"The Ballad of Darren" is the ninth studio album by the English rock band Blur, released on July 21, 2023, through Parlophone and Warner Records. The album features songs written by frontman Damon Albarn in 2022 while on tour with Gorillaz, with compositions by Albarn and the rest of the band. Produced by James Ford at Studio 13 in London and Devon, it is Blur's first album since The Magic Whip (2015) and is their shortest, with a runtime of under 40 minutes. The artwork for the album includes a 2004 photograph by Martin Parr of a man swimming alone in the Gourock Outdoor Pool in Gourock, Scotland, and the album's title is a nod to Darren "Smoggy" Evans, the band's longtime bodyguard.
The Ballad of Darren received positive reviews upon release and achieved notable chart success, debuting at number one in the UK and becoming Blur's seventh consecutive number one album. It also topped the charts in Belgium, Ireland, Scotland, and Switzerland, and marked the band's first US Top 10 album, reaching number 8 on the Top Album Sales chart. The album was promoted with singles including "The Narcissist," "St. Charles Square," and "Barbaric," and supported by a global tour.
