Rumours are rife as to the identity of the new guitarist in Blur. The remaining three members of the group have been auditioning for a replacement for Graham Coxon. Damon is now quoted as saying "a guitarist from a well-known band from the North of England" has "fitted in really well". NME speculations as to the who the guitarist might be have mentioned The Verve’sNick McCabe, ex-Stone Roses star John Squire, Happy Mondays founder Mark Day, Shed Seven's Paul Banks, Embrace's Richard McNamara and even the legendary Johnny Marr as possible contenders.
The new guitarist is likely to initially only join the band on live dates – certainly the band have pretty much completed their new album as a threesome. In a posting on the band’s website bassist Alex James said they might possibly take on two guitarists: "We’re going to need quite a big band to play this album. Probably two guitarists. The search is on. It’s actually easier to learn to play the guitar yourself than to find a guitar player, but there you go."