Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has confirmed his commitment to the band, after a recent article in the Independent suggested he was going to leave the band after their re-union tour.
Blur went on hiatus in 2003, after which Rowntree began taking his political interests seriously. The long time musician has worked with the Labour Party since then, as well as becoming a vocal member of a musician’s rights group.
Rowntree has also been studying to become a lawyer, doing part time legal practice with a London firm. A recent article in The Independent suggested that the drummer was ready to leave the band after their re-union tour to focus on his legal career, something he now claims is misleading.
In a new statement Rowntree re-affirms his commitment to the group. “I want to set the record straight following the bizarre and inaccurate piece in The Independent,” he wrote on Forums.blur.co.uk. “As anyone who follows the band will know, we all have interests outside Blur.”
“I am currently at law school, about to sit the exams for the first part of my training as a solicitor. I am fitting my studies around our preparation for the shows in the summer.”
“I have one more year of academic training to complete, but if we decide to do more as Blur, I will obviously continue to fit my studies around the band and not the other way round. Whatever else I do, first and foremost I am a musician.”
Blur are to play two shows at London’s Hyde Park this summer, their first with guitarist Graham Coxon in nearly a decade.
