Gorillaz Biography

Gorillaz is enclosing the real members Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The virtual part of the band consists of 2D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs.

Early Years

In 1990, Hewlett was publishing his comic strip Tank Girl in Deadline magazine and Damon Albarn sang with Blur. They met when Hewlett interviewed Albarn’s band. At first, they did not get along too well. Time passing, they became flatmates in 1997.

The Gorillaz creators said they came with the idea of a cartoon band while watching MTV. They came up with the name Gorillaz and started recording the first song. Working with Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala, Albarn issued the song “Ghost Train”.

Breakthrough

With Albarn on the musical side, always collaborating with various artists and experimenting and Hewlett designing and drawing the virtual part of the band, Gorillaz started their journey.

They issued the debut EP Tomorrow Comes Today in 2000. The single “Clint Eastwood” was released one year later and since then, it became their most known hit. The self-titled album got out in 2001, becoming a hit in both UK and US.

Their second album Demon Days (2005) debuted at number one on the UK Albums Chart. The band started performing with their virtual characters on the stage, using the Musion Eyeliner technology. They played like this at the 2006 Grammy Awards together with a virtual Madonna.  In 2016, they also released an illustrated autobiography called Rise of the Ogre.

Escape to Plastic Beach

Plastic Beach, their third studio album saw the light of day in 2010. A project so complex, it included artists like Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Little Dragon, Mos Def and De La Soul. The album received an 8.5/10 rating from Pitchfork and 4/5 stars from The Guardian.

With singles like “Stylo”, “Superfast Jellyfish” and “On Melancholy Hill”, the album met with tremendous success. It debuted at number two on the US Billboard 200 chart.

Their fourth album The Fall was released in 2011. It was recorded entirely by Albarn on the road, on his iPad. With peculiar and intriguing electronic tunes,  The Fall had a more experimental nature. After this album, Albarn and Hewlett stopped their collaboration due to personal issues.

Upcoming album

Fixing their problems, the creators of Gorillaz started work for their new album. Hewlett began teasing with several drawings, clips and animations. The tracklist for the album has been leaked and it is known that they worked with artists such as Rag’n’Bone Man, Kilo Kish and Grace Jones. The band will hold the Demon Dayz Festival on 10 June 2017.

Photo Source: Discogs