Damon Albarn
Encyclopedia
Damon Albarn (ˈdeɪmən ˈælbɑrn, born 23 March 1968) is an English singer-songwriter
and record producer
who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop
band Blur
. He is perhaps best known internationally for his current role as the lead vocalist and songwriter of Gorillaz
, whose first two studio albums had sold more than 20 million copies combined by 2007. Albarn has also led projects such as The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Monkey: Journey to the West
, Mali Music
and Rocketjuice and The Moon
. Albarn has released multiple singles and albums which have charted at #1, both in the UK and internationally.
Albarn was voted the 4th greatest frontman of all time in a national 2010 Q
magazine poll.
, London
in 1968, and grew up with his middle-class, Quaker
family in Leytonstone
, later moving to Colchester. He attended the George Tomlinson Primary School, and studied piano, guitar, and violin. When he was aged 12, he became friends with Graham Coxon
, a fellow student at Stanway School. At age 15, he won the regional heat in the Young Composer of the Year contest.
He studied acting at the East 15 Acting School
in Debden
, leaving after the first year. On leaving drama school he performed as a mime artist
, and also worked as a tea boy at the Beat Factory studio. He went on to attend a part-time music course at Goldsmiths, University of London in London. His first band was the synth pop group, Two's a Crowd. Before Blur, he played with The Aftermath and Real Lives.
Albarn's father, Keith Albarn, was the manager of Soft Machine
and presenter of the BBC's Late Night Line-Up
. Keith Albarn was the head of North Essex College of Art, which later became Colchester Institute
. Albarn's mother, Hazel, was a theatrical set designer. He has a sister, Jessica (born 1971).
, bassist Alex James
and drummer Dave Rowntree
. Blur's debut album Leisure
(1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester
and shoegazing
. Following a stylistic change—influenced by English guitar pop groups such as The Kinks
, The Beatles
and XTC
—Blur released the Modern Life is Rubbish
(1993), Parklife
(1994) and The Great Escape (1995) albums. As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with rival band Oasis
dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
In recording their follow-up, Blur (1997), the band underwent another reinvention, influenced by the lo-fi style of American indie rock bands such as Pavement
. "Song 2
", one of the album's singles, brought Blur brief mainstream success in the US. The last album featuring Blur's original line-up, 13
(1999) found the band members experimenting with electronic music and gospel music, as Albarn wrote more personal lyrics. In May 2002, Coxon left Blur during the recording of their seventh album Think Tank (2003). Containing electronic sounds and more minimal guitar work, the album was marked by Albarn's growing interest in hip hop and African music. After a 2003 tour without Coxon, Blur did no studio work or touring as a band, as members engaged in other projects. Subsequently, Blur reunited in 2009 with Coxon back in the fold. Following a series of successful concerts, Blur members have stated that the group has no immediate plans for the future.
" fared even better, and Leisure, released a year later, went to #7 on the UK album chart. The follow-up, Modern Life is Rubbish, peaked at #17,
, including Best Group and Best Album. By the time Blur released 1995’s The Great Escape, it was locked in a battle of the bands with a new contender to the Brit-pop throne, working-class heroes Oasis. The UK press made front-page news out of each band’s bid for #1 with their new singles, and Blur’s "Country House" beat out Oasis' "Roll with It" by a narrow margin. It was the #1 Oasis album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
, however, that won in the end, earning the Manchester band bragging rights as the biggest new band in the UK and significant stateside success, while The Great Escape stalled on the U.S. chart at #150.
", a hard-rock blitzkrieg from its self-titled fifth album (#61, 1997). The song’s exuberant "woo-hoo!" chorus made it a favourite at sporting events, though the band turned down the U.S. military’s bid to use it at the unveiling of the new Stealth bomber. Blur was heavily informed by the group's love of American lo-fi rockers Pavement and bore little in common with the clean, theatrical pop sound on which it had built their British following. They went even further off the track with the William Orbit–produced 13 (#80, 1999), though the album kicked off with a lush ballad, "Tender"
. Albarn had recently split with girlfriend Justine Frischmann
of Elastica, and many of 13s songs were mined from the ashes of their eight-year relationship.
Despite a handful of side projects (two lo-fi solo albums by Coxon, and Albarn’s score [in collaboration with Michael Nyman] to the movie Ravenous) Blur came out of its first decade in one piece. During an extended and tumultuous period leading up to their next project, 2003's Think Tank, Coxon began distancing himself from the direction he saw the production of the album going. He soon left, although it remains unclear who made the ultimate decision. The remaining members continued seeking creative satisfaction in various solo projects. Albarn released his Gorillaz' Demon Days in 2005 which received a Grammy for the single "Feel Good Inc", while Dave Rowntree set up his own animation company Nanomation, moonlighting as the drummer for the Ailerons.
is a virtual band
composed of four animated band members created in 1998 by Albarn and Jamie Hewlett
, co-creator of the comic book
Tank Girl
. The band's music is a collaboration between various musicians; Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is broadly alternative rock, but with a large number of other influences including: Britpop, dub
, hip-hop, and pop music.
In 2001, the band's eponymous debut album
sold over seven million copies, and featured hits such as the songs "19-2000" and "Clint Eastwood," earning them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize
2001, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band's request. Their second studio album, Demon Days
, was released in 2005 and included the singles "Feel Good Inc.
", "Dare"
, "Dirty Harry"
and "Kids With Guns"/"El Mañana". Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum
in the United States and earned five Grammy Award
nominations for 2006 and won one of them in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category. Gorillaz have also released two B-sides compilations and a remix album. The combined sales of Gorillaz and Demon Days had, by 2007, exceeded 15 million albums. Gorillaz released their third studio album, Plastic Beach
in early 2010, which was received with high praise.
In December 2010, the group released an album called The Fall
which was recorded over 32 days during their North American tour. The band also appeared on the Snoop Dogg
track: "Sumthing' Like this Night" on his album: "Doggumentary
".
in 2002, recorded in Mali, during a trip he made to support Oxfam in 2000. He has also visited Nigeria to record music with African drummer Tony Allen
. Albarn says he would like to produce a Blur album in Baghdad as he "likes the Iraqi style of music".
He also released Democrazy in 2003, a collection of demos he recorded while staying in hotel rooms on the U.S. portion of Blur's tour for Think Tank.
Albarn has also appeared on other unrelated works. His song "Closet Romantic" appeared on the soundtrack for Trainspotting
alongside an early Blur recording, "Sing". The Rentals
' 1999 Album Seven More Minutes
features Albarn on the track "Big Daddy C". Fatboy Slim
's 2004 release Palookaville
featured Albarn's vocals on the song "Put It Back Together". Albarn provided the voiceover intro and backing vocals in the song "Time Keeps On Slipping" for the rap concept album
Deltron 3030
, and featured on the track "Lovage (Love That Lovage, Baby)" for the Lovage
album Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
. Both albums were produced by Dan the Automator
, who also produced Gorillaz' debut album.
Albarn also composed the score with collaboration by Michael Nyman
for the 1999 movie Ravenous
with Guy Pearce
and Robert Carlyle
. In 2000, he composed the main part of the soundtrack for the crime comedy Ordinary Decent Criminal
. Albarn also appeared on the Nathan Hanies' song "Squire for Hire", however Albarn credited it to Gorillaz' frontman 2D
instead.
In October 2007, Q Magazine released a 21st birthday special. Inside featured the "21 Artists who Changed Music" with 8 pages dedicated to Damon Albarn for his work in Blur, Gorillaz, and The Good the Bad and the Queen. In the article, Albarn expressed an interest in releasing a solo record under his own name, containing romantic songs.
He also produced in 2008 parts of Amadou & Mariam
's fifth album Welcome to Mali
.
