Blur’s Alex James is turning his gourmet food side-career up another notch.
The British musician and cheese-maker is co-host of a new Australian cooking show, “Recipes That Rock,” which goes to air from next month.
James and Matt Stone front the series that’s pitched as a travelogue with a real rock-star with a rock-star chef.
The six-part “Recipes That Rock” program was filmed in Australia last November, and will air from July 14 on the Australian Network Seven’s digital channel, 7TWO.
James made his name as the founding bass player with Britpop legends Blur. Along the way, he’s had some notable projects — not all of them music-related. He was the songwriter behind Fat Les, the one-off novelty act that recorded the England soccer song “Vindaloo” to coincide with the 1998 FIFA World Cup. And in 2006, he formed WigWag with ‘90s pop artist Alison Clarkson (aka Betty Boo).
After Blur split, James moved to the Cotswolds in England, bought a farmhouse and converted the site into a cheesefarm. James can boast having won numerous BRIT Awards as an artist, and the “Best Goats Cheese Award” at the 2008 British Cheese Awards.
Blur recently reunited for live dates, but a rumored album never materialized. New music has trickled out in singles form, with 2010 track “Fool’s Day” seeing a Record Store Day release and 2012 songs “Under the Westway” and “The Puritan” arriving last July. Last month, frontman Damon Albarn told Hong Kong fans “we thought it would be a good time to try and record another record.”