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NO ONE YOU KNOW: DAVE ROWNTREE’S EARLY BLUR PHOTOS
PUBLISHED 9TH SEPTEMBER VIA HERO / LEGEND TIMES GROUP
Blur drummer Dave Rowntree is pleased to announce details of his debut book of photography for release later this year. “No One You Know: Dave Rowntree’s Early Blur Photos” is published via independent publishers Hero (part of the Legend Times Group) on 9th September 2025. The book is edited by journalist/author/broadcaster Miranda Sawyer. The 200+ page hardback book is a fly-on-the-wall glimpse into the earliest years of Blur from a man who saw it all, heard it all, and lived out every moment of it. The book captures the excitement of a young band in their infancy, becoming a global concern. No pressures, no expectations, just four men having the time of their lives as the road opens out before them, all seen behind the eyes of their drummer, and the lens of his Olympus OM10.
Dave Rowntree: “The pictures I took are of a band right at the start of their career. They’re of what we did between the gigs, interviews and photo sessions. They are of us hanging out, relaxing, travelling, eating, and especially in the early days, drinking. They are snapshots of what life in Blur was really like in the first few years when the TV cameras and tape recorders were turned off. Obviously there isn’t much of the band actually working, because then I would have been working too. This is everything else.” The book is available to pre-order now HERE (artist’s edition includes exclusive postcard photo prints). Dave will be signing copies of the book at Rough Trade Denmark St on 10th September.

Dave Rowntree was a member of Blur before they were Blur, joining up as drummer with singer Damon Albarn and guitarist Graham Coxon when they were in various bands in Colchester in the late 1980s. After Alex James stepped in as bassist, Blur went on to become one of the most innovative and successful UK bands of all time: both creating Britpop and then moving up and on from it in a way that no other band
has achieved. The band’s exceptional creative musical talent, their unique ability to create art-rock anthems as well as solid pop bangers, has won them devoted fans across the world, and in 2023, after a hiatus, they sold out Wembley Stadium twice over. Blur have
released nine studio albums, won five BRIT Awards, and sold 70 million across the world.
Aside from his career with Blur, Dave has also been hugely successful in other fields. His computer animation company Nanomation created influential work for MTV and Channel 4. In the mid-2000s, he trained to be a solicitor, and worked for Kingsley Napley. He has been a Labour candidate and county councillor and is active in the Labour Party. His life-long interest in space led to him being heavily involved in the Beagle 2 Mars mission. He writes soundtracks for film and TV, including music for the BBC’s The Capture and Netflix’s The One, and he released his solo album Radio Songs on Cooking Vinyl in 2023.