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Dave Rowntree

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Dave Rowntree
Rowntree with Blur atWembley Stadiumin 2023
Born
David Alexander De Horne Rowntree

(1964-05-08)8 May 1964(age 60)
Colchester,Essex, England
Occupations
  • Musician
  • animator
  • solicitor
  • composer
  • politician
  • DJ
  • pilot
Political partyLabour
Spouse
Paola Marra
​
​
(m.1994, divorced)​
Musical career
Genres
Instruments
  • Drums
  • percussion
  • vocals
  • synthesizer
Years active1988–present
LabelsCooking Vinyl
Member ofBlur
Formerly ofThe Ailerons
Websitedavidrowntree.org daverowntreecomposer

David Alexander De Horne Rowntree(born 8 May 1964) is an English musician, politician, solicitor, composer and animator. He is best known as the drummer for the rock bandBlur.

In his political career, Rowntree served on theNorfolk County Councilfrom 2017 to 2021 representing theLabour Party,and unsuccessfully stood forParliamentas a Labour candidate in the2010and2024general elections.[1]

Early life

[edit]

David Alexander De Horne Rowntree was born inColchester,Essex,[2]at Colchester Maternity Hospital on 8 May 1964,[3]to musical parents – Susan, aviolaplayer, and John, asound engineerat theBBC.He has an older sister named Sara. He attendedthe Gilberd Schoolin Colchester during the week,[4]and the Landermere Music School,Thorpe-le-Soken,at weekends, where he studied percussion. He played percussion with his father in the Colchester Silver Band, a brass band. After leaving school he studied for aHigher National Diploma(HND) in Computer Science atThames Polytechnic,[5]and started his career as a computer programmer forColchester Borough Council.

Music career

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Blur

[edit]
Rowntree performing with Blur in Rome in 2013

Rowntree played in bands withGraham Coxonwhile they were growing up in Colchester. He also knew Coxon's father, who taught jazz classes at Landermere. In 1989, Coxon introduced Rowntree toDamon Albarn,who was forming a band aroundGoldsmiths, University of London.Rowntree was asked to join and left his job to move to London. With the addition ofAlex James,and after two name changes, the band settled onBlurand were signed to Food Records, which was distributed throughEMI.EMI later acquired Food Records and Blur were absorbed into EMI.

Beagle 2 Mars mission

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In 1998 Rowntree's life-long fascination with space led him to get involved in theBeagle 2Mars mission. The previous year theEuropean Space Agency(ESA) had announced its first planetary mission, an orbiter named theMars Express.The Open University's ProfColin Pillingerproposed it should carry a lander dedicated to looking for life and conducting scientific analyses.[6]

Rowntree and fellow band member Alex James became involved after taking a behind the scenes tour at Houston'sNASAspace centre. They were struck by how many of the people they met there were British and wondered why they had to go to America to do space research and work in the industry. When they got back to the UK, they came across Beagle 2 while looking for UK space projects and pledged to support it. At that time, the cost of the lander project was estimated at £25 million and did not have wide support.[6]

Rowntree and James joined the Beagle 2 team in 1998 to help with PR. They used their platform to help promote the project. Their support attracted high-profile support from the artistDamien Hirstand industry and financial backers. And after years of lobbying, the UK Government and ESA agreed to help finance the project. The Mars Express mission, carrying Beagle 2, was launched in June 2003. It carried a signature tune written by Blur to be beamed back from Mars to announce the lander's arrival and one of Hirst's trademark spot paintings to be used for the calibration of Beagle 2's cameras. The Beagle 2 lost contact with earth but was spotted on Mars' surface ten years later by theUK Space Agencyin images taken by a NASA orbiter.[7]

Rowntree says: "In the same way that Damien Hirst got the first artwork on Mars, we got the first music on Mars."[6]

XFM radio

[edit]

In 2014 Rowntree started as a presenter forGlobal Radio'salternative rockradio station XFM (nowRadio X) with a regular show on Sunday nights.

