Who Won’t Be Replacing Blur At Big Day Out 2014

The Australian music scene awoke from blissful slumber on Sunday to find the rudest of surprises: UK indie legends Blur had cancelled their appearance at Big Day Out 2014. Now organisers are hunting for a “replacement or replacements” and we think we know who it might not be.

Speaking to Raf Epstein on 774 ABC radio earlier this week, Big Day Out promoter AJ Maddah said organisers are “hoping to announce our replacements this week, replacement or replacements, and at that point if anyone’s not satisfied they will be able to get an immediate refund.”

Speaking to Fairfax, Maddah revealed that the search for a replacement band is centred on US and the UK. According to the mogul, “there are few Australian artists left that have the requisite draw to be on top of a festival bills” and having an already rostered act step up to the plate is “not an option.”

Fans saddled up on Maddah’s back quickly, pouncing on who the replacement for the Britpop stars, or as some Australians have now taken to calling them “the poor man’s Oasis,” might be. Maddah told the first, “We’ve only know for 12 hrs on a Sunday! Give me a couple of days at least!”

When asked if the replacement would be one act or multiple, Maddah reiterated what he’d previously told 774 ABC radio and Fairfax, saying, “Will depend on who is available and interested. No matter what, we will try and improve the value of the ticket.”

Gallery: 37 Bands Who WON’T Be Replacing Blur At BDO

Aussie rockers Wolfmother took to Facebook to throw their respective hat into the BDO ring, with Andrew Stockdale telling followers “We hear there’s a slot available at BDO. Ah, how can I say this? On behalf of the band and myself, may I say we’re keen!”

“What about for a replacement for [Blur] for [Big Day Out], a (sic) Aus Rock Supergroup to celebrate the dark side of moon 40th,” asked one fan of Maddah via Twitter. A novel idea it was, to which Maddah replied, “I love the idea, but wouldn’t replace Blur. Would be a very cool jam.”

The Strokes are a no-go, with the band seemingly on hiatus since the release of their album Comedown Machine, with some bandmembers saying they’re writing a new LP and others denying it. “We called them anyways just to check…Would have been sweet,” said Maddah.

Maddah told one fan that organisers “have some promising talks taking place,” none of them though with the management of indie pop icons Weezer, with Maddah sealing their fate as BDO 2014 co-headliners by answering one fan’s speculation with a “Not at all.”

Meanwhile, trip-hop legends Massive Attack are “Possible but not probable”, and sports betting agent Sportsbet have started taking odds on possible Blur replacements, with Foo Fighters, Silverchair and Pulp the safest bets, and Bjork, David Bowie, Outkast, Lorde, Oasis, and ABBA, the riskiest.

UPDATE: According to AJ Maddah, the chance of seeing Foo Fighters on the Big Day Out 2014 bill are “zero.” Maddah said that organisers “wouldn’t insult them by even suggesting they play 3rd on the bill,” and it’s tough to argue with that.

Of course this means that UK legends The Cure are also out of the running, with Maddah confirming such on Twitter, telling a fan, “You can’t compare a multi arana/stadium (sic) artist like The Cure with a Hordern/Fest Hall size act like Blur!”

Meanwhile, Atlanta hip-hop legends Outkast are also a no-go, with Maddah telling one Twitter follower that Big Boi and Andre 3000 are “Still 6 months away from being ready to tour.”

UPDATE #2: Maddah has put a couple more rumours to rest. Not that there was much chance of it ever happening, but Sleater-Kinney have been ruled out entirely despite some outlets speculating the band may come to Australia after joining Pearl Jam on stage recently.

Meanwhile, Harvest refugees Eels will also be a no-show at BDO, with Maddah confirming the band will be touring in June 2014.

UPDATE #3: And the big knock-outs keeps coming. Smashing Pumpkins are out, with Maddah claiming they were approached but were unavailable as they will be taking a break in the first half of next year.

It looks like Dave Navarro was telling the truth, with Jane’s Addiction the next big US act to be ruled out. Again, it looks like they were approached. “We were very close at one point,” says Maddah.

One of our big hopes, The Black Keys, are also ruled out. According to AJ, The Stone Roses‘ tour earlier this year puts them out of contention for a spot on the BDO lineup. Despite having a new album on the way, Kaiser Chiefs won’t be making an appearance, Atoms For Peace are “not available” and the Dropkick Murphys won’t get a look-in either.

As FasterLouder point out, Pixies, Jay Z, Volcano Choir, Flaming Lips, The Bronx, My Morning Jacket and Mogwai all have international tour commitments while Arctic Monkeys, The Rolling Stones, Bruce Springsteen, Nine Inch Nails, Queens Of The Stone Age, Vampire Weekend, The National, Phoenix and Paramore have headline Australian tours booked for this year.

And, just for funsies, AJ says you can forget about Good Charlotte and Jamiroquai as well (if you hadn’t already, that is).

UPDATE #4: We may be just over 6 hours out from the official announcement, but we’re still getting updates from AJ. The latest names to be removed from contention are a couple of big ones, and a couple that many thought had a good chance of being on the new bill.

Massive Attack will now “tour after their new album”, says AJ. When that will be exactly is still anybody’s guess at this stage. And Pulp, Blur’s Britpop brothers in arms, have also been nixed, as “they are not currently active”. That doesn’t mean we can’t dream for a bit of Jarvis Cocker solo love though.

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