In September 2009, Albarn appeared on stage during Massive Attack
's first date at London's Brixton Academy to sing a track from their album "Heligoland
" entitled "Saturday Come Slow".
song "Angel" for the single release, in 1998. Albarn then adapted the pseudonym of "Control Freak" for his remixing career. He only ever used the name once in a remix, when he remixed the Blur song "Bugman
" as Control Freak for the single release of "Coffee & TV
" in summer 1999.
In May 2006, NME reported that Albarn was working with Danger Mouse
on his first solo album, tentatively titled The Good, the Bad and the Queen. However, in July 2006, NME
reported that those plans had been switched to the formation of a new band titled The Good, the Bad and the Queen. This proved to be inaccurate, as Albarn and other members of the group have indicated that The Good, the Bad and the Queen
is the name of the album and not the band itself. The album was awarded Best Album at the 2007
MOJO Awards
on 18 June.
The group's line-up is composed of Albarn, former Clash
bassist Paul Simonon
, The Verve
/Gorillaz guitarist Simon Tong
, and drummer Tony Allen
of Fela Kuti
's band, The Africa '70. Danger Mouse
produced the album and decided on the final track listing.
The first single by the line-up, "Herculean
", was released in late October 2006, and peaked at #22 in the UK Singles Chart
. A second single, "Kingdom of Doom
", and the band's debut album were then released in January 2007. That single fared slightly better than "Herculean", peaking at #20, while the album peaked at #2 in the UK Albums Chart
and went gold
during its first week of release in the UK. "Green Fields
" was released as the third single from the album in April 2007, just missing out on the Top 50.
On 27 April 2008, The Good The Bad And The Queen headlined the Love Music Hate Racism Carnival
in Victoria Park where they introduced on stage several guests including ex-Specials
keyboard player Jerry Dammers
. He also worked with Syrian rapper and friend Eslam Jawaad
on the song "Mr. Whippy", though the song does not appear on the album it is a B-Side on the Herculean
single.
, adapted for stage the Chinese story Journey to the West
. as "Monkey: Journey to the West
", which received its world premiere as the opening show of the 2007 Manchester International Festival
, on 28 June 2007 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester
. Albarn wrote the score, Hewlett designed the set and costumes.
The opera was Albarn and Hewlett's second collaboration with the Manchester International Festival. In November 2005, they staged the first-ever live performances of Demon Days Live
involving many of the artists who had played on the successful Demon Days
album, as a launch event for the festival.
, Albarn has created an opera for the 2011 Manchester International Festival based on the life of Elizabethan scientist John Dee
and titled Doctor Dee
.
, which was written by his sister, Jessica Albarn. The film was set for a spring 2011 release in selected theatres.
, XL Recordings
managers Richard Russell
& Rodiadh McDonald, Jneiro Jarel
and musicians, DJ Darren Cunningham
aka Actress, Marc Antoine
, Alwest, Remi Kabaka Jr., Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Kwes
, Damon Albarn went to Kinshasa
for one week to record an album called Kinshasa One Two
.
The Congolese band Tout Puissant Mukalo joined them as well.
All proceeds will benefit Oxfam's
work in the DRC
.
The album was released by Warp Records.
is the title of Albarn's new side-project featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers
bassist, Flea
and afrobeat
legend, Tony Allen
. Albarn said that he is not responsible for the name and that someone in Lagos
did the sleeve design and that’s the name he gave it, which he said he is fine with because trying to find a name for another band is always tricky. The band will make their live debut on October 29, 2011 and their album will be released in 2012.
frontwoman Justine Frischmann
. His involvement with her profoundly influenced his songwriting in Blur in the mid-to-late 1990s. He now lives in Bayswater
, London with artist Suzi Winstanley, and their daughter.
Albarn's grandfather, Edward Albarn, was a conscientious objector during the Second World War and was involved in a farming community in Lincolnshire. Albarn himself is outspokenly anti-war
and has criticised British involvement in the wars in Afghanistan
and Iraq
. In 2002, he and Robert Del Naja
of Massive Attack
took out full page advertisements in the NME challenging the need for war. Albarn contributed backing vocals to a song on Massive Attack's 100th Window
, released the following year. More recently, he sang in the track "Saturday Come Slow" from Massive Attack's Heligoland album.
In 2005 Albarn, among others, criticised the London Live 8
concert for not featuring enough black artists; among the few included were Ms. Dynamite
, Snoop Dogg
, and Youssou N'Dour
. Eventually the organisers added a separate concert at the Eden Project in Cornwall to the programme in order to showcase African musicians. Albarn said he did not want to perform at Live 8 because he thought it was too "exclusive" and may have been motivated by self-promotion.
In the 1990s he spent a good deal of time in Reykjavík
, and owns a home in Grafarvogur
, a suburb of Reykjavík. He composed the soundtrack to the 2000 Icelandic film 101 Reykjavík
.
Albarn has been a vocal critic of celebrity culture:
In 2006, Albarn was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of East London
, saying it was "great to receive [the] award from an institution where my dad used to work and which I, as a child, used to think of as that big building with lots of interesting people in".
Albarn is a vegetarian and a fan of english football club Chelsea
.
The Good, the Bad & the Queen albums
Rocketjuice and The Moon albums
Operas
Soundtracks
alongside Ray Winstone and Robert Carlisle
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
and record producer
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
who has been involved in many high profile projects, coming to prominence as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop
Britpop
Britpop is a subgenre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom. Britpop emerged from the British independent music scene of the early 1990s and was characterised by bands influenced by British guitar pop music of the 1960s and 1970s...
band Blur
Blur (band)
Blur is an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Blur's debut album Leisure incorporated the sounds of Madchester and shoegazing...
. He is perhaps best known internationally for his current role as the lead vocalist and songwriter of Gorillaz
Gorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
, whose first two studio albums had sold more than 20 million copies combined by 2007. Albarn has also led projects such as The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Monkey: Journey to the West
Monkey: Journey to the West
Monkey: Journey to the West is a stage adaptation of the 16th Century Chinese novel Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en. It was conceived and created by the Chinese actor and director Chen Shi-zheng with the British musician Damon Albarn and British artist Jamie Hewlett.-Development:In 2004,...
, Mali Music
Mali Music
Mali Music is a 2002 album by musician Damon Albarn in collaboration with Malian musicians Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabaté & Friends, and also featuring a cameo from Ko Kan Ko Sata.- Track listing :# Spoons# Bamako City# Le Relax...
and Rocketjuice and The Moon
Rocketjuice and The Moon
Rocketjuice and The Moon is a supergroup formed in 2008. The group consists Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tony Allen , longtime drummer and musical producer for Fela Kuti....
. Albarn has released multiple singles and albums which have charted at #1, both in the UK and internationally.
Albarn was voted the 4th greatest frontman of all time in a national 2010 Q
Q (magazine)
Q is a popular music magazine published monthly in the United Kingdom.Founders Mark Ellen and David Hepworth were dismayed by the music press of the time, which they felt was ignoring a generation of older music buyers who were buying CDs — then still a new technology...
magazine poll.
Early life
Albarn was born in WhitechapelWhitechapel
Whitechapel is a built-up inner city district in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, London, England. It is located east of Charing Cross and roughly bounded by the Bishopsgate thoroughfare on the west, Fashion Street on the north, Brady Street and Cavell Street on the east and The Highway on the...
, London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
in 1968, and grew up with his middle-class, Quaker
Religious Society of Friends
The Religious Society of Friends, or Friends Church, is a Christian movement which stresses the doctrine of the priesthood of all believers. Members are known as Friends, or popularly as Quakers. It is made of independent organisations, which have split from one another due to doctrinal differences...
family in Leytonstone
Leytonstone
Leytonstone is an area of east London and part of the London Borough of Waltham Forest. It is a high density suburban area, located seven miles north east of Charing Cross in the ceremonial county of Greater London and the historic county of Essex...
