Blur’s Damon Albarn Carried Offstage After Five-Hour Set

When Kanye West controversially, and perhaps correctly, claimed he was the greatest living rock star on the planet, it underlined a sad truth: Actual, raging, all-or-nothing rock stars are a rare species these days. That’s what makes Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn’s moment of textbook rock star shamelessness this weekend such a precious and beautiful thing.

As Spin reports, after delivering a five-hour set (!!!) with his Africa Express side project at Denmark’s Roskilde Festival this weekend, Albarn still refused to leave the stage at 4am, apparently forcing his stage manager to carry him off (the action starts around 1:30 in the video above). Bravo!

Now, it’s unclear if his refusal and subsequent forced exit was real or an act. But even if it was a manufactured moment, it remains an epic example of what rock should be. Oh, and if you’re wondering what the number two and number one most rock-n-roll things ever are, they’re this and this in order.