On his first show he played songs byJohn Lennon,ElbowandThe Polyphonic Spree,interspersed with discussions with his studio friend, "researcher George", on "nerdy" topics like Mars.[8]

Video

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On 31 July 2018, Rowntree appeared in the video forSlaves' released single, "Chokehold", as a drummer auditioning for a part in the band.[9]

Podcast

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Rowntree hostsThe Dave Rowntree Podcast ShowonSpotifywith "researcher George". The first series was six episodes long, starting with an episode of Rowntree's "go to" music for challenging times released in November 2020.[10]

Solo career

[edit]

In November 2021, Rowntree signed a deal withCooking Vinylfor his first solo record.[11]In a statement, Rowntree 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."[12]

His first solo single, "London Bridge", was released on 5 July 2022.[13]

Rowntree's first solo album,Radio Songs,was released on 20 January 2023.[14]

Film and animation

[edit]

Animation

[edit]

Rowntree is a computer animator and owned an animation company called Nanomation for eleven years.[15]Clients included advertising agencies andThe 11 O'Clock Show.He also directed two series of theSouth Park-esque animated showEmpire Square,which made its TV debut onChannel 4on 18 February 2005.[16]

Non-photorealistic rendering

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Rowntree has an interest incomputer graphicsand has contributed to three research papers on topics related tonon-photorealistic rendering.The papers look at translating video to animation using novel techniques to track and visualise movement.[17][18][19]

Film and television

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Rowntree also works in film and TV soundtrack composition. He andIan Arbercomposed the music and score for the 2018BrosdocumentaryBros: After the Screaming Stops.He also worked on the BBC seriesThe Capture,which premiered in 2019 and Netflix's science fiction seriesThe One(March 2021).[20]

[edit]

Law

[edit]

Rowntree trained to become a solicitor when Blur took a hiatus in 2006.[21]He worked in the criminal department of London law firmKingsley Napley,a firm of solicitors based inMoorgate, London.[22]

In July 2017, he was awarded an honorary doctorate in law byGreenwich University,becoming an Honorary Doctor of Laws (HonLLD).[23]

Labour candidate and councillor

[edit]

Rowntree has been a keen activist and supporter of theLabour Partysince becoming a member in 2002, and has been chair of London'sWest Endbranch. In April 2007, he unsuccessfully contested thesafeConservativeseat ofMarylebone High StreetonWestminster City Council.In July 2008, he fought the Labour-held seat ofChurch Street,but was unsuccessful again.

In February 2008, he was selected by theCities of London and WestminsterConstituency Labour Partyto stand against the incumbent Conservative MPMark Fieldat the2010 general election;Rowntree was defeated at that election. In 2011, he sought selection as the Labour candidate forNorwich South,but lost toClive Lewis,a journalist and former soldier, who went on to be elected as the constituency's MP.[24]

In theNorfolk County Councilelection on 4 May 2017,Rowntree was elected as county councillor for the University ward inNorwich.[25]He stood down before the2021 election,due to theCOVID-19 pandemic:in a statement on his website, he said "It has been a joy and a privilege to represent the residents in University Ward, and I've made friendships here that will last a lifetime. I hope that when this is all over, I can get back involved somehow."[26]

In March 2024, Rowntree was selected as Labour'sprospective parliamentary candidatefor the constituency ofMid Sussexin the2024 general election.[1]The seat is presently held by the ConservativeMims Davies.[27]Rowntree's campaign focused on housing and town centre regeneration.[28]

Political views

[edit]

Rowntree is a committed opponent of the death penalty and patron ofAmicus,[29]an organisation that provides legal representation to people ondeath rowin the United States.

