Blur, artist, and swimmer explain ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ artwork

nme.com:

Blur have shed insight into the cover for their latest album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’, as has the artist and the swimmer captured in the image.The Britpop legends shared the update on their social media pages yesterday (August 21), celebrating one month since their ninth studio album was released.With the Instagram post, the band’s frontman, Damon Albarn, and drummer Dave Rowntree both shared their interpretation behind the cover, and revealed how it has a connection to one of their 1995 live performances.The post began with a brief clip of someone holding the album out, before dropping it down to reveal that they are standing in the same spot where the now-famous image was taken – the Gourock Outdoor Pool in Glasgow.“The image selected for the album’s artwork is one shot by British photographer Martin Parr of a lone swimmer on a stormy day at the Gourock Lido, Scotland, captured in 2004,” the second slide reads, also incorporating a quote from the artist himself.“It was in the summer and you have the blue of the lido but there was the grey sky so familiar in Scotland,” Parr explained, revealing the inspiration behind the photograph. “I thought this was going to be a great backdrop.

I just stood there for maybe half an hour, waiting for the right person to swim by.”A post shared by Blur (@blurofficial)As explained on a later slide, that person who swam by was a man named Ian Galt, who also shared a quote recalling why he was at the outdoor pool that day in 2004. “In 1995, I was in a terrible car crash: I was told I might never walk again,” he explained.“But I managed to get down to the pool on my crutches – and for the first time was able to move without them.