[The Guardian] Damon Albarn in a facemask: Kevin Cummins' best photograph

Damon Albarn in a facemask: Kevin Cummins' best photograph

‘He wanted to get on a train in Tokyo to see what they were like. He put on a facemask and did a shiver as a joke. Because of Covid-19, it now seems really prescient’

Blur toured Japan in 1992 and I went with them for NME. It was the first time we’d seen Japanese kids wearing facemasks. Damon was intrigued, so he bought one. Normally when you’re away with a band, you don’t get time to see anything of the cities you’re in – and a lot of bands aren’t that interested anyway. But Blur were keen to explore Tokyo. Damon wanted to get on a train and see what that was like. He looks like he’s shivering but I think it was a joke to fit with the face covering. Back then, it was really unusual to see a westerner wearing a mask. Because of Covid-19, the image seems really prescient now.

NME got a lot of letters about the shot. People didn’t understand what was going on. How dare someone show vulnerability? I thought it would make a really good cover, but NME always wanted the cover star to be instantly recognisable and make eye contact, so they ran it inside.

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Source: Damon Albarn in a facemask: Kevin Cummins' best photograph

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