, later moving to Colchester. He attended the George Tomlinson Primary School, and studied piano, guitar, and violin. When he was aged 12, he became friends with Graham Coxon
Graham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
, a fellow student at Stanway School. At age 15, he won the regional heat in the Young Composer of the Year contest.
He studied acting at the East 15 Acting School
East 15 Acting School
East 15 is a British drama school in Debden, Loughton, Essex. At the main campus, Loughton, it occupies an 18th century mansion, Hatfields, and has its own theatre, the Corbett, which is adjacent. The Corbett Theatre is an adaptation of a 15th-century barn...
in Debden
Debden, Epping Forest
Debden is a suburb of the town of Loughton, in the Epping Forest district of Essex, England. It takes its name from the ancient manor of Debden, which lay at its northern end. The area is predominantly residential, but is also the location of Epping Forest College, East 15 Acting School and the De...
, leaving after the first year. On leaving drama school he performed as a mime artist
Mime artist
A mime artist is someone who uses mime as a theatrical medium or as a performance art, involving miming, or the acting out a story through body motions, without use of speech. In earlier times, in English, such a performer was referred to as a mummer...
, and also worked as a tea boy at the Beat Factory studio. He went on to attend a part-time music course at Goldsmiths, University of London in London. His first band was the synth pop group, Two's a Crowd. Before Blur, he played with The Aftermath and Real Lives.
Albarn's father, Keith Albarn, was the manager of Soft Machine
Soft Machine
Soft Machine were an English rock band from Canterbury, named after the book The Soft Machine by William S. Burroughs. They were one of the central bands in the Canterbury scene, and helped pioneer the progressive rock genre...
and presenter of the BBC's Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up
Late Night Line-Up was a pioneering British television discussion programme broadcast on BBC2 between 1964 and 1972. Late Night Line-Up returned for a special one-off edition on BBC Parliament in 2008.-Background:...
. Keith Albarn was the head of North Essex College of Art, which later became Colchester Institute
Colchester Institute
Colchester Institute is a large provider of further and higher education based in the town of Colchester, and includes the Centre for Music and Performing Arts, Centre for Hospitality and Food Studies, and the Professional Training Centre. Higher Education courses are accredited by the University...
. Albarn's mother, Hazel, was a theatrical set designer. He has a sister, Jessica (born 1971).
Blur
Blur are an English alternative rock band. Formed in London in 1989 as Seymour, the group consists of singer Damon Albarn, guitarist Graham CoxonGraham Coxon
Graham Leslie Coxon is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums...
, bassist Alex James
Alex James (musician)
Professionally known as Alex James is an English musician, songwriter, journalist and cheesemaker. He is best known as the bass player and occasional vocalist of band Blur...
and drummer Dave Rowntree
Dave Rowntree
David Alexander De Horne Rowntree is an English solicitor, musician, animator, and political activist. He is best known as the drummer of the alternative rock band Blur...
. Blur's debut album Leisure
Leisure (album)
Leisure is the debut album by English alternative rock band Blur. The album was released on 26 August 1991 in the United Kingdom via Food Records, and peaked at #7 in the UK Albums Chart. It was released in the US a month later with a different track listing. The album was certified Gold in the...
(1991) incorporated the sounds of Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...
and shoegazing
Shoegazing
Shoegazing is a subgenre of alternative rock that emerged from the United Kingdom in the late 1980s. It lasted there until the mid 1990s, with a critical zenith reached in 1990 and 1991...
. Following a stylistic change—influenced by English guitar pop groups such as The Kinks
The Kinks
The Kinks were an English rock band formed in Muswell Hill, North London, by brothers Ray and Dave Davies in 1964. Categorised in the United States as a British Invasion band, The Kinks are recognised as one of the most important and influential rock acts of the era. Their music was influenced by a...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
and XTC
XTC
XTC were a New Wave band from Swindon, England, active between 1976 and 2005. The band enjoyed some chart success, including the UK and Canadian hits "Making Plans for Nigel" and "Senses Working Overtime" , but are perhaps even better known for their long-standing critical success.- Early years:...
—Blur released the Modern Life is Rubbish
Modern Life Is Rubbish
Modern Life Is Rubbish is the second album by English alternative rock band Blur, released in May 1993. Although their debut album Leisure had been commercially successful, Blur faced a severe media backlash soon after its release, and fell out of public favour...
(1993), Parklife
Parklife
Parklife is the third studio album by the English alternative rock band Blur, released in April 1994 on Food Records. After disappointing sales for their previous album Modern Life Is Rubbish , Parklife returned Blur to prominence in the UK, helped by its four hit singles: "Girls & Boys", "End of a...
(1994) and The Great Escape (1995) albums. As a result, the band helped to popularise the Britpop genre and achieved mass popularity in the UK, aided by a famous chart battle with rival band Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
dubbed "The Battle of Britpop".
In recording their follow-up, Blur (1997), the band underwent another reinvention, influenced by the lo-fi style of American indie rock bands such as Pavement
Pavement (band)
Pavement is an American alternative rock band that formed in Stockton, California in 1989. In their career, they achieved a significant cult following, and they were called the best band of the 1990s by prominent music critics Robert Christgau and Stephen Thomas Erlewine...
. "Song 2
Song 2
"Song 2" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, the second track on and second single released from their fifth album Blur in April 1997...
", one of the album's singles, brought Blur brief mainstream success in the US. The last album featuring Blur's original line-up, 13
13 (Blur album)
13 is the sixth album by English band Blur, released in March 1999. The album reached number one in the UK Albums Chart and number 80 in the US Billboard 200. 13 spawned three hit singles: "Tender", "Coffee & TV" and "No Distance Left to Run"...
(1999) found the band members experimenting with electronic music and gospel music, as Albarn wrote more personal lyrics. In May 2002, Coxon left Blur during the recording of their seventh album Think Tank (2003). Containing electronic sounds and more minimal guitar work, the album was marked by Albarn's growing interest in hip hop and African music. After a 2003 tour without Coxon, Blur did no studio work or touring as a band, as members engaged in other projects. Subsequently, Blur reunited in 2009 with Coxon back in the fold. Following a series of successful concerts, Blur members have stated that the group has no immediate plans for the future.
The start
Albarn, the son of an author/art professor and a theatrical stage designer, met guitarist Graham Coxon, a self-taught musician whose father played in an army band, in school in Colchester in 1980. The pair collaborated on some demos before heading off to different art colleges - Albarn to study acting, Coxon to pursue art. They met up again at a party on behalf of Albarn’s band Circus, which featured drummer Dave Rowntree, a classically trained percussionist. Coxon introduced Albarn to his college friend Alex James, and when Circus folded, the four began recording demos and performing club gigs in late 1989 under the name Seymour (after the Swell Maps song 'Read About Seymour'). EMI-distributed Food Records signed them in 1990, whereupon they changed their name to Blur and debuted with the Top 50 British single "She’s So High". "There's No Other WayThere's No Other Way
"There's No Other Way" is a song by Blur and was released 15 April 1991 as their second single. The song was the band's first top ten and top 40 hit and was also featured on the band's debut album Leisure. The single was also a minor hit in the United States, reaching number 82 on the Billboard Hot...
" fared even better, and Leisure, released a year later, went to #7 on the UK album chart. The follow-up, Modern Life is Rubbish, peaked at #17,
Britpop years
In 1994’s chart-topping Parklife, featuring the hit "Girls & Boys", cemented Blur as British superstars and won the band four BRIT AwardsBrit Awards
The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards. The name was originally a shortened form of "British", "Britain" or "Britannia", but subsequently became a backronym for British Record Industry Trust...
