Blur frontman Damon Albarn has confirmed that the group will play a series of intimate warm up shows before their concert in London's Hyde Park next July.

"We have to play quite a few warm ups. I think we'll start really small and slowly... round the country," Albarn told the BBC.

He said it would be “a bit foolhardy” to just walk on stage at Hyde Park after a ten year hiatus.

As previously reported, the band's original line up announced yesterday (December 9th) that they were to reunite.

The group, who last performed together at the Royal Festival Hall in 2000, are rumoured to be headlining Glastonbury next June.

Albarn said he found thinking about next year's gig in Hyde Park “terrifying because we haven't even thought - any of us - on that scale for a long time."

(by Jason Gregory)