In August 2014, Rowntree was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter toThe GuardianopposingScottish independencein the run-up to September'sreferendum on that issue.[30]

Campaigns

[edit]

Rowntree has campaigned against prosecution of internet musicfilesharers.He is a member of theAdvisory Councilof theOpen Rights Group,a United Kingdom-baseddigital rightsNGO. When asked on Blur's website how he felt about their single "Out of Time" being leaked on the internet before its release, he replied "I'd rather it gushed".[31]

Rowntree is a founding director of theFeatured Artists Coalition.[32]

In May 2016, he organised a celebrity "Star Boot Sale" to raise funds for mobile health clinics to help Syrian refugees and host Jordanians in need. Stars manning the stalls includedHot Chip,Melanie C,KT TunstallandBadly Drawn Boy,withPhil Danielsas auctioneer for special lots, likeKylie Minogue's handbag.[33]

Other interests

[edit]

Rowntree obtained a fullpilot's licencein 1995.[34]He has held a foundation licence foramateur radioin the UK since 2012, upgrading to a full licence in 2016. Hiscallsignis M0IEG.[35]

Personal life

[edit]

In 1994, Rowntree married Paola Marra, a Canadian woman.[36]They divorced in the early 2000s. In 2007, he was dating Michelle de Vries.[37]

In the early 1990s, Rowntree was a heavy drinker. He stopped drinking alcohol in 1993 after a particularly heavy drinking session with members of the bandSiouxsie and the Banshees.[36]However, several years later, he began acocainehabit. This led to a public incident in 2003 when, during a TV interview of Blur forMuchMusicby Canadian journalistNardwuar the Human Serviette,Rowntree was seen mocking and physically intimidating Nardwuar throughout the interview. Rowntree has apologised several times since for his behaviour, saying that "the day after a cocaine binge I'd sometimes fly into a murderous rage, and that this was the case on that day". Nardwuar accepted Rowntree's apology onTwitter.[38]By 2007, Rowntree stated that he had stopped using drugs and was "active in the recovery community".[39]He keeps a clip of the interview on his phone, to watch if he ever considers relapsing into drug use.[38]Nardwuar later said of Rowntree's apology "It’s so nice of him. I love the fact that someone is using my interview for motivational purposes."[40]

