Coachella 2024: Blur slam festival audience as Damon Albarn tells California crowd 'you'll never see us again anyway'

Blur frontman Damon Albarn was left frustrated at the Coachella crowd over the weekend after being hit with a wall of silence during their set - and later told the US audience that “you’ll never see us again”.

The Britpop icons, who made a comeback in 2023 after an eight-year hiatus, took to the stage in the California desert on Saturday evening (April 13), having previously been announced as the second billed performer on the evening. However, it seemed that the prominence of their slot when over the heads of festivalgoers, who were at one point begged by Albarn to participate in the show.

Firing through a 13-song set which included hits such as ‘Song 2’ and ‘Popscene’, the lead singer became notably frustrated with the crowd when he attempted to lead a call-and-response singalong to the 1994 hit ‘Girls & Boys’, telling the audience “I need your participation, please”, before telling them “you can do it better than that”.

The encouragement was met with nothing however, which led Albarn berating the crowd by saying that the band were unlikely to ever return to the festival. He said: "You’re never seeing us again, so you might as well f****** sing it." The performance, which was livestreamed on the Coachella YouTube channel, was soon shared across social media, as some fans came to the defence of the 90s rockers. One fan said that the “Coachella crowd doesn’t deserve Blur”, while another added that the crowd was “embarrassing”.

While well-regarded by fans, Blur have had limited chart success in the US, with 1997’s ‘Song 2’ becoming their only big hit in the country. The band were unable to crack the US in the 90s, at the height of their fame in the UK. Another commenter remarked on the incident saying: “I can't help but think the crowd at Coachella has no idea who Blur is.”

Coachella’s first weekend saw acts such as Tyler, The Creator, Lana Del Rey and 90s icons No Doubt take to the stage. The festival returns for its second weekend on Friday (April 19).