Dave Rowntree: Last News

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree will stand as a Labour candidate at the next general election.Announced on Wednesday, Rowntree will stand in Mid Sussex. The constituency includes Burgess Hill, Haywards Heath and the Mid Sussex villages.In a statement, per The Guardian, Rowntree said of his candidacy: “I’m delighted to have the opportunity to become Labour’s first Mid Sussex MP. Residents have their best chance in a generation to make their vote count and return a Labour MP to parliament.”He continued: “The Tories have run out of ideas, and the Lib Dems have run out of steam.

Blur are set to release a new documentary and concert film charting their huge 2023 reunion.As Screen Daily reports, UK sales and distribution company Altitude has added the two upcoming titles to its European Film Market (EFM) slate. Both projects will be released in cinemas in the UK and Ireland later this year.The first film is a feature-length documentary detailing the Britpop band’s latest comeback, which saw Damon Albarn and co.

Naman Ramachandran Altitude is launching international sales on two films featuring iconic British band Blur at the Berlin European Film Market. The band, consisting of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bass guitarist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree, was formed in 1988 and tasted considerable success until it went on hiatus in 2015. The first film is an untitled feature-length documentary depicting the return of Blur, captured across a year in which the band made a surprise return with their first record in eight years, the #1 album “The Ballad of Darren.” It follows the relationship of the bandmates of over three decades as they come together to record 10 new songs ahead of their sold-out shows at London’s Wembley Stadium in 2023.

NME recently supported the Featured Artist Coalition’s 2023 End of Year Party and AGM at Walthamstow’s Signature Brew in London. Following on from 2021 and 2022, NME returned to support the event as well as chairing an artist-led ‘Year in Music’ panel discussion featuring Murray Matravers of the band formerly known as Easy Life, Sam Duckworth of Get Cape.

NME will return for a third year to support the Featured Artists Coalition’s annual AGM, with a panel of artists looking back on 2023 and what challenges and opportunities lie in the year ahead.The FAC’s 2023 End of Year Party and AGM, in association with PPL, will take place at Signature Brew in Walthamstow on Wednesday, November 29. Following on from 2021 and 2022, NME will return to support the event with News Editor Andrew Trendell leading an artist-led ‘Year in Music’ panel discussion featuring FAC board member Joff Oddie of Wolf Alice, Murray Matravers of the band formerly known as Easy Life, LVRA and Cherise.LVRA and Cherise have both been recipients of the FAC’s Step Up Fund powered by Amazon Music, while TBFKA easy life will be recognised for their outspoken advocacy at the upcoming Artist & Manager Awards last night (November 23).The FAC’s Artist in Residence, Blur drummer Dave Rowntree will also deliver an opening statement.Much of the event will focus on the major issues that the FAC continues to tackle, such as streaming reform, the application of AI in music, the 100 Per Cent Venues campaign to end punitive commissions on merchandise sales, and the #LetTheMusicMove campaign to encourage friction-free international touring.“With 2023 coming to a close, I’m really proud of what the FAC team has accomplished, and particularly our campaigning work with 100 Per Cent Venues, #LetTheMusicMove and continuing push to reform the economics of streaming,” said FAC CEO David Martin.“Our end of year party is a perfect opportunity to hear the views and perspectives of artists on all these issues, to find out about the work we do, and for our community to come together in unison.

Blur have shed insight into the cover for their latest album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’, as has the artist and the swimmer captured in the image.The Britpop legends shared the update on their social media pages yesterday (August 21), celebrating one month since their ninth studio album was released.With the Instagram post, the band’s frontman, Damon Albarn, and drummer Dave Rowntree both shared their interpretation behind the cover, and revealed how it has a connection to one of their 1995 live performances.The post began with a brief clip of someone holding the album out, before dropping it down to reveal that they are standing in the same spot where the now-famous image was taken – the Gourock Outdoor Pool in Glasgow.“The image selected for the album’s artwork is one shot by British photographer Martin Parr of a lone swimmer on a stormy day at the Gourock Lido, Scotland, captured in 2004,” the second slide reads, also incorporating a quote from the artist himself.“It was in the summer and you have the blue of the lido but there was the grey sky so familiar in Scotland,” Parr explained, revealing the inspiration behind the photograph. “I thought this was going to be a great backdrop.

Blur have shared two new songs that are featured in the deluxe version of their latest LP ‘The Ballad Of Darren’. Listen to them below.The two new tracks, ‘The Rabbi’ and ‘The Swan’, both have that signature Blur sound with the latter being a mellow ballad and ‘The Rabbi’ being a bright, upbeat song.

Blur’s Dave Rowntree has shared his opinion of Labour leader Keir Starmer in a new interview with NME.The Britpop veteran was taking part in the latest installation of NME’s Does Rock N’ Roll Kill Braincells?! series when he was asked to recall key moments from throughout his career, including his work in politics.Alongside his role as the drummer for Blur, Rowntree has also had a successful career in politics throughout much of the 21st Century – even going as far as to be elected as a Labour Councillor in Norfolk in 2017.Now, following his time in the role, which came to an end in 2021, the musician revealed his thoughts on current Labour leader, Keir Starmer.“Well, the test is at General Elections,” he began, discussing how well he thinks the figurehead is faring with the public. “If he wins the General Election, he’ll be widely touted as the most visionary Labour leader of modern times and will join the incredibly small number of Labour leaders who’ve gone on to become prime minister.”“If he loses, he’ll be regarded as an idiot who wrecked the Labour Party and achieved nothing,” he continued.

