Credit: Raph Pour-Hashemi
Tue 18 August 2026 8:00, UK
There’s just something about Damon Albarn that has always seemed pretty futuristic. Maybe it’s because he’s broken new ground in music in so many ways, from Britpop to virtual reality.
But let’s not forget, he’s still really a child of the ‘70s. Born into an era where psychedelia was giving its final gasp and new horizons were beckoning, Albarn probably got the best of both worlds with a musical education that taught him precisely to move more boldly and fearlessly than anyone ever has before.
That’s most likely why he has always taken up space as an innovator, because it’s simply written into his DNA. Looking back on the past while combining it with the possibility and promise of the future is a tantalising thing, but in a lot of ways, it was never summed up any better than when he spoke of the song which has always taken up a special place in his heart.
It may have been released way back in 1972, but ‘Always On My Mind’ has forever held that certain quality of being a chameleon enigma. Naturally, that’s because it’s a track that has reinvented itself from Elvis Presley all the way down to The Pet Shop Boys, but it was this sense of endless options that perhaps attracted Albarn to it the most.
Of course, being pinned on the spot and asked what you believe to be the best song ever written is bound to spin anyone out a little bit, thus justifying the Blur frontman’s slightly incredulous tone when he initially responded, “Ever ever? That’s hard”. He was obviously right, but even still, the classic tune spoke volumes in how quickly it came to mind.
“The one I enjoy singing the most is ‘Always On My Mind’,” he said, before adding, “It’s just got it all in there. But as for the best song ever, I don’t know.” It’s fair not to put your eggs in one basket when it comes to such a loaded question, but with the powerhouse of a track that it is, it’s probably a decent claim to an answer from Albarn.
For a man who has never been exactly famed for his genuine sincerity in the eyes of the media, the frontman’s sheer love for the song still shone through regardless. He may still have only been a young child when ‘Always On My Mind’ was released back in the early ‘70s, but it was so transcendent that it was bound to inevitably catch him along the way.
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It has to be said that someone like Presley could have probably never imagined the form of rock and roll that Albarn would go on to be at the forefront of, but that was only testament to the magic and the magnitude of the genre itself, ever-changing and never restricted by any form of boundary. ‘Always On My Mind’ represented a psyche, but not a rulebook.
The only question that remains is what kind of route Albarn would go down if he were to ever finally sing the song in public. Being a traditional crooner doesn’t seem to be his thing, but would a Britpop version really be the way? Then again, no one could have imagined an electro-pop reinvention when The Pet Shop Boys came along. Maybe Gorillaz hold the answer.
