Blur and the secret Colchester gig

Blur were one of the heroes of the Britpop movement in the 1990s. Three of the group, frontman Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree all grew up in Essex.

The band played together in public for the first time at the East Anglian Railway Museum near Colchester, and would also rehearse in a village hall in nearby Aldham. In December 1994, following top ten hits with Parklife and Girls and Boys, Blur would play a secret Essex gig.

Nigel Hildreth taught music at The Stanway School in Colchester where Damon and Graham met.

Picture credit: Koh Hasebe/Shinko Music /Hulton Archive/Getty Images.