UPDATE: Blur replacements have finally been announced – full details here!
Everyone’s got their own ideas about who’s going to replace Big Day Out 2014 drop-outs Blur, but now there’s a way to officially lodge your I-told-you-so’s ahead of time with Sportsbet now offering bets on their “What act will replace Blur?” list. Some of our own suggestions made the list (including our most unlikely proposal) with Wolfmother and Foo Fighters offering the best odds so far.
We don’t know exactly how this list was compiled, but “by popular demand” seems to be the only selection criteria. Wolfmother are sitting at the top of pile with 5/1 odds, inexplicable considering BDO investor AJ Maddah’s comments that “there are few Australian artists left that have the requisite draw to be on top of a festival bills”. We love ’em but they’re not headliner material. The recently reformed Andrew Stockdale-led outfit are followed closely by Dave Grohl and the gang at 7/1.
UPDATE: Blur replacement to be announced this Friday — full details here!
You could do worse than a cheeky flutter on the likes of Soundgarden [Update: Soundgarden have been ruled out by BDO organisers] Massive Attack, The Strokes and Pulp but most of the other options are just silly. Some, like Arctic Monkeys and Lorde (really?!), already have tour dates locked in, so we’re guessing the odds on those will be dropping pretty quickly. Daft Punk, has already been ruled out by BDO CEO Adam Zammit, and would be a hard squeeze into the top end of the BDO lineup anyway.
Outkast are reforming, yes, but they’re supposedly reuniting at Coachella 2014. A Powderfinger reunion is more than likely off the cards thanks to the extra curricular activities of Darren Middleton and Ian Haug, and doesn’t really fill the “added value” criteria organisers have set themselves. And the less said about an ABBA appearance the better, really.
Thankfully Sportsbet, who seem to be the only major bookie in Australia currently taking bets on the Big Day Out fill-in band, didn’t give our suggestion of Tupac‘s hologram a look in. Apparently you can lodge your own requests though, so if you feel like completely wasting your money, go right ahead.
Maddah said yesterday that Blur’s replacement will likely come from the UK or US, and may be announced as soon as this week. Check out Sportsbet’s complete list of options and the latest pay outs below, as well as our own semi-serious list of candidates.
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Music Feeds Gallery: 9 Potential Replacements For Blur’s Big Day Out Spot
Sportsbet – What Act Will Replace Blur?
Applies to the act announced by organisers as the replacement for Blur at BDO14. Bets void should Blur perform or no act be announced. Others on request.
Wolfmother 5.00
Foo Fighters 7.00
Soundgarden 8.00
Silverchair 9.00
Pulp 10.00
Beady Eye 11.00
The Black Keys 12.00
Nick Cave 12.00
Arctic Monkeys 13.00
Massive Attack 13.00
Kings Of Leon 15.00
The Cure 15.00
Powderfinger 17.00
Beck 17.00
Slayer 19.00
Daft Punk 21.00
Bjork 26.00
The Strokes 26.00
David Bowie 34.00
Outkast 41.00
Lorde 51.00
Oasis 101.00
ABBA 501.00
BDO Blur Replacement
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Foofighters
Foo Fighters: Number one on our own list of targets. Fooies just announced their live comeback with some dates in Mexico City -- does that mean they're out of the studio already? They might not satisfy every Blur fan, but you know they're gonna sell tickets. Time for Dave Grohl to live up to that nice guy reputation once again. -
Bowie
David Bowie: He's definitely free, and even though that Primavera appearance chat turned out to be a hoax, he's gotta hit the stage at some point this album cycle, right? Arcade Fire could put a good word in, and if Pearl Jam are OK with sharing the limelight, BDO could pull off the greatest recovery in festival history. Fingers crossed. -
Pulp
Pulp: Here's one for the Britpop fans. They may never have scaled the mountains of success like Blur did, but they certainly share an audience. Cocker and co. haven't been here since 2011 either. Even AJ Maddah thinks it's a good idea! -
Silverchair
Silverchair: They're BDO heroes, they'll cater to the Australia Day crowd in Sydney, and a reformation might even sell a few more tickets too. Sure, Johnsy might be working on his solo album, but he may just be willing to take one for the team, suck it up and blow us all away one more time. -
Wolfmother
Wolfmother: One from the "we've just reformed, we're available, hire me" files. Eh, it's an idea. And if Big Day Out can replace the Black Keys with Paul Dempsey, who's to say they won't have to settle for a less popular replacement for Blur? Speaking of… -
Blackkeys
The Black Keys: Dan Auerbach and Pat Carney pulled out of BDO 2011 due to "exhaustion," so we think it's high time they paid their respects. They may have been here late 2012, but early this year they said "we hope to be back touring our new album by the end of the year." Make it happen. And release the album while you're at it already! -
Bjork
Bjork: Another BDO drop out, with Bjork cancelling her Sydney set in 2008. Could she swoop in, swan-like, and save the day? We reckon the 90s crowd will dig her. -
Tupachologram
Tupac's Hologram: Hey, we said we're not experts. Pac made an appearance at BDO's sister festival Lollapalooza last year. Could Australian audiences handle 80 minutes of the same? There's always the potential for a Snoop cameo too... -
Abba
ABBA: Yes, we realise this is getting ridiculous, but levity is important in times of crisis. There HAS been talk of an ABBA reunion of late, and given the band's everlasting popularity in Australia they could just be the brightest dark horse Big Day Out have. Given Arcade Fire's recently acquired tastes for disco, they'd have a few fans in the wings as well.