Rowntree is a trustee on the board ofRelease,a charity that campaigns for evidence-based drug policies founded on principles of public health.[41]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ab"Blur drummer Dave Rowntree selected as Labour candidate".Sky News.6 March 2024.Retrieved6 March2024.
  2. ^Rogers, Jude (15 January 2023)."Blur's Dave Rowntree:" I still wake at 3am thinking I've frittered my life away "".The Guardian.Retrieved6 October2023.
  3. ^Power, Martin (14 June 2013).The Life of Blur.Music Sales Group.ISBN9780857128621– via Google Books.
  4. ^"Blur drummer Dave Rowntree on debut album and Colchester".Daily Gazette.18 January 2023.Retrieved27 March2024.
  5. ^"Biography on blurcentral".Archived fromthe originalon 21 June 2006.
  6. ^abcDrysdale, Laura."Blur drummer Dave Rowntree speaks of his involvement with Beagle 2 Mars mission ahead of Yorkshire talk".Yorkshire Post.National World Publishing Ltd.Retrieved20 June2022.
  7. ^Vincent, James (16 January 2015)."Listen to the music that the Beagle 2 probably played on Mars in 2003".The verge.Vox Media.Retrieved20 June2022.
  8. ^Duerden, Nick (31 January 2014)."Dave Rowntree: Blur's polymath drums up another new career as XFM radio DJ".The Independent.The Independent.Retrieved17 April2022.
  9. ^Slaves (31 July 2018)."Thank you for being in our video @DaveRowntree Here's a photo of us all enjoying a rowntrees ice Lolly on the shoot. Love you pic.twitter /6iuN6VwTwz".Retrieved8 January2019.
  10. ^Dave Rowntree (26 April 2021)."The Dave Rowntree Show".Spotify Anchor.Dave Rowntree.Retrieved4 March2022.
  11. ^"Cooking Vinyl signs Blur's Dave Rowntree for debut solo album".Musicweek.Retrieved7 March2022.
  12. ^Reilly, Nick (17 November 2021)."Blur's Dave Rowntree to release solo album".Rolling Stone.Stream Publishing.Retrieved17 April2022.
  13. ^Dave Rowntree tells us about debut solo single "London Bridge" – and what's next for Blur.NME.5 July 2022. Retrieved 6 July 2022.
  14. ^"Dave Rowntree - Radio Songs Album Reviews, Songs & More".AllMusic.Retrieved21 January2023.
  15. ^"NANOMATION LIMITED".Companies House.Retrieved19 April2022.
  16. ^Mugan, Chris (2 March 2005)."Dave Rowntree: Empire-building for drummers".The Independent.Independent.Retrieved19 April2022.
  17. ^"Video Paintbox – The Fine Art of Video Painting"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 20 December 2015.Retrieved21 January2023.
  18. ^"Stroke Surfaces: Temporally Coherent Non-photorealistic Animations from Video"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 20 December 2015.Retrieved21 January2023.
  19. ^"Rendering cartoon style motion cues in post-production video"(PDF).Archived fromthe original(PDF)on 2 February 2014.Retrieved21 January2023.
  20. ^Solar Management (4 March 2022)."Solar Management - Dave Rowntree, Artist and Composer".Solar Management.Retrieved4 March2022.
  21. ^Dave Simpson (23 September 2010)."From pop star to chiropractor: musicians' post-musical careers".The Guardian.London.Retrieved26 October2011.
  22. ^"David Rowntree's profile on Kingsley Napley's website".Archived fromthe originalon 24 October 2011.
  23. ^Dempsey, Joe (24 July 2017)."Blur drummer David Rowntree receives honorary award from University of Greenwich".NewsShopper.Newsquest Media Group Ltd.Retrieved17 April2022.
  24. ^"Election 2015: Labour candidate Clive Lewis retakes Norwich South".BBC News.7 May 2015.Retrieved13 March2024.
  25. ^Rowntree, David (5 May 2017)."I'm delighted and humbled to have been elected County Councillor for University Ward, Norwich.pic.twitter /xVrnjzwBCB".
  26. ^Hannant, David (14 October 2020)."'It's been a joy' - Blur drummer to stand down as councillor at next election ".Eastern Daily Press.Retrieved12 April2022.
  27. ^Chantler-Hicks, Lydia (7 March 2024)."Blur drummer Dave Rowntree selected as Labour's Mid Sussex election candidate".Evening Standard.Retrieved27 March2024.
  28. ^"Blur's Dave Rowntree hopes he can help Keir Starmer remind the nation that Britain is amazing".Mirror.6 March 2024.Retrieved12 April2024.
  29. ^"Amicus web site".Archived fromthe originalon 20 January 2008.Retrieved21 January2023.
  30. ^"Celebrities' open letter to Scotland – full text and list of signatories".The Guardian.7 August 2014.Retrieved26 August2014.
  31. ^"Rock star says piracy battle is lost".OUT-LAW NEWS.Pinsent Masons.Retrieved20 June2022.
  32. ^Youngs, Ian (12 March 2009)."Music stars call for more power".BBC News.
  33. ^Banks, Emily (23 May 2016)."Outfit worn by former Spice Girl Mel C attracts £6,500 bid at celebrity car boot sale".Ham & High.Archant Community Media.Retrieved19 April2022.
  34. ^"Alex Richardson interviews Dave Rowntree, 16th September 1995".28 June 2009.Retrieved8 January2019.
  35. ^Durrant, Ed (23 December 2016)."Drumming Up a License Upgrade".Amateur Radio Newsline.
  36. ^abThe Life of Blur,Martin Power. Music Sales Group, 2013
  37. ^Barkham, Patrick (12 April 2007)."From Blur to Blair".The Guardian.
  38. ^abHughes, Josiah (1 April 2011)."Blur's Dave Rowntree Apologizes for 2003 Attack Against Nardwuar".Exclaim!.
  39. ^Bychawski, Adam (22 August 2007)."Blur man: I was a coke addict".NME.
  40. ^Adams, Gregory (6 April 2011)."Blur's Dave Rowntree offers apologies to Nardwuar the Human Serviette".The Georgia Straight.
  41. ^"Trustees".Release.org.uk.15 August 2013.Retrieved17 April2022.
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