Blur win a Brit award in 1995 during their Britpop hey day. (From left) Alex James, Dave Rowntree, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon. Picture: PA/Fiona Hanson

An iconic graffiti tribute to Britpop legends Blur has been repainted on Primrose Hill in the run-up to the band’s performance at the Olympics – only to disappear again as rain fell.

Jeff Nottingham on Primrose Hill where the Blur lyrics are painted

A small “guerrilla” band went to the beauty spot on Saturday to repaint Blur lyrics which have marked the tarmac near the summit for more than 10 years.

The Britpop band’s 1993 song For Tomorrow, dedicated to Primrose Hill and London life, is referenced in the inscription, which reads “and the view’s so nice”.

Flying kites

The video featured the band flying kites at the top of Primrose Hill and the tune was once voted 15th best song about London.

Blur devotee Jeff Nottingham, from Finchley Road, organised the dawn painting raid because he said the time was right to touch up the famous graffiti.

“Blur will headline the Olympics closing ceremony celebration gig in August and they’ve just picked up a Brit award, so they are really having a revival.

“Let’s make sure the inscription is there to welcome visitors to Primrose Hill this year and make sure that they look out on the city in the company of those lyrics as the perfect love letter to life in London.”

Mr Nottingham’s formative years and musical taste were shaped by the spat between Blur and Oasis and his first music cassette was a Blur album.

He grew up outside London, but when he moved to the capital, he immediately fell in love with it, as had his hero, Blur singer and songwriter Damon Albarn.

When he saw the worn lyrics on Primrose Hill he thought it was “cool” and should be restored to its former glory.

“Primrose Hill is a cultural icon just like Abbey Road studios,” added Mr Nottingham.

The paint job was completed by 8.30am. Shortly afterwards it began to rain.

The artists covered their work with a tarpaulin, but by 2pm the fresh paint had all but washed away.

Cameraman Oliver Cross, who shot a short film of the event, said it was “a mystery” whether the graffiti’s disappearance was deliberate or not.

In 2001, Damon Albarn told an interviewer from Q magazine that he had come across the graffiti himself and taken it as a sign that the band should stay together.