What happened to the british band "BLUR" ?!

What happened to the british band "BLUR" ?

Its been years i heard from that band. Did they split? Why is the lead singer damon albarn in gorrilaz now? why dont they show faces on the video ?

They were exhausted by incessant recording and touring through the world, so the band decided to take a hiatus, pausing only to release a box set of singles in August 1999 to celebrate their 10th anniversary. For a couple of years, bandmembers engaged in a variety of side-projects. Coxon recorded a number of solo albums, Alex James joined actor Keith Allen and artist Damien Hirst to form Fat Les, while Albarn formed the virtual band Gorillaz. Albarn also travelled to Mali on behalf of Oxfam, producing the fundraising album Mali Music. Early in 2002, however, Blur temporarily broke their hiatus to record a song that would be played for the European Space Agency's Mars Lander, however, the plan fell through when the lander was lost.

Recording for Blur's next album, Think Tank, got under way in Marrakesh, Morocco in mid-2002. Tensions surfaced, however, when Coxon began to appear emotionally and creatively distant to his bandmates, reportedly failing to attend recording sessions. After several weeks of uncertainty, Coxon confirmed that he had been asked to leave the band for reasons connected with his "attitude." The albumThink Tank, was release in May 2003.
Although the band suggested that they might record a new album in 2004, this never materialised, so in recent years all members have devoted their energy to solo projects.

Albarn released a follow-up Gorillaz album, Demon Days, in May 2005, which was critically acclaimed.
Alex James began working with pop singer Betty Boo in the band WigWam. They released the single "WigWam" in April 2006 and are currently working on their debut album. Dave Rowntree set up the animation company Nanomation, which produced the South Park-esque Empire Square, shown on Channel 4 in early 2005. He is also the drummer for The Ailerons.

In April 2007, Alex James said that the band will reemerge from their hiatus: "We're all heading into the studio together [this November] - Graham's coming too," he told Dotmusic. "We're gonna see if we've still got it. If not, I think we'll just call it a day." Since then, the band has formally announced that a new album is in the works. HMV has also listed the as-yet untitled new studio album on its website. Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has hinted that the band, including previously absent guitarist Graham Coxon, are to record together in September. Rowntree told NME recently: There is a week in the diary in September. But it's a very small thing - it could either be a seed or a full-stop.