Blur do not wish to nonetheless be a band past their “sell-by-date”, says drummer Dave Rowntree.
Blur’s Dave Rowntree would not need the band to exist past their ‘sell-by-date’
The Britpop legends reunited in 2023 for the brand new album ‘The Ballad of Darren’ – their first in eight years – and a sequence of reveals, together with two sold-out nights at Wembley Stadium within the July, for what marked their first UK headline gigs since 2015.
And whereas discussing the long run, Dave stated he believes they’re “fairly a method earlier than we’re in our dotage”, however they’d by no means wish to nonetheless be onstage when they’re unable to recollect their lyrics and “wheeled on in our bathtub chairs”.
He advised NME: “I’ve simply turned 61. Once I was 21, the thought of 61-year-olds making albums, touring and being within the charts would have been laughable. I ponder if that’s how 21-year-olds really feel about me now? There’s going to come back a time once we’re too previous to do it, however we’ll have in all probability determined to throw the towel in earlier than then anyway. No person desires to go on previous our sell-by-date.”
The ‘Parklife’ hitmakers are solely drawn again to the band when there’s a “an attention-grabbing concept” for brand new music and would by no means get again collectively only for the sake of it.
Requested if there’s nonetheless a need to maintain going, he defined: “Sure, it takes an attention-grabbing concept now to tempt us again into the studio. The final one was Wembley Stadium [in 2023]. You may’t say no to that. It was the get together on the finish of the Olympics in 2012 that received us out earlier than, the Hyde Park reveals in 2009 earlier than that. So long as individuals are arising with attention-grabbing concepts for us to do it once more, then I’m certain we’ll go for it.
“There’ll come a time once we’ll go, ‘Is there something left to say? Is there one other good Blur album to make?’ I believe that’ll be fairly a method earlier than we’re in our dotage and unable to recollect the songs once we’re wheeled on in our bathtub chairs. However then, take a look at The Stones – they’re nonetheless touring aren’t they?”
Bassist Alex James not too long ago instructed their future may seem like an ABBA-style avatar present – or “respectfully” dipping out and in of enjoying collectively.
Talking to Ken Bruce on Best Hits Radio, he stated: “We received again collectively in 2023, made a brand new report and I believe did our greatest ever run of reveals. It’s unimaginable how the music has endured and it was the primary time we’d ever received to the tip of an album or tour with out no less than certainly one of us saying ‘that’s it, by no means once more.’ We didn’t do many reveals and I believe that was in all probability a great place to depart it.
There’s two methods to go both the ABBA factor and cease on the prime and simply let it take its personal course and make avatars of your self whenever you have been 27 and exquisite. Or deal with it respectfully and dip out and in sometimes and it’s a very fantastic factor to have the ability to step again into – that every one these years of enjoying collectively is a present really. So long as you don’t overcook it or annoy the guitar participant or singer an excessive amount of…”
Dave was talking to advertise his new photobook, ‘No One You Know: Dave Rowntree’s Early Blur Photographs’, set to be printed on September 9.
