Damon Albarn reveals he almost ditched music to become a politician

Damon Albarn is a bona fide rock star, but apparently there was a time in the late '90s where the Blur and Gorillaz frontman thought about leaving music to become a politician.

"Politics is such a murky business. I would be lying if I said I hadn't considered it when I was younger," he told the Metro newspaper's Guilty Pleasures column (via Contact Music). "I even went and had a strategic meeting with Tony Blair before he became prime minister, but that terrified me so much. [I thought] 'I don't know if this is for me at all. I'm not a politician, I am a musician.'"

He went on to explain why he feels its important to incorporate his political views in music. "I have strong views. Music is escapism. It's not really there for the unpleasant truths of life," Albarn said. "But I've always felt, 'No, that's the perfect place for it'. It can catch people unaware emotionally in a way nothing else can."

The singer-songwriter went on to reveal that he took inspiration from the name of Britain’s nuclear attack defenses for "Polaris" off his recent solo album The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows, and explained that the project is a way for him to reflect on his concerns about politics, the environment, and society.