Blur drummer Dave Rowntree on the ‘bucketlist’ Wembley Stadium comeback gig that was ‘hard to turn down’

Published

2 years ago

November 14, 2022

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Blur drummer Dave Rowntree has told Sky News that playing Wembley Stadium is a “bucketlist” dream that was “hard to turn down”.

Speaking shortly after the Britpop band made the announcement that they will play a one-off UK show at the venue in 2023, the musician revealed that organising the gig had gone “right up to the wire”.

Taking place in July, the show will bring Rowntree back together with his Blur bandmates Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Alex James for their first headline performance since 2015 – and their first ever gig at the England football team’s home.

Rowntree said the show has been a long time in the making.

“Turns out it’s incredibly difficult to arrange something like this, you know, the technical resources, the staff, the places to play. All of these things are in very, very short supply.

“So it went right up to the wire, but it’s very hard to turn something like that down.

“We’re a band that’s done almost everything it’s possible to do… what an iconic place, what an iconic venue. It’s just incredibly exciting.”

Rowntree, who is also a former Labour councillor, said that while Blur played Wembley Arena back in the day, Wembley Stadium – which has a capacity of around 90,000 – would be a first.

“It’s one of these iconic places that are secretly up on your bucketlist, even though you pretend they’re not,” he said, adding: “I sincerely hope we are a band that can fill a stadium like that. I don’t want there to be four people and a dog.”

The Battle of Britpop

Blur rose to fame in the 1990s, releasing debut album Leisure in 1991 followed by Modern Life Is Rubbish in 1993, before really breaking through with third album Parklife in 1994.

Featuring singles including Girls & Boys, End Of A Century and the titular Parklife, it was the first in a series of five successive number one albums and a string of hit singles – including Country House, Charmless Man, Beetlebum, Song 2, Tender and Coffee & TV – which helped shape British music in that decade.

In 1995, the release of Country House on the same day as Roll With It, by rivals Oasis, spawned the “Battle of Britpop” – with Blur winning that first round as they claimed the number one spot in the UK charts.

More than 30 years since they formed, Rowntree joked that Blur are now “kind of embarrassing granddads” in music but said he was looking forward to playing the hits once again.

“You only get to play for an hour and a half at these big shows so almost all of [that] is going to be full of songs that people won’t let us out of the stadium if we don’t play,” he said. “But I think we’ll try to squeeze a few surprises in there.

“I think once we didn’t play Song 2 and the audience refused to go home. They felt short-changed.”

Rowntree said that even after so many years, the nerves can still be there.

“The nerves these days come about half an hour before a show,” he said. “I go from sort of relaxed, kind of sitting around reading a book, to suddenly sitting bolt upright a half an hour before [the] show, pacing the room and kind of suddenly going, ‘Oh my God! What if I can’t remember the songs?'”

And while he says the bandmates “don’t go and hang around each other’s houses every night like we used to”, they are still good friends and support each other.

“Damon’s always doing loads of interesting stuff. Alex has got a great festival we all troop out to every year, and Graham’s got all kinds of stuff on the go as well.

“We all live in different areas of the country now, so it’s really nice to see each other when we do hang out.”

Fans can catch them hanging out at Wembley Stadium on Saturday 8 July, with artists including British rapper Slowthai, Mercury Prize nominee Self Esteem and London-based electro-pop duo Jockstrap also on the bill.

Tickets go on sale on Friday 18 November at 10am.

Entertainment

Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is ‘absolutely, wildly overwhelming’

Published

9 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Paul Mescal says being the star of Gladiator II as it premieres in London is 'absolutely, wildly overwhelming'

Gladiator II star Paul Mescal has said bringing Sir Ridley Scott’s legacy sequel to the big screen has been a “wildly… overwhelming” experience.

The star was speaking to Sky News on the red carpet at the film’s royal premiere which was attended by His Majesty the King, who had earlier hosted members of the film and TV industry at a Buckingham Palace reception.

When asked about making the move from indie films, like All Of Us Strangers and Aftersun, into one of the most eagerly anticipated films this year, Mescal said: “I’m excited to play with what the audience is expecting of me.”

“The royal audience is one thing… I think we’ve seen how an audience responded to the film, royal or not, and I think we’re excited for people to see it.”

A whole 24 years after Sir Ridley Scott’s Roman blockbuster starring Russell Crowe, Mescal plays Lucius who, much like the original, finds himself trying to win back his freedom after powerful emperors of Rome conquer his home.

With an actual-scale model of the Colosseum built for the production, the film comes with high costs and a lot of hype.

“I’m struggling with words at the moment,” Mescal admitted, taking in the occasion, having come from the champagne reception at Buckingham Palace.

“This has been an absolutely, wildly – I keep using the word overwhelming – but I think if this isn’t slightly overwhelming then I don’t know what the hell is. I’m having a great time.”

Sir Ridley explained his reason for casting Mescal was that he saw aspects of “a young Albert Finney” in him.

While the pressure is on for the sequel to do well at the box office, the director said he’s learnt how to deal with the weight of expectations over the years.

“Any film of [this] scale, it doesn’t matter how we play it down, it’s colossally stressful. You better embrace stress or don’t do the job.”

Before heading to the premiere, the King welcomed directors, actors, TV presenters, stunt performers and costume designers at the palace to mark the centenary of the Film and TV Charity, of which Charles has become patron.