Blur have wrapped up the first of their highly anticipated reunion shows at Wembley – see their full setlist below.The first of two shows at Wembley took place last night (July 8) and saw Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree turn back the clock to play an assortment of their biggest hits – including one track they haven’t played since 1994.The stunning 25-song setlist would see Blur play ‘Girls & Boys’, ‘Tender’, ‘The Universal’ and of course, ‘Song 2’. They also performed ‘Lot 105’ for the first time since 1994.They also performed ‘Under The Westway’ live for the first time since 2014.

Blur have cancelled their upcoming headline slot at a French festival due to an injury. The news comes just days ahead of their upcoming shows at London’s Wembley Stadium.The returning Britpop veterans were set to play the set at Festival Beauregard this Thursday (July 6) – but according to an update from the festival’s official Twitter page, the band will no longer be performing drummer Dave Rowntree has suffered a knee injury.“The bad news has just fallen: Blur will not be able to perform their concert in Beauregard,” the update began (translated from French).

Blur have announced details of a surprise new album ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ and shared the first single ‘The Narcissist’. Check it out below.The returning Britpop legends first announced their comeback back in November with news of a huge Wembley Stadium show – before going on to reveal a second date at the venue before a run of European festival shows and an intimate UK warm-up tour,  which kicks off in their hometown of Colchester tomorrow (Friday May 19).Now, the band have revealed that the 10-track ‘The Ballad Of Darren’ will arrive on 21 July via Parlophone, and is available for pre-order here.

Blur have added The Selecter to the line-up of support acts for their second show at Wembley Stadium this summer.The Britpop icons are due to play two huge concerts at the London venue on July 8 and 9 as part of their 2023 live reunion. At the first gig, Damon Albarn and co.

Britpop: The Music That Changed Britain will kick off this weekend to celebrate the genre’s 30th anniversary.The series will document the story of the integral British genre from start to finish. There will be “exclusive new interviews with the key players”, who will tell “fascinating behind-the-scenes stories”, and a “rare and unseen archive of all the era’s big names”.The first episode tells the story of Britpop’s rise to fame and the infamous rivalries between Blur, Oasis, Suede and Elastica.

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has shared a new video for his recent single ‘Devil’s Island’.Rowntree shared the track last month along with details of his forthcoming debut solo LP ‘Radio Songs’.Speaking about the clip, which was directed by Guy Gotto, he said: ““I was keen to work with Guy Gotto, who makes gorgeous and interesting video art. He visualised the song as a journey through a bleak but beautiful landscape.“We decided to film along the narrow gauge railway from Hythe to Dungeness, which runs through some of the most desolate but dazzling landscape in the country. A vista of abandoned boats, lighthouses and drama.

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has announced details of his debut solo album ‘Radio Songs’ and shared new single ‘Devil’s Island’.The record, which is released via Cooking Vinyl on January 23, 2023, was produced by Leo Abrahams, who has previously worked with Wild Beasts, Brian Eno, Ghostpoet.“The idea of Radio Songs is me spinning through the dial,” he said. “It sounds like you’ve got a radio tuned to some static and you spin the dial, and the song pops out of it.

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has revealed that he composed the soundtrack for the second season of BBC drama The Capture.The first episode of the six-part season aired last night (August 28) with the second coming tonight (August 29), following on from a first season in 2019.Sharing the news of his score, Rowntree tweeted: “Watching the new series of The Capture tonight with friends. Hope you are too! Score by lil ol me and [Ian Arber].”A synopsis of the new season reads: “Escalating from the CCTV thriller of season one, this brand new six-part series sees DCI Rachel Carey (Holliday Grainger) in the middle of a new conspiracy – with a new target, MP Isaac Turner (Paapa Essiedu).“‘Invisible’ assassins, the terrifying rise of deepfake technology, the ever-growing tension between government and Big Tech and corruption at the heart of the British media… don’t miss the return of one of the year’s most anticipated dramas.”Watching the new series of The Capture tonight with friends.

DEALSDeath metal band Defleshed have signed to Metal Blade to release their first album since 2005.Music licensing platform Lickd – previously mainly focused on helping YouTube creators license music – has partnered with decentralised metaverse Decentraland’s entertainment and commercial district Vegas City. “This is a huge step for Lickd both in terms of expanding our offering into the metaverse and for the metaverse itself in terms of being able to simplify the music licensing solution”, says Lickd CEO Paul Sampson.

Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has shared his debut solo single ‘London Bridge’. Check it out below, along with our interview with Rowntree discussing a new record on the way, politics, and what the future holds for Blur.Released on Cooking Vinyl and produced with Leo Abrahams (Wild Beasts, Brian Eno, Ghostpoet) the emotive synth-led track was inspired by the drummer’s childhood growing up in Colchester, before moving to London with Blur.“There was a phase in my life as a child when the number 126 would pop up everywhere,” Rowntree told NME.

Tim Burgess has announced that he’ll be hosting a special 25th anniversary listening party tonight (February 10) for Blur‘s self-titled 1997 album.The Charlatans’ frontman has been hosting listening parties for a multitude of albums on Twitter since the UK went into its first coronavirus lockdown back in early 2020.This afternoon he announced that Blur members Alex James and Dave Rowntree, as well as producer Stephen Street will be joining him and his followers tonight for a listening party to celebrate the band’s fifth album turning 25.‘Blur’ was originally released on February 10, 1997, and featured the singles ‘Beetlebum’, ‘On Your Own’, ‘M.O.R.’, and the iconic anthem ‘Song 2’.

Whoever had “Taylor Swift feuding with Damon Albarn” on their 2022 Bingo Card is…probably cheating. Taylor, 32, unleashed her fury and the anger of Swifties upon Damon, 53, on Monday (Jan. 24) after the Los Angeles Times published an interview with the British musician. After the Times’ Mikael Wood suggested that Taylor was an “excellent songwriter,” Damon said that she “doesn’t write her own songs” and that “there’s a big difference between a songwriter and a songwriter who co-writes.”