| "Under the Westway" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Blur | ||||
| A-side | "The Puritan" | |||
| Released | 2 July 2012 | |||
| Recorded | March 2012[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:16 | |||
| Label | Parlophone | |||
| Songwriter(s) | Blur | |||
| Producer(s) | Blur | |||
| Blur singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Under the Westway" on YouTube | ||||
"Under the Westway" is a single by English band Blur, released in July 2012. After being played by Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon at Brixton Academy as part of a charity performance for War Child,[2] speculation rose as to "Under the Westway"'s release. On 25 June 2012, it was announced on Blur's Twitter account that the track would be performed live by the band via a live stream and released for download shortly after, with Albarn stating "I wrote these songs for [the upcoming Hyde Park show] and I’m really excited about getting out there and playing them for people."[3][4] The single was released as a download-only release on 2 July 2012, accompanied by "The Puritan", and received a physical release in August. The song also made its radio debut on Steve Lamacq's BBC Radio 6 Music show on the same day. It was the band's first single since 2010's "Fool's Day".[5] An early mix of the song is included on the Blur 21 box set.
The performances of "Under the Westway" and "The Puritan" on 2 July are the first live performances of new material by the whole band since 30 January 1999, when all four members played a fan-club only concert at Finchley Arts Depot, London.[citation needed] That was at the start of the 13 tour, in which all songs from that album bar two were premiered.
"Under the Westway" debuted at number 34 on the UK Singles Chart on download sales alone, and remains their most recent UK Top 40 hit. Discounting limited releases which did not chart, "Under the Westway" was Blur's lowest peak placement since their debut single, "She's So High".[6] The low positioning was likely aided by a lack of significant publicity and corresponding album release.[speculation?] "Under the Westway" also reached number 54 on the Irish Singles Chart and number 120 on the French Charts.
- ^ "Blur Promo Videos".
- ^ "- YouTube". YouTube.
- ^ "Blur to debut two new songs on live Twitter video stream". NME. 25 June 2012. Retrieved 20 September 2012.
- ^ "Blur to play live on Twitter". The Independent. London. 25 June 2012.
- ^ "Forums.blur.co.uk :: View topic - blur21 annoucement [sic] - Discuss here". Archived from the original on 20 April 2013. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
- ^ "Blur | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 20 January 2020.