Blur vocalist Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon debuted the band's new single at the War Child pre-BRIT Awards fundraiser, which was held at the O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire. The song, called Under the Walkway, is the first piece of new material for Blur, since 2010's Fool's Day.

According to Albarn, the song had been written only a few weeks before the event, 'up the road' from the venue. The frontman then joked: 'It's got a lot of words - for me anyway - but not as many as Ed Sheeran has.'

Sheeran's set occurred after the duo's and featured guest appearances from the likes of Wretch 32; LABRINTH and Example. Meanwhile, Albarn and Coxon performed two of Blur's hits throughout the years: He Thought of Cars; a song from the 1995 album The Great Escape; and Strange News From Another Star, taken from the 1997 self-titled album.

Blur are set to receive the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the BRITs, which will be hosted by James Corden. The event will also mark the first time that the band has appeared on stage together since T in the Park in 2009. Speaking to The Sun, the Gavin and Stacey actor revealed: 'Blur will perform for 11 minutes at the end of the show - more than anyone has been given before for the Outstanding Contribution To Music Award.'