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Adam Wright

The genesis of Blur's new album The Magic Whip - impromptu jam sessions in a Hong Kong recording studio - are reflected in lyrics to many of the songs.
From Ong Ong
"I got on a boat on a hot sunny day
To get out of this town
Cause the tarmac was melting and the people seemed to sway
Stuck in the underground
To the isle of the black kites and the wishing tree
I wanna be with you
On the slow boat to Lantau through misty seas
I wanna be with you”
From Thought I was a Spaceman
"By the empty harbour
Where the junk boat phantoms float
The fight for Happy Valley, 
Sadly the line broke."
From There Are Too Many of Us
“There are too many of us
In tiny houses, here and there
All looking through the windows
On everything we share”
From Ghost Ship 
"I remember flashbacks lighting up magic waves
Eight o'clock Kowloon emptiness, handle it."

Ghost Ship (2):
"Till I ever hold you out there again
Will you be mine?
Cause I'm on a ghost ship drowning my heart
in Hong Kong
It's the last ride boarding here tonight
Out in the bay."
From Mirrorball
"Mirrorball on a Jordan train
I was under sea then up for air again
Ocean Park where the seagulls cry
I remember flying dragons too
I was there"
From New World Towers
“Green green the neon green
New world towers
Carved out of grey white skies”
From Lonesome Street
“What do you got?
Mass produced in somewhere hot
You'll have to go on the underground
To get things done here”
From I Broadcast
"I love the aspects of another city
The representatives are alright
In circulation the snake and the tiger
Waking up and shaving in industrial life"


10 lyrics Blur could only have written about Hong Kong

Did Blur band members take a ferry to Lantau back in 2013? Photo: Sam Tsang

Did Blur band members take a ferry to Lantau back in 2013? 

Detail from the cover of The Magic Whip.

Friends reunited: Blur's Hong Kong album shows a band reconciled

From left: drummer Dave Rowntree, bass guitarist Alex James, Graham Coxon and Damon Albarn.

Blur in the 1990s before they split.

Hong Kong's impact on Blur like Berlin's on David Bowie, Damon Albarn says

Blur (from far left): Graham Coxon, Damon Albarn, Alex James and Dave Rowntree. Photos: Linda Brownlee/Warner Music, Corbis

Virtual band Gorillaz 

A scene from the stage show Monkey: Journey to the West, a project of Blur frontman Damon Albarn.

A grab from the video for Go Out, off the new album.

The Hong Kong-flavoured cover of Blur's new album, The Magic Whip.

Blur in the 1990s.

Hong Kong's 'intense environment' shaped new Blur album, The Magic Whip

Graham Coxon, right, pictured with band mates bassist Alex James, left, drummer Dave Rowntree and singer Damon Albarn, said Hong Kong has made its way into Blur's music. Photo: AFP

Graham Coxon, right, pictured with band mates bassist Alex James ,left, drummer Dave Rowntree and singer Damon Albarn, said Hong Kong has made its way into Blur's music. Photo: AFP

The Magic Whip album name was inspired by wrapper of a Chinese-made firework singer Damon Albarn bought

Blur to play Hong Kong concert in July

Japan's loss is Hong Kong's gain. Shows there fell through, allowing the band to stage a concert in the city where they recorded much of their new album. 

The cover of Blur's new album, The Magic Whip.

Blur, White Party, Ice Age Live - tickets on sale

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There are references to places and life in Hong Kong throughout the British band's new album, The Magic Whip.


10 lyrics Blur could only have written about Hong Kong

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}There are references to places and life in Hong Kong throughout the British band's new album, The Magic Whip.

There are references to places and life in Hong Kong throughout the British band's new album, The Magic Whip.