, including Best Group and Best Album. By the time Blur released 1995’s The Great Escape, it was locked in a battle of the bands with a new contender to the Brit-pop throne, working-class heroes Oasis. The UK press made front-page news out of each band’s bid for #1 with their new singles, and Blur’s "Country House" beat out Oasis' "Roll with It" by a narrow margin. It was the #1 Oasis album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?
(What's the Story) Morning Glory?
Morning Glory? is the second studio album by the English rock band Oasis. It was released on 2 October 1995 through Creation Records. The album was Oasis' most enduring commercial success, charting at number one in the UK and number four in the U.S...
, however, that won in the end, earning the Manchester band bragging rights as the biggest new band in the UK and significant stateside success, while The Great Escape stalled on the U.S. chart at #150.
Reinvention after Britpop: 1996–2000
Blur's U.S. breakthrough came in 1997 with "Song 2Song 2
"Song 2" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur, the second track on and second single released from their fifth album Blur in April 1997...
", a hard-rock blitzkrieg from its self-titled fifth album (#61, 1997). The song’s exuberant "woo-hoo!" chorus made it a favourite at sporting events, though the band turned down the U.S. military’s bid to use it at the unveiling of the new Stealth bomber. Blur was heavily informed by the group's love of American lo-fi rockers Pavement and bore little in common with the clean, theatrical pop sound on which it had built their British following. They went even further off the track with the William Orbit–produced 13 (#80, 1999), though the album kicked off with a lush ballad, "Tender"
Tender (song)
"Tender" is a song by English alternative rock band Blur. It is the first track on Blur's sixth album 13 and was also released as the lead single before the album's release...
. Albarn had recently split with girlfriend Justine Frischmann
Justine Frischmann
Justine Elinor Frischmann is an English singer and guitarist, best known for being the lead singer of the now defunct band Elastica...
of Elastica, and many of 13s songs were mined from the ashes of their eight-year relationship.
Despite a handful of side projects (two lo-fi solo albums by Coxon, and Albarn’s score [in collaboration with Michael Nyman] to the movie Ravenous) Blur came out of its first decade in one piece. During an extended and tumultuous period leading up to their next project, 2003's Think Tank, Coxon began distancing himself from the direction he saw the production of the album going. He soon left, although it remains unclear who made the ultimate decision. The remaining members continued seeking creative satisfaction in various solo projects. Albarn released his Gorillaz' Demon Days in 2005 which received a Grammy for the single "Feel Good Inc", while Dave Rowntree set up his own animation company Nanomation, moonlighting as the drummer for the Ailerons.
Gorillaz
GorillazGorillaz
Gorillaz is an English musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. This project consists of Gorillaz music itself and an extensive fictional universe depicting a "virtual band" of cartoon characters...
is a virtual band
Virtual band
In music, a virtual band is any group whose members are not corporeal musicians, but animated characters...
composed of four animated band members created in 1998 by Albarn and Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Hewlett
Jamie Christopher Hewlett is an English comic book artist and designer. He is known for being the co-creator of the comic Tank Girl and co-creator of the virtual band Gorillaz.-Biography:...
, co-creator of the comic book
Comic book
A comic book or comicbook is a magazine made up of comics, narrative artwork in the form of separate panels that represent individual scenes, often accompanied by dialog as well as including...
Tank Girl
Tank Girl
Tank Girl is a British comic created by Jamie Hewlett and Alan Martin. Originally drawn by Jamie Hewlett, it has also been drawn by Rufus Dayglo, Ashley Wood, and Mike McMahon.The eponymous character Tank Girl drives a tank, which is also her home...
. The band's music is a collaboration between various musicians; Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is broadly alternative rock, but with a large number of other influences including: Britpop, dub
Dub music
Dub is a genre of music which grew out of reggae music in the 1960s, and is commonly considered a subgenre, though it has developed to extend beyond the scope of reggae...
, hip-hop, and pop music.
In 2001, the band's eponymous debut album
Gorillaz (album)
Gorillaz is the debut album by the British virtual band Gorillaz, released in March 2001. It includes the singles "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today"...
sold over seven million copies, and featured hits such as the songs "19-2000" and "Clint Eastwood," earning them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize
Mercury Prize
The Mercury Prize, formerly called the Mercury Music Prize and currently known as the Barclaycard Mercury Prize for sponsorship reasons, is an annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. It was established by the British Phonographic Industry and British...
2001, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band's request. Their second studio album, Demon Days
Demon Days
Demon Days is the second studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released in May 2005. The album features contributions from De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, the London Community Gospel...
, was released in 2005 and included the singles "Feel Good Inc.
Feel Good Inc.
"Feel Good Inc." is a song by Gorillaz, on their album Demon Days, featuring De La Soul. The song was released as the lead single from the album on 9 May 2005 in the United Kingdom . "Feel Good Inc." peaked at #2 in the United Kingdom and #14 in the United States, at the time the band's highest...
", "Dare"
DARE (song)
"DARE" is a song by Gorillaz and is featured on their 2005 album Demon Days. It was released 29 August 2005 as the second single from the album and became the first Gorillaz single to hit number one on the UK Singles Chart. On online music stores such as iTunes, the radio edit of the song was...
, "Dirty Harry"
Dirty Harry (song)
"Dirty Harry" is a song from Gorillaz' second album Demon Days. It was the third single from the album, released 21 November 2005. It peaked at #6 in the UK. It was also released as a promo and onto iTunes earlier that year. An early version of "Dirty Harry" titled "I Need a Gun" was included on...
and "Kids With Guns"/"El Mañana". Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
in the United States and earned five Grammy Award
Grammy Award
A Grammy Award — or Grammy — is an accolade by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences of the United States to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry...
nominations for 2006 and won one of them in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category. Gorillaz have also released two B-sides compilations and a remix album. The combined sales of Gorillaz and Demon Days had, by 2007, exceeded 15 million albums. Gorillaz released their third studio album, Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach
Plastic Beach is the third studio album by British virtual band and alternative hip hop supergroup Gorillaz, released 3 March 2010 on Parlophone and Virgin Records. Conceived from an unfinished Gorillaz project called Carousel, the album was recorded during June 2008 to November 2009 and produced...
in early 2010, which was received with high praise.
In December 2010, the group released an album called The Fall
The Fall (Gorillaz album)
-Additional personnel:* Guitar on track 3 by Mick Jones* Additional keyboards on track 6 by Jesse Hackett* Bass on track 12 by Paul Simonon* Qanun on track 12 by James R Grippo* Vocals, guitar and additional songwriting on track 13 by Bobby Womack...
which was recorded over 32 days during their North American tour. The band also appeared on the Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
track: "Sumthing' Like this Night" on his album: "Doggumentary
Doggumentary
Doggumentary is the eleventh studio album by American hip hop artist Snoop Dogg; released by Priority Records on March 29, 2011. Recording sessions for the album took place during 2010 to 2011...
".
Solo career
Albarn released Mali MusicMali Music
Mali Music is a 2002 album by musician Damon Albarn in collaboration with Malian musicians Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabaté & Friends, and also featuring a cameo from Ko Kan Ko Sata.- Track listing :# Spoons# Bamako City# Le Relax...
in 2002, recorded in Mali, during a trip he made to support Oxfam in 2000. He has also visited Nigeria to record music with African drummer Tony Allen
Tony Allen (musician)
Tony Oladipo Allen is aNigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E...
. Albarn says he would like to produce a Blur album in Baghdad as he "likes the Iraqi style of music".
He also released Democrazy in 2003, a collection of demos he recorded while staying in hotel rooms on the U.S. portion of Blur's tour for Think Tank.
