BLUR - BLUR COMEBACK NEARLY BLOCKED BY ROWNTREE'S LEGAL CAREER

BLUR COMEBACK NEARLY BLOCKED BY ROWNTREE'S LEGAL CAREER

Organising a BLUR reunion hasn't been without its obstacles - the rockers had to convince drummer DAVE ROWNTREE to take a break from law school.
The Britpop pioneers announced their return on Tuesday (09Dec08) following a six-year hiatus that began when guitarist Graham Coxon walked out on the band while recording the album Think Tank.
Since then each of the members has gone their separate ways, with frontman Damon Albarn launching a number of projects including his virtual band Gorillaz, bassist Alex James managing a cheese farm, and Rowntree becoming a political activist for Britain's Labour Party.
And James insists it was no mean feat pulling Rowntree away from his burgeoning legal career.
He says, "It was like putting The A-Team back together for one last job. We had to bust Rowntree out of law school."
But the bass player is curious to hear exactly how their newly acquired musical tastes will colour their comeback: "God knows what it will sound like in the studio. Now Damon writes operas, Graham's listening to finger-plucking folk music, Dave's going to be a prime minister and I'm conducting orchestras, so it's going to be weird. It could be s**t!
"Since I moved to the country drums have started to annoy me. Now I listen to violin and French horns. I have an ongoing love affair with orchestras, they go well in the countryside."