Dave Rowntree
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David Alexander De Horne Rowntree (born 8 May 1964) is an English musician, politician, solicitor, composer and animator. He is the drummer for the rock band Blur and was a Labour Party councillor in
Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...
from 2017 until 2021.


Early life

Rowntree was born in
Colchester Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colch ...
,
Essex Essex () is a county in the East of England. One of the home counties, it borders Suffolk and Cambridgeshire to the north, the North Sea to the east, Hertfordshire to the west, Kent across the estuary of the River Thames to the south, and Grea ...
to musical parents – Susan, a
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player, and John, a
sound engineer An audio engineer (also known as a sound engineer or recording engineer) helps to produce a recording or a live performance, balancing and adjusting sound sources using equalization, dynamics processing and audio effects, mixing, reproductio ...
at the
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
. He has an older sister named Sara. He attended the Gilberd School, Colchester during the week, and the Landermere Music School,
Thorpe-le-Soken Thorpe-le-Soken is a village and civil parish in the Tendring district of Essex, England located east of Colchester, west of Walton-on-the-Naze, Frinton-on-Sea and north of Clacton-on-Sea. History Since 2002, archaeological investigations ahead ...
, 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 a
Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongsi ...
(HND) in Computer Science at Thames Polytechnic, and started his career as a computer programmer for
Colchester Borough Council Colchester ( ) is a city in Essex, in the East of England. It had a population of 122,000 in 2011. The demonym is Colcestrian. Colchester occupies the site of Camulodunum, the first major city in Roman Britain and its first capital. Colchest ...
.


Music career


Blur

Rowntree played in bands with
Graham Coxon Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Cox ...
while they were growing up in Colchester. He also knew Coxon's father, who taught jazz classes at Landermere. In 1989, Coxon introduced Rowntree to Damon Albarn, who was forming a band around
Goldsmiths, University of London Goldsmiths, University of London, officially the Goldsmiths' College, is a constituent research university of the University of London in England. It was originally founded in 1891 as The Goldsmiths' Technical and Recreative Institute by the Wo ...
. Rowntree was asked to join, and left his job to move to London. With the addition of Alex James, and after two name changes, the band settled on Blur and were signed to Food Records, which was distributed through
EMI EMI Group Limited (originally an initialism for Electric and Musical Industries, also referred to as EMI Records Ltd. or simply EMI) was a British Transnational corporation, transnational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in March 1 ...
. EMI later acquired Food Records and Blur were absorbed into EMI.


Beagle 2 Mars mission

In 1998 Rowntree's life-long fascination with space led him to get involved in the
Beagle 2 The ''Beagle 2'' is an inoperative British Mars lander that was transported by the European Space Agency's 2003 ''Mars Express'' mission. It was intended to conduct an astrobiology mission that would have looked for evidence of past life on Mar ...
Mars mission. The previous year the European Space Agency (ESA) had announced its first planetary mission, an orbiter named the
Mars Express ''Mars Express'' is a space exploration mission being conducted by the European Space Agency (ESA). The ''Mars Express'' mission is exploring the planet Mars, and is the first planetary mission attempted by the agency. "Express" originally ref ...
. The Open University's Prof Colin Pillinger proposed it should carry a lander dedicated to looking for life and conducting scientific analyses. Rowntree and fellow band member Alex James became involved after taking a behind the scenes tour at Houston's
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
space 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. 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 artist
Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist, entrepreneur, and art collector. He is one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingd ...
and 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 the
UK Space Agency The United Kingdom Space Agency (UKSA) is an executive agency of the Government of the United Kingdom, responsible for the United Kingdom's civil space programme. It was established on 1 April 2010 to replace the British National Space Centre ...
in images taken by a NASA orbiter. Rowntree says: “In the same way that Damien Hirst got the first artwork on Mars, we got the first music on Mars.”


XFM radio

In 2014 Rowntree started as a presenter for Global Radio's
alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from mainstream or commerci ...
radio station XFM (now Radio X) with a regular show on Sunday nights. On his first show he played songs by
John Lennon John Winston Ono Lennon (born John Winston Lennon; 9 October 19408 December 1980) was an English singer, songwriter, musician and peace activist who achieved worldwide fame as founder, co-songwriter, co-lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist of ...
,
Elbow The elbow is the region between the arm and the forearm that surrounds the elbow joint. The elbow includes prominent landmarks such as the olecranon, the cubital fossa (also called the chelidon, or the elbow pit), and the lateral and the me ...
and
The Polyphonic Spree The Polyphonic Spree is an American choral rock band from Dallas, Texas that was formed in 2000 by singer/songwriter Tim DeLaughter. The band's pop and rock songs are augmented by a large vocal choir, and instruments such as flute, trumpet, fre ...
interspersed with discussions with his studio friend, “researcher George” on 'nerdy' topics like Mars.