Albarn has also appeared on other unrelated works. His song "Closet Romantic" appeared on the soundtrack for Trainspotting
Trainspotting (film)
Trainspotting is a 1996 British satirical/drama film directed by Danny Boyle based on the novel of the same name by Irvine Welsh. The movie follows a group of heroin addicts in a late 1980s economically depressed area of Edinburgh and their passage through life...
alongside an early Blur recording, "Sing". The Rentals
The Rentals
The Rentals are an American rock band fronted by vocalist Matt Sharp, best known as the former bass player for rock group Weezer. The band is best known for their mid-1990s hit single, "Friends of P.". The group has released two albums, Return of the Rentals and Seven More Minutes on Maverick...
' 1999 Album Seven More Minutes
Seven More Minutes
Seven More Minutes, the second album by The Rentals, was released on April 13, 1999 and features numerous guests such as: Petra Haden , Donna Matthews , Miki Berenyi , Tim Wheeler , Kevin March, and Damon Albarn .-Theme:A good amount of Seven More Minutes was written by Matt Sharp...
features Albarn on the track "Big Daddy C". Fatboy Slim
Fatboy Slim
Norman Quentin Cook better known by his former stage name Fatboy Slim, is a British DJ, electronic dance music musician, and record producer. He is a pioneer of the big beat genre that achieved mainstream popularity in the 1990s...
's 2004 release Palookaville
Palookaville (album)
Palookaville is the fourth studio album by English big beat musician Fatboy Slim, released on 4 October 2004. It was also a temporary name of Brighton and Hove Albion F.C.'s Withdean Stadium, due to their sponsorship deal with Skint Records.- Background :...
featured Albarn's vocals on the song "Put It Back Together". Albarn provided the voiceover intro and backing vocals in the song "Time Keeps On Slipping" for the rap concept album
Concept album
In music, a concept album is an album that is "unified by a theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, narrative, or lyrical." Commonly, concept albums tend to incorporate preconceived musical or lyrical ideas rather than being improvised or composed in the studio, with all songs contributing...
Deltron 3030
Deltron 3030
Deltron 3030 is an alternative hip hop supergroup composed of producer Dan the Automator, rapper Del the Funky Homosapien and DJ Kid Koala...
, and featured on the track "Lovage (Love That Lovage, Baby)" for the Lovage
Lovage (band)
Lovage is a collaborative project headed by Dan the Automator, under his pseudonym "Nathaniel Merriweather" . The album is called Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By, which was created in team with Mike Patton and Jennifer Charles, who both provide vocals...
album Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By
Nathaniel Merriweather Presents... Lovage: Music to Make Love to Your Old Lady By is the debut and so far only album of Lovage, released in 2001. Produced by Dan The Automator...
. Both albums were produced by Dan the Automator
Dan the Automator
Daniel M. Nakamura , better known by the stage name Dan the Automator, is a Japanese-American hip hop producer. He founded the record label 75 Ark, which was distributed by Tommy Boy Records during its short existence....
, who also produced Gorillaz' debut album.
Albarn also composed the score with collaboration by Michael Nyman
Michael Nyman
Michael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
for the 1999 movie Ravenous
Ravenous
Ravenous is a 1999 horror film directed by Antonia Bird and starring Guy Pearce, Robert Carlyle and Jeffrey Jones. The film revolves around cannibalism in 1840s California and some elements bear similarities to the story of the Donner Party and that of Alferd Packer...
with Guy Pearce
Guy Pearce
Guy Edward Pearce is an English-born Australian actor and musician, known for his roles as Leonard Shelby in Christopher Nolan's Memento, Lieutenant Ed Exley in L.A...
and Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle
Robert Carlyle, OBE is a Scottish film and television actor. He is known for a variety of roles including those in Trainspotting, Hamish Macbeth, The Full Monty, The World Is Not Enough, Angela's Ashes, The 51st State, and 28 Weeks Later...
. In 2000, he composed the main part of the soundtrack for the crime comedy Ordinary Decent Criminal
Ordinary Decent Criminal
Ordinary Decent Criminal is a 2000 crime/comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crime boss.- Plot :...
. Albarn also appeared on the Nathan Hanies' song "Squire for Hire", however Albarn credited it to Gorillaz' frontman 2D
2D (Gorillaz)
The fictional character Stuart Pot , better known by his stage name 2-D, also simply spelled as 2D, is a member of the British virtual band Gorillaz...
instead.
In October 2007, Q Magazine released a 21st birthday special. Inside featured the "21 Artists who Changed Music" with 8 pages dedicated to Damon Albarn for his work in Blur, Gorillaz, and The Good the Bad and the Queen. In the article, Albarn expressed an interest in releasing a solo record under his own name, containing romantic songs.
He also produced in 2008 parts of Amadou & Mariam
Amadou & Mariam
Amadou & Mariam are a musical duo from Mali, composed of the couple Amadou Bagayoko and Mariam Doumbia . The pair, known as "the blind couple from Mali" met at Mali's Institute for the Young Blind, and found they shared an interest in music...
's fifth album Welcome to Mali
Welcome To Mali
Welcome to Mali is the fifth studio album by Mali musicians Amadou & Mariam. It was released on Because Music on November 17, 2008 in Europe and was released on Nonesuch Records on March 24, 2009 in the United States.-Track listing:#"Sabali"...
.
In September 2009, Albarn appeared on stage during Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
's first date at London's Brixton Academy to sing a track from their album "Heligoland
Heligoland
Heligoland is a small German archipelago in the North Sea.Formerly Danish and British possessions, the islands are located in the Heligoland Bight in the south-eastern corner of the North Sea...
" entitled "Saturday Come Slow".
Control Freak
Albarn was asked, alongside Blur bandmate Graham Coxon, to remix the Massive AttackMassive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
song "Angel" for the single release, in 1998. Albarn then adapted the pseudonym of "Control Freak" for his remixing career. He only ever used the name once in a remix, when he remixed the Blur song "Bugman
Bugman (song)
"Bugman" is a song by Blur, featured as the second track on their sixth album, 13, released 15 March 1999.The song itself has been noted by critics for it's overdriven "noise" section in the middle of the song. It features the sound of a white-noise believed to be either a power drill or possibly a...
" as Control Freak for the single release of "Coffee & TV
Coffee & TV
"Coffee & TV" is a song by the British alternative rock band Blur. The verses are sung by the band's guitarist, Graham Coxon, who also wrote the lyrics. The music is credited to Damon Albarn, who also sings the chorus. The song appears on the band's sixth studio album, 13, released in 1999; and...
" in summer 1999.
The Good, the Bad and the Queen
Danger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
on his first solo album, tentatively titled The Good, the Bad and the Queen. However, in July 2006, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
reported that those plans had been switched to the formation of a new band titled The Good, the Bad and the Queen. This proved to be inaccurate, as Albarn and other members of the group have indicated that The Good, the Bad and the Queen
The Good, the Bad and the Queen
The Good, the Bad & the Queen is the album by an ostensibly unnamed British alternative rock supergroup also commonly referred to as The Good, The Bad & The Queen, and made up of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen. The album was released in January 2007...
is the name of the album and not the band itself. The album was awarded Best Album at the 2007
2007 MOJO Awards
The 2007 MOJO Honours List Winners were announced at a ceremony at The Brewery in London, England on June 18, 2007.-Nominees:Complete list of nominees :*Album of the Year**Amy Winehouse - Back to Black**Bob Dylan - Modern Times...
MOJO Awards
MOJO Awards
The MOJO Awards is an awards ceremony that began in 2004 by Mojo, a popular music magazine published monthly by Bauer in the United Kingdom...
on 18 June.
