Blur have confirmed former Verve guitarist Simon Tong will be joining them as a regular band member for their live shows. Tong played with the band at a gig on Friday night and yesterday a source close to the band (whatever that means) told the NME that he would be playing with Albarn et al at a string of live shows later this year. However: "He's not replacing Graham, because he can't be replaced. He will be playing live with them at shows later this year, and they have been rehearsing for the last few weeks together."
Tong was in many ways the Verves ‘second’ guitarist, joining the band alongside guitarist Nick McCabe during the band’s more successful years following the release of 'Urban Hymns'. However he was an old friend of Richard Ashcroft – in fact, he apparently taught Ashcroft and Verve bassist Simon Jones how to play guitar in the first place.