Video

On 31 July 2018, Rowntree appeared in the video for Slaves' newly released single, "Chokehold", as a drummer auditioning for a part in the band.


Podcast

Rowntree hosts The Dave Rowntree Podcast Show on Spotify with "researcher George". The first series is 6 episodes long, starting with an episode of Dave's 'go to' music for challenging times released in November 2022.


Solo career

In November 2021 Dave Rowntree signed a deal with Cooking Vinyl for his first solo record, which is due out in 2022. "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,” Rowntree said in a statement. “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." His first solo single, "London Bridge", was released on 5 July 2022.


Film and animation


Animation

Rowntree is a computer animator, and owned an animation company called Nanomation for 11 years. Clients included advertising agencies and
The 11 O'Clock Show ''The 11 O'Clock Show'' is a satirical late-night British television comedy series on Channel 4 which featured topical sketches and commentary on news items. It ran between 30 September 1998 and 8 December 2000, most notably hosted by Iain Lee a ...
. He also directed two series of the '' South Park''-esque animated show ''
Empire Square ''Empire Square'' (abbreviated ''Empire Sq.'') is a British animated TV series created by Matt Morgan made with pixel graphics. It originated in the UK, where it was broadcast on Channel 4 late at night on Fridays. In 2006, the United States musi ...
'', which made its TV debut on
Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network operated by the state-owned Channel Four Television Corporation. It began its transmission on 2 November 1982 and was established to provide a fourth television service ...
on 18 February 2005.


Non-photorealistic rendering

He is interested in
computer graphics Computer graphics deals with generating images with the aid of computers. Today, computer graphics is a core technology in digital photography, film, video games, cell phone and computer displays, and many specialized applications. A great de ...
and has contributed to three research papers on topics related to
non-photorealistic rendering Non-photorealistic rendering (NPR) is an area of computer graphics that focuses on enabling a wide variety of expressive style (visual arts), styles for digital art, in contrast to traditional computer graphics, which focuses on photorealism. NPR ...
. The papers look at translating video to animation using novel techniques to track and visualise movement.


Film and TV

Rowntree also works in film and TV soundtrack composition. He and Ian Arber composed the music and score for the 2018 Bros documentary '' Bros: After the Screaming Stops''. He also worked on the BBC series '' The Capture'', which premiered in 2019 and Netflix's science fiction series ''
The One The ONE is a shopping centre in Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, Hong Kong. It is built on the site of the former Tung Ying Building at 100 Nathan Road. It was developed by Chinese Estates Holdings and opened in 2010. Owner Joseph Lau Luen-hung g ...
'' (March 2021).


Legal and political career


Law

Rowntree trained to become a solicitor when Blur took a hiatus in 2006. He worked in the criminal department of Kingsley Napley, a firm of solicitors based in
Farringdon, London Farringdon is a small district in Central London, the southern part of the London Borough of Islington. The term is used to describe the area around Farringdon station. Historically the district corresponded to southern Clerkenwell and the small ...
. In July 2017 he was awarded an honorary doctorate in law by Greenwich University becoming Honorary Doctor of Laws (HonLLD).


Labour candidate and councillor

Rowntree has been a keen activist and supporter of the Labour Party since becoming a member in 2002, and has been chair of London's West End branch. In April 2007 he unsuccessfully contested the safe
Conservative Conservatism is a cultural, social, and political philosophy that seeks to promote and to preserve traditional institutions, practices, and values. The central tenets of conservatism may vary in relation to the culture and civilization in ...
seat of
Marylebone High Street Marylebone High Street is a shopping street in London, running sub-parallel to Baker Street and terminating at its northern end at the junction with Marylebone Road. Given its secluded location, the street has been described as "the hidden wonde ...
on
Westminster City Council Westminster City Council is the local authority for the City of Westminster in Greater London, England. The city is divided into 20 wards, each electing three councillors. The council is currently composed of 31 Labour Party members and 23 Cons ...
. In July 2008, he fought the Labour-held seat of Church Street, a Labour stronghold since its creation in the 1960s, but a swing from Labour to the Conservatives of 14.1% meant that he was again unsuccessful, as the Conservatives gained the seat. In February 2008, he was selected by the Cities of London and Westminster Constituency Labour Party to stand against Conservative MP
Mark Field Mark Christopher Field (born 6 October 1964) is a British politician who served as the Member of Parliament (MP) for Cities of London and Westminster from 2001 to 2019. A member of the Conservative Party, he served as a Minister of State at ...
at the 2010 General Election. He was defeated at that election. In 2011, Rowntree sought selection as Labour candidate for
Norwich South Norwich South is a constituency in Norfolk represented in the House of Commons of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, since 2015 by Clive Lewis, of the Labour Party. History The constituency was created by the Representation of the Peopl ...
. He lost to Clive Lewis, a journalist and former soldier, who went on to be elected as MP. In the
Norfolk County Council Norfolk County Council is the top-tier local government authority for Norfolk, England. Its headquarters are based in the city of Norwich. Below it there are 7 second-tier local government district councils: Breckland District, Broadland Distr ...
election on 4 May 2017, he was elected as county councillor for the University ward in
Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. Norwich is by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. As the seat of the See of Norwich, with ...
. He stood down from the 2021 election. 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."