The group's line-up is composed of Albarn, former Clash
The Clash
The Clash were an English punk rock band that formed in 1976 as part of the original wave of British punk. Along with punk, their music incorporated elements of reggae, ska, dub, funk, rap, dance, and rockabilly...
bassist Paul Simonon
Paul Simonon
Paul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bass guitarist for punk rock band The Clash. Recent work includes his involvement in the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, released in January 2007...
, The Verve
The Verve
The Verve were an English rock band formed in 1989 in Wigan by lead vocalist Richard Ashcroft, guitarist Nick McCabe, bassist Simon Jones, and drummer Peter Salisbury. Guitarist and keyboardist Simon Tong later became a member. Beginning with a psychedelic sound indebted to shoegazing and space...
/Gorillaz guitarist Simon Tong
Simon Tong
Simon Tong is a guitarist and keyboardist who was a member of The Verve between 1996 and 1999 and is currently a member of Erland and the Carnival and Transmission. He has also played on tour with Blur, Gorillaz and the unnamed supergroup responsible for The Good, the Bad & the Queen...
, and drummer Tony Allen
Tony Allen (musician)
Tony Oladipo Allen is aNigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E...
of Fela Kuti
Fela Kuti
Fela Anikulapo Kuti , or simply Fela , was a Nigerian multi-instrumentalist musician and composer, pioneer of Afrobeat music, human rights activist, and political maverick.-Biography:...
's band, The Africa '70. Danger Mouse
Danger Mouse
Brian Joseph Burton , better known by his stage name Danger Mouse, is an American musician, songwriter and producer. He came to prominence in 2004 when he released The Grey Album, which combined vocal performances from Jay-Z's The Black Album with instrumentals from The Beatles' White Album.He...
produced the album and decided on the final track listing.
The first single by the line-up, "Herculean
Herculean (song)
"Herculean" is the first single by The Good, the Bad and the Queen, an alternative rock band fronted by Damon Albarn. Though Albarn later claimed that the band was unnamed, and that "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" was merely the name of band's first album, this single clearly credits the artist as...
", was released in late October 2006, and peaked at #22 in the UK Singles Chart
UK Singles Chart
The UK Singles Chart is compiled by The Official Charts Company on behalf of the British record-industry. The full chart contains the top selling 200 singles in the United Kingdom based upon combined record sales and download numbers, though some media outlets only list the Top 40 or the Top 75 ...
. A second single, "Kingdom of Doom
Kingdom of Doom
"Kingdom of Doom" is a song by the supposedly unnamed British alternative rock supergroup The Good, The Bad & The Queen, made up of Damon Albarn, Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen and is the fourth track on their 2007 album The Good, the Bad and the Queen .The song was also released as the...
", and the band's debut album were then released in January 2007. That single fared slightly better than "Herculean", peaking at #20, while the album peaked at #2 in the UK Albums Chart
UK Albums Chart
The UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
and went gold
Music recording sales certification
Music recording sales certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped or sold a certain number of copies, where the threshold quantity varies by type and by nation or territory .Almost all countries follow variations of the RIAA certification categories,...
during its first week of release in the UK. "Green Fields
Green Fields
-Chart positions:...
" was released as the third single from the album in April 2007, just missing out on the Top 50.
On 27 April 2008, The Good The Bad And The Queen headlined the Love Music Hate Racism Carnival
Love Music Hate Racism
Love Music Hate Racism is a music-oriented campaign based in Britain by the Anti-Nazi League and Unite Against Fascism. The campaign involves concerts aimed at spreading an anti-racist message...
in Victoria Park where they introduced on stage several guests including ex-Specials
The Specials
The Specials are an English 2 Tone ska revival band formed in 1977 in Coventry, England. Their music combines a "danceable ska and rocksteady beat with punk's energy and attitude", and had a "more focused and informed political and social stance" than other ska groups...
keyboard player Jerry Dammers
Jerry Dammers
Jeremy David Hounsell "Jerry" Dammers is a British musician who is a founder and keyboard player of the Coventry, England based ska revival band The Specials, The Special A.K.A...
. He also worked with Syrian rapper and friend Eslam Jawaad
Eslam Jawaad
Wissam Khodur , better known as Eslam Jawaad , is a rapper of Lebanese-Syrian origin. His debut album, The Mammoth Tusk, was released in 2009.-Career:...
on the song "Mr. Whippy", though the song does not appear on the album it is a B-Side on the Herculean
Herculean (song)
"Herculean" is the first single by The Good, the Bad and the Queen, an alternative rock band fronted by Damon Albarn. Though Albarn later claimed that the band was unnamed, and that "The Good, The Bad & The Queen" was merely the name of band's first album, this single clearly credits the artist as...
single.
Monkey: Journey to the West
In their first major work together since Gorillaz, Albarn and Hewlett, along with acclaimed Chinese theatre and opera director Chen Shi-zhengChen Shi-zheng
Chen Shi-Zheng 陳士爭 born in 1963 in Changsha, Hunan, China) is a New York-based theater director.Having earned a BA from the Hunan Art School in Traditional Opera, he received his MA from the Tisch School of Art at New York University...
, adapted for stage the Chinese story Journey to the West
Journey to the West
Journey to the West is one of the Four Great Classical Novels of Chinese literature. It was written by Wu Cheng'en in the 16th century. In English-speaking countries, the tale is also often known simply as Monkey. This was one title used for a popular, abridged translation by Arthur Waley...
. as "Monkey: Journey to the West
Monkey: Journey to the West
Monkey: Journey to the West is a stage adaptation of the 16th Century Chinese novel Journey to the West, by Wu Cheng'en. It was conceived and created by the Chinese actor and director Chen Shi-zheng with the British musician Damon Albarn and British artist Jamie Hewlett.-Development:In 2004,...
", which received its world premiere as the opening show of the 2007 Manchester International Festival
Manchester International Festival
The Manchester International Festival is an international cultural festival of original new work, held in the English city of Manchester. It is a biennial event, first taking place in June–July 2007, and subsequently recurring in the summers of 2009 and 2011...
, on 28 June 2007 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester
Palace Theatre, Manchester
The Palace Theatre, Manchester, is one of the main theatres in Manchester, England. It is situated on Oxford Street, on the north-east corner of the intersection with Whitworth Street. The Palace and its 'sister' theatre the Manchester Opera House on Quay Street are operated by the same parent...
. Albarn wrote the score, Hewlett designed the set and costumes.
The opera was Albarn and Hewlett's second collaboration with the Manchester International Festival. In November 2005, they staged the first-ever live performances of Demon Days Live
Demon Days Live
Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House is a Grammy Award nominated live DVD by Gorillaz, released 27 March 2006 in the UK...
involving many of the artists who had played on the successful Demon Days
Demon Days
Demon Days is the second studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released in May 2005. The album features contributions from De La Soul, Neneh Cherry, Martina Topley-Bird, Roots Manuva, MF DOOM, Ike Turner, Bootie Brown of the Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder, Dennis Hopper, the London Community Gospel...
album, as a launch event for the festival.
Doctor Dee
In collaboration with theatre director Rufus NorrisRufus Norris
Rufus Norris is an award-winning British theatre director who trained as an actor at RADA before turning to directing.In 2001 he won the Evening Standard Award for Most Promising Newcomer for his production of Afore Night Came at the Young Vic....
, Albarn has created an opera for the 2011 Manchester International Festival based on the life of Elizabethan scientist John Dee
John Dee
John Dee was a Welsh mathematician, astronomer, astrologer, occultist, navigator, imperialist, and consultant to Queen Elizabeth I.John Dee may also refer to:* John Dee , Basketball coach...
and titled Doctor Dee
Doctor Dee
Dr Dee is an opera created by theatre director Rufus Norris and musician and composer Damon Albarn, and was inspired by comic book author Alan Moore...
