Drugs go hand in hand with rock music - that’s an immutable fact of life only denied by those on the outside. Sex, drugs, and rock’n'roll fit together like a glove, and any rock musician who doesn’t understand this really has no place referring to him or herself as a rock musician in the first place. Those who do admit it’s the case may be condemned as bad influences but their only real crime is telling the truth.

Noel Gallagher isn’t one of these deniers. In fact, in his usual carefree attitude of saying what he wants and not caring about the consequences, he’s admitted that he and the rest of the Oasis boys were one of the hardest rocking bands of the nineties. Back when Britpop battles between Oasis and Blur were a monthly occurrence, the Gallaghers probably kept the black market economy of London going single-handedly.

Gallagher has never been one to hold his tongue and keep a low profile. In fact, give him a microphone or sit him next to a reporter and you can be almost guaranteed to get a classic and probably controversial statement or two. This trend has continued with an interview Noel recently gave to Italian newspaper Corriere Della Sera.

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Blur announced last year they were getting back together to play as a foursome again after a self-imposed exile from the business as Blur. Then last week saw the band complete their comeback by playing together live for the first time in a decade. What’s left to achieve? Well, apart from the huge arena shows and festival headlining slots, there’s the small question of new material, a question which blights any reformed band.

Graham Coxon has already spoken about the possibility of Blur recording music together again, stating back in April that it will likely happen but it won’t be immediately. Now, other members of the band have backed up Coxon’s remarks but also revealed that the magic is already returning, with rehearsals turning into impromptu jamming sessions.

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Last year saw the famous and long-running Glastonbury Festival take a new direction when Jay-Z was asked to headline. Jay-Z is a blindingly good rapper and awesome live, but he was a controversial choice for an event that is more usually associated with rock and folk performers. Noel Gallagher of Oasis was the biggest (or at least most vocal and well-known) critic of the decision. So what does he think to this year’s line-up?

That’s exactly the question BBC 6 Music asked of the guitarist, songwriter, and mainstay of Oasis. This was kind of a loaded question, not only due to the reaction Gallagher’s comments received last year but also because one of the headliners at Glastonbury 2009 are Blur. I’m sure no one, least of all Noel, has forgotten that the newly-reformed Blur were, at the height of Britpop, Oasis’ arch enemies.

Thankfully, Noel has matured over the years. I know it’s hard to believe with some of the stuff he still comes out with but he has, now giving his opinion without resorting to mud flinging. At least most of the time.

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Blur announced last year that they were reforming as a four piece after Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon finally decided to put the past, and their differences, behind them. They’re now about to embark on a UK arena tour, starting in Manchester on June 26 and continuing at London’s Hyde Park (July 2-3). With those massive gigs, and the prospect of headlining Glastonbury looming, the lads played a warm-up gig tonight (June 13).

This one-off gig was invite-only and purely for friends and family, and, it would seem, at least one NME journalist. It took place at the East Anglian Railway Museum near Colchester, the site of Blur’s first ever gig when they were playing for a birthday party and still known as ‘Seymour’. How times change.

This gig represented the first time Blur had played live together as a four piece in about a decade, so there would have been some excuse for them being rusty. However, by all accounts, they were nothing of the sort, and banged out a two-hour set which included their biggest hits as well as early tracks specially for long-time fans.

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Gorillaz may only be a cartoon band at heart but they were absolutely huge on both sides of the Atlantic and around the world a years ago. Then Damon Albarn and his fellow collaborators decided to call it day and go off and do other stuff.

This means we haven’t had a new Gorillaz album since Demon Days was released way back in 2005. But fans of the animated satirical anti-band won’t have to wait much longer for new material, with the third album due for release in 2010.

The source of this unofficial announcement is Albarn’s manager Chris Morrison, who revealed that his client already has around two album’s worth of material written but is rather busy at the moment with other commitments to fully pledge himself to recording the new album.

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Fans of classic Britpop better look away now. Jarvis Cocker has come out and stated that he will never reform Pulp, despite the fact that other classic groups are reuniting left, right, and center.

Jarvis Cocker has never been one to follow established patterns of behavior or order. And it seems that unwillingness to toe the party line is the main reason behind Cocker’s commitment to not reforming Pulp.

Having formed in 1978 (the year after I was born so a very long time ago), Pulp had numerous changes of style and members in the 14 years it took to find fame and fortune before finally breaking out in 1992 with Do You Remember the First Time?.

The band then formed a key component of the Britpop movement alongside Oasis, Blur, and Suede, amongst others. Their biggest and best album was Different Class in 1995 and the band eventually split in 2002.

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Blur are back. And the majority of us who remember the glory days of the band are pleased as punch they decided to settle their differences and reform as a four piece. But while they have committed to touring again, what are the chances of some new material?

Blur haven’t made a record together since Think Tank in 2003. It was during the recording of this that Graham Coxon was asked to leave the band, and it took five years for Damon Albarn and him to forget the past and look to the future.

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20:02 - Johnny Vegas’ dulcet tones introduce the ceremony and U2 enter stage right to open the show.

20:05 - Kylie Minogue, James Corden, and Matthew Horne, our three presenters for the night, join the fray. The two male comedians are dressed as lady dancers as they all perform one of Kylie’s biggest hits.

20: 09 - Duffy wins ‘British Female Solo Artist’ - the genius that is Simon Pegg announces her as the winner. She accepts the award, with an accent that is a cross between Welsh, English, and American.

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Band reunions are a strange beast: they are a mix of doing it for the fans and doing it for the money, they rarely last very long, and they even more rarely live up to expectations. But despite all of this, millions of people want to see their favorite groups reform.

British groups seem to be making a habit of reforming. Since I’ve been writing Brit Music Scene, we have seen The Verve, Boyzone, Led Zeppelin (for a one off concert), The Police, The Sex Pistols, The Spice Girls, Blur, and Take That all get back together in some form.

Then there are the ongoing rumors surrounding further reunions. The big ones are Led Zeppelin, The Smiths, The Stone Roses, and Robbie Williams rejoining Take That to make it a proper reunion. So no surprise then that those four bands were all included in a recent MTV poll to find out which group most people would like to see back together.

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The story of Decca turning down The Beatles is very well-known but the most famous British group ever were also turned down by HMV and Columbia before finally being signed. Who signed them? Parlophone, a label dedicated to novelty acts. Wow.

While Coldplay aren’t quite as big as The Beatles, they are a very important British band, as are Blur. And it’s now come to light that the two groups are inextricably linked forever by the fact that Blur bassist Alex James turned Coldplay down when he had his own record label.

James revealed the slip-up himself in an interview with The Sun. But he then went further and dismissed Coldplay as a group altogether. He either believes this or he’s saying it now in order to save face for turning down one of the best signings he could ever have made.

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