Dave Rowntree to release solo album

20 November 2021, 15:00

The drummer will be issuing his debut LP in 2022.

By Radio X

@RadioX

Blur's Dave Rowntree has announced that he'll be releasing his debut solo album in 2022.

The drummer has signed a deal with the renowned Cooking Vinyl label for his first solo record.

The 57-year-old musician-and-composer said: “As a kid I used to spend hours spinning the dial on my radio, dreaming of escape to all the places whose exotic stations I heard.

“I’ve tried to make an album like that – tuning through the spectrum, stopping at each song telling a story about a turning point in my life, then spinning the dial and moving on. I’m very excited to be releasing the album on Cooking Vinyl next year.”

Cooking Vinyl's managing director Rob Collins said: “Dave’s album blew me away and there wasn’t anything going to stop me releasing it. He’s a very talented drummer!”

The news comes after Blur frontman, Damon Albarn - who just issued his second solo record, The Nearer The Fountain, More Pure The Stream Flows - hinted that he's up for discussing a reunion with his bandmates.

Asked by the Metro if Blur is finished, Albarn insisted: “Not at all."

The musician continued: “I am just about to have a conversation with people about Blur and I would love to sing all those songs again. I miss the songs. I miss playing with Blur."

Earlier this year, guitarist Graham Coxon insisted he'd be up for reuniting with his Blur bandmates when the time is right.

He told the NME in August: “That’s always been the thing with Blur – they’ll do it when they really need to and not for any other reason. It doesn’t really seem genuine to just get back together and just do gigs for a bit of spondage. We need to have some sort of focus for how we would work.”

Damon Albarn: "Music is part of our national health."

The Britpop legends haven't toured together since the Magic Whip tour in 2015, although Albarn reunited with Rowntree, Coxon and Alex James at his Africa Express show in Leytonstone in 2019.