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The Guardian

‘Graham was keen, Damon less so': Dave Rowntree on his early snaps of Blur

Dave Rowntree, drummer and founder member of Blur, brought his camera along to all of the band's first adventures. He captured up-close and personal pictures of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and himself during the thrilling early stages of the band's rise to the top. 'This was on the tube on the way to the studio,' says Rowntree of this image. 'Given the haircuts it was probably Maison Rouge in Chelsea.' No One You Know, published by Hero, is available to preorder now Rowntree was a member of Blur before they were called Blur, joining up with Albarn and Coxon when they were in various bands in Colchester in the late 1980s After James stepped in as bassist, Blur went on to become one of the most innovative and successful UK bands of all time: helping to create Britpop and then moving on from it in a way that no other band has achieved Rowntree created a one-of-its kind document showing what it's really like to be in a young band during the vital first few years, when everything is new, romantic and fresh Rowntree: 'Around the time the band started I bought an Olympus OM-10 camera and started documenting our day-to-day lives. Graham was keen, Damon sometimes less so' These images were taken during Blur's debut tours of the US and Japan, as well as in the studio in the UK. We see them playing games in the tour bus, larking around backstage, messing about in hotel rooms, at video shoots, with fans and friends. 'Smoking was the national pastime in Japan in the 1990s so Graham and I felt very much at home,' says Rowntree. 'You could even smoke on JAL, the national airline. Then you couldn't, and it was time to quit' 'Word got out that we were playing an acoustic gig at a Tokyo radio station. We had to be smuggled out through a record shop at the back of the building' 'I became obsessed with Pachinko – a Japanese version of bagatelle. The parlours are stuffed to the gills with machines, and the noise of thousands of clattering metal balls and the electronic bleeps of the machines is overwhelming' 'Japanese gigs start very early so the audience can catch the train home. It was a joy for us, because we could go out for dinner after the show' 'I bought a new lens for my camera, and there was something seriously wrong with it. If I put the background out of focus the lens made these lush spirals. Eventually it fell to bits in my hand, which was a shame' 'Backstage before a show. To be honest, dressing rooms aren't much better now, though the rider has improved beyond a bag of Wotsits' 'An early selfie, taken long before it was fashionable. Virgin Airlines to Japan – luxury to help offset the excruciating jet lag to follow' 'Japanese fans liked to give us bags of presents and we loved to receive them. We couldn't meet everyone in person, so we'd ask the crew to go out after a show on a 'present run''