
Blur drummer shares stories and photos from his bestselling book about the band's formative years.
Presented by: Foxlowe Arts Centre
| 0 | LEEK: Foxlowe Arts Centre (info) |
|---|---|
| P | Saturday 13th June, 2026 |
| N | Door time: 7:30pm, start time: 8:00pm |
| . | All ages (under-16s must be accompanied by an adult) |
| C | Music - General |
In collaboration with Edge Street Live, we are excited to invite Dave Rowntree to The Foxlowe for a one man show that delivers a unique insight into how one of Britain's biggest bands started out.
Through unheard stories alongside candid photos from his new bestselling book ‘No One You Know’, Dave Rowntree shares the tales behind Blur’s formative years. From their early friendships in Colchester, to world tours, and famously going head-to-head with Oasis, he offers rare insight into the moments that shaped one of the major defining bands of 1990s Britpop, Blur.
Dave Rowntree: “The pictures I took are of a band right at the start of their career.
They’re of what we did between the gigs, interviews and photo sessions. They are of
us hanging out, relaxing, travelling, eating, and especially in the early days, drinking.
They are snapshots of what life in Blur was really like in the first few years when the
TV cameras and tape recorders were turned off. Obviously there isn’t much of the band actually working, because then I would have been working too. This is everything else.”
BIO
Dave Rowntree was a member of Blur before they were Blur, joining up as drummer
with singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon when they were in various
bands in Colchester in the late 1980s. After Alex James stepped in as bassist, Blur
went on to become one of the most innovative and successful UK bands of all time:
both creating Britpop and then moving up and on from it in a way that no other band
has achieved.
The band’s exceptional creative musical talent, their unique ability to create art-rock
anthems as well as solid pop bangers, has won them devoted fans across the world,
and in 2023, after a hiatus, they sold out Wembley Stadium twice over. Blur have
released nine studio albums, won five BRIT Awards, and sold 70 million across the
world.
Aside from his career with Blur, Dave has also been hugely successful in other fields.
His computer animation company Nanomation created influential work for MTV and
Channel 4. In the mid-2000s, he trained to be a solicitor, and worked for Kingsley
Napley. He has been a Labour candidate and county councillor and is active in the
Labour Party. His life-long interest in space led to him being heavily involved in the
Beagle 2 Mars mission. He writes soundtracks for film and TV, including music for
the BBC’s The Capture and Netflix’s The One, and he released his solo album Radio
Songs on Cooking Vinyl in 2023.
This will be a seated show - Tickets are available online - £18.50 + booking fee
| 0 | Market Place Leek Staffordshire ST13 5HN |
|---|---|
| > | www.foxloweartscentre.org.uk |
| ! | 01538 386112 |
| ` | Parking availble opposite in Market Place or Stockwell Street |