Political views

Rowntree is a committed opponent of the death penalty and patron of Amicus, an organisation that provides legal representation to people on death row in the United States. In August 2014, Rowntree was one of 200 public figures who were signatories to a letter to
The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...
opposing Scottish independence in the run-up to September's referendum on that issue.


Campaigns

Rowntree has campaigned against prosecution of internet music filesharers. He is a member of the Advisory Council of the
Open Rights Group The Open Rights Group (ORG) is a UK-based organisation that works to preserve digital rights and freedoms by campaigning on digital rights issues and by fostering a community of grassroots activists. It campaigns on numerous issues including ma ...
, a United Kingdom-based
digital rights Digital rights are those human rights and legal rights that allow individuals to access, use, create, and publish digital media or to access and use computers, other electronic devices, and telecommunications networks. The concept is particula ...
NGO. 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". Rowntree is a founding director of the Featured Artists Coalition. 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 included Hot Chip, Melanie C, KT Tunstall and
Badly Drawn Boy Damon Michael Gough (born 2 October 1969), known by the stage name Badly Drawn Boy, is an English indie singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. Gough chose his stage name from a character in the show ''Sam and his Magic Ball'', which he saw ...
with
Phil Daniels Philip William Daniels (born 25 October 1958) is an English actor, musician and singer, most noted for film and television roles playing Londoners, such as the lead role of Jimmy Cooper in ''Quadrophenia'', Richards in '' Scum'', Stewart in '' T ...
as auctioneer for special lots like Kylie Minogue's handbag.


Other interests

Rowntree obtained a full pilot's licence in 1995. Rowntree holds a foundation licence for amateur radio in the UK since 2012 using the callsign M6DRQ. He upgraded his licence in 2016 to advanced with the new call sign M0IEG.


Personal life

In 1994, Rowntree married Paola, a Canadian woman.The Life of Blur
Martin Power. Music Sales Group, 2013 They divorced in the early 2000s. In 2007, he was dating Michelle de Vries. 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 band Siouxsie and the Banshees. However, several years later, he began a
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly used recreationally for its euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from the leaves of two Coca species native to South Ameri ...
habit. This led to a public incident in 2003 when, during a TV interview of Blur for MuchMusic by Canadian journalist
Nardwuar the Human Serviette John Ruskin (born July 5, 1968), better known as Nardwuar, or Nardwuar the Human Serviette, is a Canadian interviewer and musician from Vancouver, British Columbia.Doug Ward, "Trudeau rolled by Human Serviette", ''Vancouver Sun'', November 17, 1 ...
, 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. By 2007, he stated that he had stopped using drugs and was "active in the recovery community". He keeps a clip of the interview on his phone, to watch if he ever considers relapsing into drug use. He's now a trustee on the board of
Release Release may refer to: * Art release, the public distribution of an artistic production, such as a film, album, or song * Legal release, a legal instrument * News release, a communication directed at the news media * Release (ISUP), a code to iden ...
, a charity that campaigns for evidence-based drug policies founded on principles of public health.


References


External links


BBC appearance discussing povertyRowntree discusses why he became a Labour candidateEquipment spec
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Rowntree, Dave 1964 births Alumni of the University of Greenwich Blur (band) members British anti–death penalty activists Britpop musicians English rock drummers English solicitors Labour Party (UK) councillors Labour Party (UK) parliamentary candidates Labour Party (UK) people Living people Members of Norfolk County Council People from Colchester Amateur radio people