Dave Rowntree on Blur reunion: "It’s a question of when rather than if"

11 August 2026, 14:28 | Updated: 11 August 2026, 14:34

The drummer claims that the British band finished their last tour on a positive note.

Dave Rowntree has suggested Blur aren’t finished yet, saying he expects the band will reunite for more music and shows in the future.

The 62-year-old drummer said the group - includes Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Alex James - left Coachella in 2024 feeling energised rather than exhausted... despite their headline set apparently not going down with the younger audience.

Rowntree told The Sun:  “I think there’ll be something else. There’s nothing in the diary, but you can’t read anything into that. There’s never anything in the diary.”

He recalled the band parting ways after their final date with a sense of optimism.

"We all finished the last tour thinking, well, that worked pretty well. That was fun, and we haven’t always felt that at the end of three years of touring.

"So I seem to remember us at Heathrow picking up our bags, giving each other a hug and saying, ‘We’ll do that again’. That’s my take on it, that it’s a question of when rather than if, but of course you ask the other people in the band, they may give you a different answer."

Blur: To The End - A New Documentary Film - Official Trailer

The musician added that Blur’s sporadic reunions have helped keep the excitement alive.

He said:  “I suppose these days it’s almost full circle in that we don’t do it enough for it to be routine anymore.

“So we’re back to the thrill of playing together and things being a very exciting idea, the band getting back together, and us being in the studio again.”

He went on: "We only do it every five years or so, so it’s a real pleasure to play with these people and rediscover their musicality. We’re all making music still, so we’re all developing as musicians. It’s really interesting to get back together again and see how our musicality has changed.”

Blur's last studio album, 2023's The Ballad of Darren, went straight to number one after an eight year wait since its predecessor The Magic Whip.

Alex James doesn't want to poke the Oasis "hornets nest"! | The Chris Moyles Show | Radio X

Bassist Alex recently told Radio X that Blur will allow Oasis "to get their stuff out of the way" before they reunite again.

With rumours circulating that Oasis are planning more shows in 2027 after their epic Oasis Live '25 tour, the band don't want to risk reigniting their '90s Britpop rivalry by hitting the road at the same time as the Gallaghers.

He told Chris Moyles the chances of more Blur gigs in the near future: “I think we need to let Oasis get their stuff out of the way before we even sort of countenance."

Chris quipped that Blur should have headlined Knebworth, where Oasis hosted two landmark concerts in 1996, performing to 250,000 people across two nights, to mark the 30th anniversary.

Alex replied: “No, no. Honestly, honestly, I don’t want to poke that hornet’s nest again, trust me!”

Oasis fans are eagerly waiting for a possible announcement of 2027 Knebworth dates.

Frontman Liam Gallagher coyly responded to the reports on X this week, telling one fan: "Yes of course be excited smash things up but these things take time to announce if there getting announced at all I’m all for announcing things if they need to be announced but just coz you got something to announce doesn’t mean you should announce."