveal that the rocker’s father, Keith Albarn, has died aged 85.
The architect’s death was confirmed in an obituary in The Times newspaper, which read: “Keith Albarn obituary: Artist, architect and father of Damon. Creator of sensory space playgrounds in urban areas and an influential teacher.”
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Damon Albarn beams with his family at one of his father Keith’s art exhibitions.
A source said: “Damon’s dad was a huge inspiration to him – both personally and creatively.
“His sensory work inspired Damon’s shows and he adored him as a stable, honest father figure – always talking about how he made him the best father he could be.”
Albarn is father to daughter Missy, 24, and said that in 2013, after giving up his drinking and drug lifestyle, he now “felt more like my dad than ever before.”
He said he got a kick out of looking after his family and doing boring household chores – and added in a chat with Esquire magazine about his new life when asked if he had told his father he felt had that he had turned into him: “He already knows.”
Keith Albarn studied architecture at the Nottingham School of Art, where he met fellow student Hazel Dring, whom he married in 1963 in Legsby, Lincolnshire.
They had two children: Britpop icon Damon and artist daughter Jessica, 53.
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Damon has said he became just like his trustworthy father after quitting booze and drugs.
From 1977 to 1981 he was course leader in visual arts at North East London Polytechnic, and from 1981 to 1997 he was head of Colchester School of Art.
In addition to designing modular structures, Keith was known for his work in TV arts programming.
He also organized exhibitions of his art based on Islamic patterns.
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The Albarns lived in Colchester, northeast England, where Damon landed his first recording contract.
His father and mother later moved to London, but retained a place in the West Country.
Albarn Sr’s death comes months after Blur wrapped up their Coachella reunion shows in April.
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Blur recently hit the road again with a reunion show at Coachella in April.
The Park life band releases a live album of their two performances Wembley Stadium last summer and drummer Dave Rowntree, 60, said the temptation to do more projects is always there.
He said: “There are still lots of things we can do. It’s about finding an offer that’s hard to say no to.
“When we first got back together in 2009, we were thrilled to be the first people to play what has become the British Summer Time festival in Hyde Park.
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“Then we were asked to headline the party to end the 2012 Olympics, and you can’t say no to that.”
Dave added that he and Blur – whose line-up also includes guitarist Graham Coxon and bassist Alex James – had a great tour last year to celebrate their Darren’s Ballad album.
He continued: “We all came away still friends because we had a lot of fun doing the shows.
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Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has said that the temptation to let the band tour is always there.
“So there is absolutely no reason why we couldn’t consider another interesting idea, if we are all available.
“But there is absolutely nothing in the diary for Blur at the moment.”
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