A BRITISH icon is hoping to get his hands on a sign which once belonged to the former Colchester music shop where he purchased one of his very first instruments.
Blur frontman Damon Albarn, 55, returned to Colchester on Friday for a historic and legendary show at Colchester Arts Centre, in Church Street.
The intimate gig, which is sure to go down in music folklore, saw the Britpop band perform a two-hour-long, 23-song set to just 400 lucky fans.
Ahead of the four-piece’s eagerly-awaited comeback concert, their first in eight years, Damon took a stroll around the very place where he spent some of his childhood.
Damon, alongside guitarist Graham Coxon, studied at the Stanway School, while drummer Dave Rowntree was born in Colchester before attending the Gilberd School.
During his trip down memory lane the hit songwriter came across a building previously home to Axe Music, a shop he used to frequent as a young musician.
Up until recently, it was occupied by a Chinese grocery store called iChina, but the business is now in the process of moving out and the property is up for sale.
The owners of the shop have now also removed their sign, revealing the old Axe Music sign, which appears to be made of wood and securely fixed to the building.
Damon, also famed for his work with Gorillaz, spotted the sign during his walk around Colchester and has now expressed a serious interest in purchasing it.
Speaking to the Gazette during an exclusive Q&A hosted at Colchester Castle before Blur’s homecoming gig, he said: “Can I reserve the old Axe Music sign?
“The Chinese shop that was there after it closed down has taken down their sign and it has revealed the old Axe Music sign.
“I would like to buy that and [The Gazette] are obviously hooked up and have influence [in Colchester]... It is where I bought my first synthesiser.”
Axe Music was run by Alan Gray, now 77, until he moved out of the city centre to the Cowdray Centre in 2000, but shortly after doing so his new store burnt down.
READ MORE: Review: Blur's pocket-sized performance in Colchester was 'a real moment in history'
He lost everything in the fire and had to “start from scratch” but eventually re-opened Axe Music in Wivenhoe before closing down for good in 2006.
Alan, who first opened Axe Music in the 70s, said: “I would welcome [Damon Albarn] having the sign - that it is fine with me and I really wouldn’t mind.
“I remember Blur coming into the shop and they would buy stuff from me, but back then they were just an everyday local band.”
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