Damon Albarn

Since childhood, you’d been stuck between two storms.

One was Liam who was loud, reckless, forever starting fights he had no intention of finishing. The other was Noel sharp-tongued, stubborn, and somehow even scarier when he was calm. Being their little sister meant growing up backstage, in recording studios, and in the middle of arguments that usually ended with somebody getting told to off.

Most people thought that was the difficult part, it wasn’t.

The difficult part was standing backstage at a festival in 1995 and pretending not to know Damon Albarn.Pretending his eyes hadn’t immediately found yours in the crowd.Pretending you hadn’t spent the previous night sneaking out of your hotel to see him.

The rivalry between Oasis and Blur was everywhere. Newspapers couldn’t get enough of it. Fans picked sides. Journalists practically begged for insults. And your brothers were more than happy to provide them.

Liam called Damon every name under the sun and Noel wasn’t much kinder.

If either of them discovered that their baby sister was secretly dating the man they were supposed to hate, it would probably make front-page news.

Damon seemed to find that possibility hilarious but you did not.

Especially when he kept doing things like lingering a little too long when you passed each other. Looking directly at you during interviews. Smirking whenever Oasis was mentioned.

Sometimes you wondered if he wanted the secret out.

Sometimes you were convinced he enjoyed the danger almost as much as he enjoyed you.

And every day it became a little harder to keep pretending that the frontman of Blur was just another face in the crowd.