David Balfe

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David Balfe (c.1958-) is a musician who is most notable for playing keyboards with The Teardrop Explodes, founding the Zoo and Food record labels, signing Blur and for being the subject of their No.1 hit - Country House.

He grew up in Merseyside, where he became a member of several Liverpool bands in the late 1970s, including Big in Japan, Dalek I Love You and The Teardrop Explodes. He also played on and co-produced the first Echo & The Bunnymen and Teardrop Explodes albums.

Balfe and Bill Drummond founded the Zoo record label in 1978 in order to release Big in Japan's EP From Y To Z and Never Again. The label went on to release early work from The Teardrop Explodes and Echo & the Bunnymen. Balfe and Drummond also did production work under the name of The Chameleons, and released the singles "Touch" & "The Lonely Spy" - credited to Lori and The Chameleons - on the Zoo label, later licensed to Sire/Korova.

Balfe was originally The Teardrop Explodes label-head, then manager, then producer, then publisher. But on the departure of their original keyboard-player, Paul Simpson, Balfe stepped in for what turned into four years in and out of the band. Famously conflicting with their singer Julian Cope.

After The Teardrop Explodes disbanded in 1983, Balfe moved to London where he founded the Food record label. They signed Voice of the Beehive, Zodiac Mindwarp, Crazyhead, Diesel Park West and others before hitting it big with Jesus Jones, and even bigger with Blur. (It was Balfe and his later label co-owner Andy Ross that convinced the band to change their name from Seymour to Blur in 1989.) Balfe also directed two of their early music videos, She’s So High and There's No Other Way.

Balfe decided to sell the label to EMI in 1994.

After leaving the music business for two years, Balfe returned briefly to work at Sony Music from '96 to '99 as General Manager and Head of A&R of the Columbia label. The only notable success of that period being Kula Shaker.

Since then Balfe has received a BA in Creative Writing from the University of Bedfordshire in 2003. In 2006 he completed an MA in Screenwriting at the University of Westminster. He is now writing/directing both film and theatre, and still lives in the only UK house with a number one song written about it.