Blur’s Dave Rowntree has launched his solo career with his debut single ‘London Bridge’.
The ‘Parklife’ group’s drummer inked a deal with Cooking Vinyl in 2021 for his first solo LP, and the first taste of the record is out now.
The haunting track is about “unsettling” sightings at London Bridge.
Speaking of the track, the 58-year-old musician said: “When I was in my early 20s, in Colchester, I would start to see the number 126 everywhere. I lived at a house that was 126, I’d get a bus that was 126. It felt to me that the universe was trying to alert my attention to 126 for some reason, even though the rational part of me knew that that was b*******.
“So, ‘London Bridge’ was one of those. Things just started happening when I was near London Bridge, or going past on the bus, or on the tube going underneath London Bridge. I would just notice events occurring, and it was slightly unsettling.
“I had to confront my London Bridge demons and that’s what the song is about.”
On going solo, he added: “I’m really excited to release my first single as a solo artist. It’s from a body of work that I’ve been putting together over the last couple of years, and I’m humbled to be releasing it on the legendary Cooking Vinyl label.”
Dave’s album is yet to receive a release date, but more music is on the way soon.
Britpop legends Blur haven’t toured together since their 2015 run in support of their comeback LP, ‘The Magic Whip’, though frontman Damon Albarn reunited with Dave, guitarist Graham Coxon and bassist Alex James at his Africa Express show in his hometown of Leytonstone in 2019.
Damon previously teased that he was set to start discussing a reunion with his bandmates.
Asked if Blur is finished last year, he insisted: “Not at all.”
The 54-year-old Gorillaz star 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.”
In August, lead guitarist Graham Coxon insisted he’d be up for reuniting with the group when the time is right.
He said: “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.”