.
The Boy in the Oak
Albarn is set to record the film score for the film The Boy in the OakThe Boy in the Oak
The Boy in the Oak is a 2010 children's book written and illustrated by Jessica Albarn. It is a fantasy about a boy who discovers an oak tree in his family's back garden. The book contains detailed pencil drawings of fairies, insects, and children. It also contains translucent pages with close-up...
, which was written by his sister, Jessica Albarn. The film was set for a spring 2011 release in selected theatres.
Kinshasa One Two
Collaborating with producers Dan the AutomatorDan the Automator
Daniel M. Nakamura , better known by the stage name Dan the Automator, is a Japanese-American hip hop producer. He founded the record label 75 Ark, which was distributed by Tommy Boy Records during its short existence....
, XL Recordings
XL Recordings
XL Recordings is a British independent record label owned by Richard Russell. It originated as a 1989 offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.Though only releasing an average of six albums a year, XL Recordings has worked with The Prodigy, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Dizzee Rascal, M.I.A., Vampire...
managers Richard Russell
Richard Russell (XL Recordings)
-Career:Russell joined the independent record label XL Recordings in 1991. The label was founded in 1989 by Tim Palmer and Nick Halkes to release rave and electronic music on 12" vinyl singles....
& Rodiadh McDonald, Jneiro Jarel
Jneiro Jarel
Jneiro Jarel is a United States-based music producer. For over a decade he has provided listeners with an eclectic mix of sounds ranging from hip hop, to electronica, to electro-pop, to Brazilian funk, to bass music. Noted for his abstract style, he is also known for his beat-making alias Dr...
and musicians, DJ Darren Cunningham
Werk Discs
Werk Discs is an independent record label based in London. Originally a club night started by Darren J. Cunningham aka Actress, Ben Casey and Gavin Weale in 2000, Werk Discs released their first record in the summer of 2004.-Roster:ActressDisruptAtki 2Lone...
aka Actress, Marc Antoine
Marc Antoine
Marc Antoine is a jazz fusion guitarist. Marc currently resides in Madrid, Spain. His guitar play style is based on Roma music.-Early life:...
, Alwest, Remi Kabaka Jr., Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Kwes
Kwes
Kwes, officially stylized Kwes. is a British record producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist musician.-Biography:Kwes was born and raised in Lewisham, South East London. He began playing his grandparents' organ at the age of four and his grandmother bought him his first small keyboard aged 5...
, Damon Albarn went to Kinshasa
Kinshasa
Kinshasa is the capital and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The city is located on the Congo River....
for one week to record an album called Kinshasa One Two
Kinshasa One Two
Kinshasa One Two is an album recorded by Damon Albarn with ten producers on the newly established group. Recorded in Congo, the album features various producers including Dan the Automator, Marc Antoine, T-E-E-D and Kwes alongside various local musicians from Congo...
.
The Congolese band Tout Puissant Mukalo joined them as well.
All proceeds will benefit Oxfam's
Oxfam
Oxfam is an international confederation of 15 organizations working in 98 countries worldwide to find lasting solutions to poverty and related injustice around the world. In all Oxfam’s actions, the ultimate goal is to enable people to exercise their rights and manage their own lives...
work in the DRC
Democratic Republic of the Congo
The Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
.
The album was released by Warp Records.
Rocketjuice and The Moon
Rocketjuice and The MoonRocketjuice and The Moon
Rocketjuice and The Moon is a supergroup formed in 2008. The group consists Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tony Allen , longtime drummer and musical producer for Fela Kuti....
is the title of Albarn's new side-project featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers
Red Hot Chili Peppers is an American rock band, formed in Los Angeles in 1983. The group's musical style primarily consists of rock with an emphasis on funk, as well as elements from other genres such as punk, hip hop and psychedelic rock...
bassist, Flea
Flea (musician)
Michael Peter Balzary , better known by his stage name Flea, is an Australian-American musician and occasional actor. He is best known as the bassist, co-founding member, and one of the composers of the rock band Red Hot Chili Peppers...
and afrobeat
Afrobeat
Afrobeat is a combination of traditional Yoruba music, jazz, highlife, funk and chanted vocals, fused with percussion and vocal styles, popularised in Africa in the 1970s. Its main creator was the Nigerian multi-instrumentalist and bandleader Fela Kuti, who gave it its name, who used it to...
legend, Tony Allen
Tony Allen (musician)
Tony Oladipo Allen is aNigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E...
. Albarn said that he is not responsible for the name and that someone in Lagos
Lagos
Lagos is a port and the most populous conurbation in Nigeria. With a population of 7,937,932, it is currently the third most populous city in Africa after Cairo and Kinshasa, and currently estimated to be the second fastest growing city in Africa...
did the sleeve design and that’s the name he gave it, which he said he is fine with because trying to find a name for another band is always tricky. The band will make their live debut on October 29, 2011 and their album will be released in 2012.
Personal life
Albarn had a long-standing relationship with ElasticaElastica
Elastica were an English alternative rock band that played punk rock-influenced music. They were best known for their 1995 album Elastica, which produced singles that charted in the US and the UK.-History:...
frontwoman Justine Frischmann
Justine Frischmann
Justine Elinor Frischmann is an English singer and guitarist, best known for being the lead singer of the now defunct band Elastica...
. His involvement with her profoundly influenced his songwriting in Blur in the mid-to-late 1990s. He now lives in Bayswater
Bayswater
Bayswater is an area of west London in the City of Westminster and the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea to the west . It is a built-up district located 3 miles west-north-west of Charing Cross, bordering the north of Hyde Park over Kensington Gardens and having a population density of...
, London with artist Suzi Winstanley, and their daughter.
Albarn's grandfather, Edward Albarn, was a conscientious objector during the Second World War and was involved in a farming community in Lincolnshire. Albarn himself is outspokenly anti-war
Anti-war
An anti-war movement is a social movement, usually in opposition to a particular nation's decision to start or carry on an armed conflict, unconditional of a maybe-existing just cause. The term can also refer to pacifism, which is the opposition to all use of military force during conflicts. Many...
and has criticised British involvement in the wars in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
and Iraq
Iraq
Iraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
. In 2002, he and Robert Del Naja
Robert Del Naja
Robert Del Naja , also known as 3D, is an English artist and musician. Initially gaining notoriety as a graffiti artist and member of the Bristol collective known as "The Wild Bunch", Del Naja went on to become a founding member of the band Massive Attack where he is active to this day.-Music:Del...
of Massive Attack
Massive Attack
Massive Attack are an English DJ and trip hop duo from Bristol, England consisting of Robert "3D" Del Naja and Grant "Daddy G" Marshall. Working with co-producers, as well as various session musicians and guest vocalists, they make records and tour live. The duo are considered to be of the trip...
took out full page advertisements in the NME challenging the need for war. Albarn contributed backing vocals to a song on Massive Attack's 100th Window
100th Window
-Personnel:* Robert "3D" Del Naja* Neil Davidge* Horace Andy – Vocals* Sinéad O'Connor – Vocals* Alex Swift – Additional programming and keyboards* Angelo Bruschini – Guitars* Jon Harris – Bass* Damon Reece – Drums...
, released the following year. More recently, he sang in the track "Saturday Come Slow" from Massive Attack's Heligoland album.
In 2005 Albarn, among others, criticised the London Live 8
Live 8
Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and summit held at the Gleneagles Hotel in Auchterarder, Scotland from 6–8 July 2005; they also coincided with the 20th anniversary of Live Aid...
concert for not featuring enough black artists; among the few included were Ms. Dynamite
Ms. Dynamite
Niomi Arleen McLean-Daley , who performs as Ms. Dynamite, is a double BRIT Award and three time MOBO Awards winning UK garage, R&B and hip hop singer and rapper.-Biography:...
