Blur’s Alex James claims pals ‘couldn’t handle’ him being married

Blur’s Alex James tied the knot with Claire Neate in 2003 (Image: GETTY) Alex James has claimed loved ones, including former bandmate Damien Hurst, acted differently towards him when he stopped drinking and met his wife Claire Neate in 2002. At the time, the singer was trying out being sober after his mum sternly warned him he would lose his friends if he continued. But, the Blur bassist has claimed it was quite the opposite and that people acted differently towards him once sober. “Nobody f***ing called me anymore,” he revealed to The Times in an interview last year. “I stopped drinking for a year and met Claire halfway through and most people had stopped calling me by then.” Alex James is best known as the bassist in British group Blur (Image: GETTY) Alex went on to claim that pals “couldn’t handle” the new him and his relationship. “It’s like there was a sense of betrayal. Damien [Hirst] was never the same after I got married. It’s a shame, I miss him,” he added. ‘But that’s why I wanted to marry Claire. I wanted to look after her and have her babies. I’d never felt like that before.’ Alex, Damien and Keith Allen were in a band together named Fat Les from 1998 to 2002. He has also played in bands; Me Me Me, WigWam and Bad Lieutenant but is best known for being the bassist in Blur. In 2003, Alex tied the knot with Claire, a music producer, at a ceremony in Cheltenham. They have five children together; three boys, Geronimo and twins Artemis and Galileo, and two daughters, Sable and Beatrix. In the same chat with the publication, Alex revealed that his kids had asked him about his previous drug use after revealing he had spent £1 million on champagne and cocaine in his younger years. He said: “Now my kids are saying, ‘Daddy, did you really spend £1 million on drugs?’ “The marketing tag of me sprazzing all my money on booze and drugs has been difficult to explain to them.’ Alex prefers to keep his private life out of the public eye and has no pictures of his family on his social media. Instead, he regularly posts about his music and his updates as a cheesemaker. Tonight, fans will get to watch archived performances of the band from over the years on Blur at the BBC . The show will also feature their first TV appearance, unearthed interviews as well as their emotional 2009 Glastonbury set. Blur at the BBC airs tonight at 8.25pm on BBC Two.