What is Dave Rowntree doing in the Blur-On Your Own video?

Question

If you watch the video to Blur's On Your Own (single- '95), Damon is jumping around, Graham is playing guitar behind walls and Alex is just walking around. Dave Rowntree, however, is in a sort of booth, playing on a keyboard. I don't understand why. The video has no story or plot, and what he's doing has no relevance/correlation to the song or the lyrics. I'm confused. Why is he messing around on a keyboard? And why is he in a metal shelter/booth? (Oh, and it's like a typewriter/computer keyboard, not a piano-like keyboard)

Answer 1

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We had to make this video while on tour on a day off, so our options were pretty limited - it basically had to be some kind of performance. To make it even vaguely interesting, it would have to be in an interesting location.

I couldn't swear to it, but I think we were in Portugal at the time, and there was a power station nearby that was in the process of being demolished. The director had taken a look, and thought there were enough odd locations there to keep an MTV viewer from switching over for 3 minutes or so.

To add extra interest, Damon had bought an unusual hat, which he decided to wear.

While filming, we found a metal trap door in the ground. On opening, we found it concealed a large underground bunker. There was a metal bar across the entrance, and it was decided that I would sit on it for my close-up.

My turn came.

"Action" shouted the director.

I sat on the bar, smiled and waved.

"STOP F***ING WAVING!" suggested Damon.

"Well what can I do?" I asked, "I can't fit my drums in here!"

A moment passed while heads were scratched.

"Why not play this?" said one of the crew, and gave me a tiny Casio keyboard.

So that's what I did.

There's no real story to the video, if you're yearning for one, think of it as the story of a man playing keyboards in a bunker while another wears an unusual hat.

Source(s):

Dave Rowntree

Answer 2

I always thought it was supposed to be a drum machine/similar?