Veteran U.K. rock act Blur, currently finishing touch-up work on its seventh studio album, inconspicuously released one of the tracks in the region on a cryptically marked white-label 7-inch vinyl single at some point over the past few months. BBC Radio 1 DJ Steve Lamacq first played the track, “Don’t Bomb When You Are the Bomb,” on the air Nov. 12, saying he bought the disc, marked with Arabic writing but no mention of band or song title, at a London record store.
The song was tipped earlier in the year to be the first single from the new album, which is still untitled. The track’s title is reportedly a reference to the U.S.’ recent aggressive international actions — specifically a bombing campaign in Afghanistan and escalating tensions in Iraq — although the song contains no other lyrics than the repeated title phrase.
According to a post by bassist Alex James on the group’s official Web site, Blur has finished mixing on 17 tracks for the new album. “The song now known as ‘Elton John’s C*ck’ has been formally scrapped,” James quipped. “Song 15 makes hairs stand up.”
The new Blur set will be the follow-up to 1999’s “13,” which debuted at No. 80 on The Billboard 200 and has sold 136,000 copies in the U.S., according to Nielsen SoundScan.
