For Blur fans, many of them would not have been old enough to see the band's Melbourne Metro Nightclub concert in November, 1997.

Judging by the multi-generational crowd that turned up at Rod Laver arena to see the band on its Magic Whip tour, a good proportion of the audience would not have even been attending school in 1997.

As one of the dominant acts of the late 1990s Britpop scene, Blur has been a band that has managed to cover the divide between pop music, artistic freedom and musical integrity.

In 2003, the first album without founding guitarist Graham Coxon was released.

The Think Tank tour could have seen the band written off by its fans, especially after the remaining members said they would not be replacing Coxon.

But Blur liked to tease its fans with a 'reunion' in 2007 that resulted in lunch but no tour or recording talk until a massive 2009 comeback tour through the United Kingdom, with more than 65,000 people attending the Hyde Park concerts.

For those who missed the shows, there was 2010's excellent documentary No Distance Left to Run, which felt like a postscript; a goodbye to the reunion era and possibly a goodbye for Blur.

Single-track releases continued for the next couple of years before Blur was announced as a headliner for the 2014 Big Day Out tour in Australia and New Zealand.

One month out from the festival the band suddenly cancelled the appearance, with lead singer Damon Albarn telling the New Zealand Herald: "That was going to be the last Blur show - the end of playing together".

Albarn set off on the solo path in 2014 and talked of new music for his side project Gorillaz. It appeared the Blur chapter was over.

Nearly everyone was shocked when out of nowhere Blur dropped a new album, The Magic Whip, in April this year — its first full album with Graham Coxon since 1999.

Slowly, shows were announced to support the album.

Australia didn't have to wait long, with The Splendour in the Grass appearance and side shows coming only three months after the album's release.

It was fitting that as they swaggered their way on to the stage at Rod Laver Arena, the band would chose to open with Go Out, the lead single from their new album.

Almost immediately Coxon's guitar growled, Rowntree's drums thundered and James' bass span twisting lines while Albarn leapt off the stage to spray the front rows with water.

Over the next two hours, the band would playfully take in tracks from every album of its 25-year career.

Out of Time was an early set highlight — beautifully delivered before Albarn made his way up into the arena's stands to connect with those in the tiered seating.

Tender delivered the night's first huge singalong, with the crowd singing the refrain while Coxon was still playing the intro guitar riff.

Trouble in the Message Centre from Blur's 'pre-internet era' was played at breakneck pace, with Coxon scissor kicking his way through the tune.

The band was energetic, refined, and loose — often at the same time.

Albarn messed up a verse in Parklife but was happy to point out his mistake without missing a beat and strutting the stage with a huge smile on his face.

To The End may well have been the night's highlight — Albarn's voice nailing the high notes in the chorus and his heartfelt "merci" at the end just sealed the moment perfectly.

Returning for an encore, Albarn informed the crowd that the boys were talking backstage about how much fun they were having playing on the night, and it was evidenced from the quality of the performance.

As the acoustic staccato strum of For Tomorrow played out, it was time to reflect on what we had just witnessed.

The band wrapped up with the stunning track The Universal and the arena exploded with the chorus of "Yes, it really, really, really could happen", giving fans something to sing along to as they walked away into the chilly Melbourne night.

It may have taken 17 years but it really, really, really did happen.