He was the burned-out bigwig who moved to a very big house. Now back with his first music for decades, he talks about signing the Proclaimers, being punched by Julian Cope \u2013 and his Scott Walker-inspired trio<\/p>\n
David Balfe has had quite a life. In the Teardrop Explodes<\/a>, he took amyl nitrate on The Old Grey Whistle Test and acid on Top of the Pops. As a music publisher he\u2019s been involved with a multitude of bands from the KLF to the Proclaimers, and his record label signed Blur when they were called Seymour. However, he\u2019ll probably be most remembered as the man immortalised in their 1995 smash Country House<\/a>. \u201cBalfey\u201d actually lived \u201cin a house, a very big house in the country.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s going to be the first thing mentioned in my Guardian obituary,\u201d he chuckles. \u201cI\u2019m aware that the song isn\u2019t exactly a paean to my greatness, but I\u2019m genuinely proud about it. It\u2019s the one thing you can casually drop into a dinner party and everybody goes, \u2018What the fuck?!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.guim.co.uk\/img\/media\/b90791a3ed07685ca1145f29ead9d085d8800954\/291_0_2918_2334\/master\/2918.jpg?width=140&quality=85&auto=format&fit=max&s=5752e927c289719dcbbdcbce9d50958d\" "\\"\u2018It\u2019ll")
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