Sir Ridley, actor Joseph Fiennes, actress India Amarteifio from the hit Netflix show Queen Charlotte, and TV presenter Claudia Winkleman were among the celebrities who attended the event.

Gladiator II is in cinemas on 15 November.

Entertainment

Actor Timothy West has died, aged 90

Published

20 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Actor Timothy West has died peacefully in his sleep aged 90, “with his friends and family at the end”.

He was known for many roles in television and the theatre, including popular soaps Coronation Street and EastEnders.

Husband to 92-year-old Prunella Scales – who played Sybil Fawlty in Fawlty Towers – the pair travelled together on UK and overseas canals in the Channel 4 series Great Canal Journeys.

His children Juliet, Samuel and Joseph West, said in a statement issued by his agent: “After a long and extraordinary life on and off the stage, our darling father Timothy West died peacefully in his sleep yesterday evening. He was 90 years old.

“Tim was with friends and family at the end. He leaves his wife Prunella Scales, to whom he was married for 61 years, a sister, a daughter, two sons, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. All of us will miss him terribly.

“We would like to thank the incredible NHS staff at St George’s Hospital, Tooting and at Avery Wandsworth for their loving care during his last days.”

He was the winner of an RTS television award for his lead role in Churchill And The Generals, released in 1979, according to imdb.com.

In his career, he played Winston Churchill three times, including in The Last Bastion (1984) and in Hiroshima (1995).

West was also nominated for best actor in the 1976 BAFTAs for his part as Edward VII in the historical drama.

Four years later, he was nominated in the same category for a number of roles, including as best actor in Crime And Punishment.

After a small part as Eric Babbage in Coronation Street in 2013, West appeared in 2014 for the first time as Stan Carter in EastEnders.

He also held other popular TV roles, such as in BBC comedy-drama Last Tango In Halifax.

In the long-running BBC comedy, Not Going Out, he played Geoffrey, the father of Lucy Adams, played by Sally Bretton.

In comedy-drama Brass, he was the ruthless self-made businessman Bradley Hardacre, playing the role from 1982 to 1984 before returning for a third series in 1990.

In 2019, the Bradford-born actor played Private Godfrey in Dad’s Army: The Lost Episodes, a recreation of three missing episodes of the BBC comedy Dad’s Army.

He was also a regular performer of Shakespeare, playing Lear in 2016 and 2002.

Entertainment

Band Aid’s Do They Know It’s Christmas? – 40th anniversary track revealed

Published

23 hours ago

November 13, 2024

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Band Aid's Do They Know It's Christmas? - 40th anniversary track revealed

An “ultimate” version of Band Aid’s famous festive hit Do They Know It’s Christmas? is set to be released to mark the song’s 40th anniversary, featuring the voices of original singers as well as younger artists.

The track will feature voices from Band Aid 1984 including George Michael, Sting and Boy George, alongside the likes of Harry Styles, Chris Martin, the Sugababes, and Ed Sheeran, who appeared on the Band Aid 20 and Band Aid 30 versions in 2004 and 2014.

It will also feature the vocals of a young Bono, who recorded the song’s famous line – “Well tonight thank God it’s them, instead of you” – singing with his older self.

The singers will be backed by the Band Aid house band of Sir Paul McCartney, Sting, Duran Duran’s John Taylor, Phil Collins, Queen’s Roger Taylor, Supergrass’s Danny Goffey, Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Johnny Greenwood, Paul Weller, Damon Albarn, Midge Ure, Gary Kemp and Justin Hawkins.

Other voices to feature on the 40th anniversary remix include Sam Smith, Elbow’s Guy Garvey, Rita Ora, Bananarama, Seal, Sinead O’Connor, Robbie Williams, Kool And The Gang and Underworld, with proceeds going to the Band Aid Trust.

And in a new video, the late David Bowie will introduce the song’s stars, with newsreader Michael Buerk’s BBC report on the song also featuring.

The history of Band Aid

Led by Boomtown Rats frontman Bob Geldof and Ultravox’s Ure, the original Band Aid single saw artists join forces in 1984 to help charities working with starving children in Ethiopia.

The song went straight to the top of the charts that year and at the time held the record as the fastest-selling single of all time in the UK, selling a million copies in the first week alone.

It remained at number one for five weeks and went on to sell more than three million copies.

The movement led to the famous Live Aid concerts around the world the following year, with artists including Queen, Bowie and Sir Elton John performing at Wembley in the UK.

Do They Know It’s Christmas? was released again with different generations of stars over the decades, to raise money for other causes.

In 1989, Stock Aitken and Waterman produced Band Aid II, featuring just two of the artists from the song’s first iteration – Sara Dallin and Keren Woodward of Bananarama.

Band Aid 20 raised funds for Sudan’s Darfur region, while the 30th anniversary supported those helping throughout the 2014 Ebola crisis.

In celebration of this monumental “instrument of change”, producer Trevor Horn has taken the recordings and blended all the voices “into one seamless whole”, organisers said.

The Do They Know It’s Christmas – 2024 Ultimate Mix will premiere on UK breakfast radio and streaming on 25 November, the 40th anniversary of the day artists went into the recording studio to create the original song. It will also be released physically on CD and vinyl on 29 November.

It will feature on a compilation also including the other recordings, plus the Live Aid Wembley 1985 version.

Artist Sir Peter Blake, 93, who designed the original sleeve – featuring a collage of Christmas card images alongside a hungry child – has returned to create the new cover.