Spring has sprung and swept into town not one, but two members of much-loved 1990s indie survivors Blur in recent weeks. Following a dazzling appearance by virtuoso frontman Damon Albarn’s Gorillaz at the arena the night the clocks went forward, much-loved drummer Dave Rowntree’s date in our fair city may be far more low-key but is still engaging and enlightening. Here on the latest leg of his Q&A tour to promote his new coffee table-style photographic memoir of the band’s early days, No One You Know, Rowntree spent 90 minutes regaling the audience with the stories behind the celluloid images under the trusty stewardship of BBC Radio Nottingham’s Dean Jackson...
On the walk to the venue it occurred to me that despite all the plaudits and laurels dished out to Albarn over the years for the vast array of eclectic music he had helped produce, no one is more of a polymath than Dave Rowntree. Labour councillor, solicitor, pilot, film composer, independent musician campaigner... oh, and drummer - the Colchester-hailing 61-year-old hides a lot of light under that bushel.
After salvaging a long-lost metal box filled with photos and, not to mention, the small matter of a signed Banksy, during a tip run following a house move, Rowntree was stunned to find a collection of self-taken pictures documenting Blur's North American and Japanese tour dates over 30 years ago.
A natural storyteller with a wry sense of humour and deprecating turn of phrase, Rowntree provides real insight into the life of a touring band just emerging from the chrysalis of their first record contract. The title of his book was inspired by Blur tour bus driver Kenny’s bespoke rotating bus signage with ‘Rock Stars’ and other celebratory monikers deemed somewhat undeserving by the grizzled and acerbic navigator.
Yet to see and hear of the youthful vim as the quartet zig-zagged across the States and the Land of the Rising Sun proves a window into a much-missed pre-digital age when experiences were only documented to be reflected back on at a later date. So, tales of the Cowboy Club, where the band drank whiskey and ate Heinz Baked Beans, and crossing the border into New York State with the panoramic backdrop of Niagara Falls causing watery chaos in the distance are joyous. What hits home the most is the sheer happenstance that life sometimes throws up, though.
Albarn, Rowntree and guitarist Graham Coxon were all Essex lads who crossed paths in their hometown but were missing that magical ingredient. In need of a bassist the night before a gig, Coxon remembered that the lad who lived in the room next to him in halls of residence at Goldsmiths College owned said instrument - step forward wiry, floppy haired bon vivant Alex James - the missing piece of the puzzle, Rowntree confirms.
Much like when Ringo slotted into The Beatles and Mani into The Stone Roses - the picture was complete.
The evening at Metronome ends with an open forum Q&A with the audience where we learn his favourite Blur track is 13 album offering Caramel, his fondest ever gigs bookended the band’s career, Mile End and Wembley Stadium, and he stands up for other acts in the Featured Artists Coalition due to bitter vignettes such as being asked to sign blank cheques by crooked management.
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