, Snoop Dogg
Snoop Dogg
Calvin Cordozar Broadus, Jr. , better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Snoop is best known as a rapper in the West Coast hip hop scene, and for being one of Dr. Dre's most notable protégés. Snoop Dogg was a Crip gang member while in high school...
, and Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour
Youssou N'Dour is a Senegalese singer, percussionist and occasional actor. In 2004, Rolling Stone described him as, in Senegal and much of Africa, "perhaps the most famous singer alive." He helped develop a style of popular music in Senegal, known in the Serer language as mbalax, a type of music...
. Eventually the organisers added a separate concert at the Eden Project in Cornwall to the programme in order to showcase African musicians. Albarn said he did not want to perform at Live 8 because he thought it was too "exclusive" and may have been motivated by self-promotion.
In the 1990s he spent a good deal of time in Reykjavík
Reykjavík
Reykjavík is the capital and largest city in Iceland.Its latitude at 64°08' N makes it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói Bay...
, and owns a home in Grafarvogur
Grafarvogur
Grafarvogur is among the largest residential suburbs of Reykjavík, Iceland. It is a relatively new neighbourhood, major construction began in the late 1980s and continued well into the '90s.-Sub-districts:...
, a suburb of Reykjavík. He composed the soundtrack to the 2000 Icelandic film 101 Reykjavík
101 Reykjavík
101 Reykjavík is a 2000 film set in Reykjavík, Iceland based on a book of the same name by Hallgrímur Helgason. It was directed by Baltasar Kormákur and stars Victoria Abril and Hilmir Snær Guðnason. The name of the film is taken from the postal code for down-town Reykjavík, "the old city"...
.
Albarn has been a vocal critic of celebrity culture:
"We need to dismantle very significant parts of our culture and really re-examine them. I suppose you start with the celebrity thing... you have to get rid of things like The X FactorThe X Factor (TV series)The X Factor is a television talent show franchise originating in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for Pop Idol. It is a singing competition, now held in various countries, which pits contestants against each other. These contestants are aspiring pop singers drawn from...
immediately."
In 2006, Albarn was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of East London
University of East London
The University of East London is a university located in the London Borough of Newham, East London, England, based at two campuses in Stratford and Docklands areas...
, saying it was "great to receive [the] award from an institution where my dad used to work and which I, as a child, used to think of as that big building with lots of interesting people in".
Albarn is a vegetarian and a fan of english football club Chelsea
Chelsea
Chelsea may refer to:* Chelsea , a carbonated, low-alcohol beverage* Chelsea boots* Chelsea bun, a cake* Chelsea chic-United Kingdom:* Chelsea, London** Chelsea tube station, a proposed railway station...
.
Solo discography
Solo Studio albums- Mali MusicMali MusicMali Music is a 2002 album by musician Damon Albarn in collaboration with Malian musicians Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabaté & Friends, and also featuring a cameo from Ko Kan Ko Sata.- Track listing :# Spoons# Bamako City# Le Relax...
(2002) (with Afel BocoumAfel BocoumAfel Bocoum is a musician from Mali, noted as a singer and guitarist. He began his career as a member of Ali Farka Toure's group ASCO, and Toure is often regarded as his mentor. Both men come from the town of Niafunke on the River Niger, and are members of the Sonrai people...
, Toumani DiabatéToumani DiabatéToumani Diabaté is a Malian kora player. In addition to performing the traditional music of Mali, he has also been involved in cross-cultural collaborations with flamenco, blues, jazz, and other international styles.-Biography:...
& Friends) #81 (UK) - Democrazy (2003)
- Musc Is Your Radar (2009) (with other musicians from Damon's Honest Jon'sHonest Jon'sHonest Jon’s is an independent record shop based on Portobello Road in Ladbroke Grove, London, going since 1974. The shop is owned and run by Mark Ainley and Alan Scholefield, who took over from one of the original proprietors, ‘Honest’ Jon Clare...
label) - Kinshasa One TwoKinshasa One TwoKinshasa One Two is an album recorded by Damon Albarn with ten producers on the newly established group. Recorded in Congo, the album features various producers including Dan the Automator, Marc Antoine, T-E-E-D and Kwes alongside various local musicians from Congo...
(2011)
The Good, the Bad & the Queen albums
- The Good, the Bad & the Queen (2007) (with Tony AllenTony Allen (musician)Tony Oladipo Allen is aNigerian drummer, composer, and songwriter who currently lives and works in Paris. He is currently writing his autobiography "Tony Allen: Master Drummer of Afrobeat" with author/musician Michael E...
, Paul SimononPaul SimononPaul Gustave Simonon is an English musician and artist best known as the bass guitarist for punk rock band The Clash. Recent work includes his involvement in the album The Good, the Bad & the Queen with Damon Albarn, Simon Tong and Tony Allen, released in January 2007...
and Simon TongSimon TongSimon Tong is a guitarist and keyboardist who was a member of The Verve between 1996 and 1999 and is currently a member of Erland and the Carnival and Transmission. He has also played on tour with Blur, Gorillaz and the unnamed supergroup responsible for The Good, the Bad & the Queen...
) #2 (UK)
Rocketjuice and The Moon albums
- Rocketjuice and The MoonRocketjuice and The MoonRocketjuice and The Moon is a supergroup formed in 2008. The group consists Damon Albarn of Blur and Gorillaz, Flea of Red Hot Chili Peppers and Tony Allen , longtime drummer and musical producer for Fela Kuti....
(2012) (with FleaFleaFlea is the common name for insects of the order Siphonaptera which are wingless insects with mouthparts adapted for piercing skin and sucking blood...
and Tony AllenTony AllenTony Allen may refer to:* Tony Allen , basketball player* Tony Allen , drummer with Fela Kuti and one of the founders of Afrobeat* Tony Allen , Irish performer, member of Foster & Allen with Mick Foster...
)
Operas
- Journey to the WestJourney to the West (album)Journey to the West is the soundtrack to the stage musical Monkey: Journey to the West and is composed by English musician Damon Albarn with the UK Chinese Ensemble, the soundtrack itself is only based upon, but not a direct recording of the musical...
(2008) #5 (UK) - Doctor Dee: An English Opera (2012)
Soundtracks
- RavenousRavenous (soundtrack)Ravenous is the score for the film of the same name. It was written and performed by Damon Albarn and Michael Nyman...
(1999) (with Michael NymanMichael NymanMichael Laurence Nyman, CBE is an English composer of minimalist music, pianist, librettist and musicologist, known for the many film scores he wrote during his lengthy collaboration with the filmmaker Peter Greenaway, and his multi-platinum soundtrack album to Jane Campion's The Piano...
) - Ordinary Decent CriminalOrdinary Decent CriminalOrdinary Decent Criminal is a 2000 crime/comedy film, directed by Thaddeus O'Sullivan, written by Gerard Stembridge. The film is loosely based on the story of Martin Cahill, a famous Irish crime boss.- Plot :...
(2000) - 101 Reykjavík101 Reykjavík101 Reykjavík is a 2000 film set in Reykjavík, Iceland based on a book of the same name by Hallgrímur Helgason. It was directed by Baltasar Kormákur and stars Victoria Abril and Hilmir Snær Guðnason. The name of the film is taken from the postal code for down-town Reykjavík, "the old city"...
(2002) (with Einar Örn BenediktssonEinar Örn BenediktssonEinar Örn Benediktsson is a popular music singer and trumpet player who has worked with Björk and The Sugarcubes. Since the 2010 elections he is a member of the city council of Reykjavík....
) - The Boy in the OakThe Boy in the OakThe Boy in the Oak is a 2010 children's book written and illustrated by Jessica Albarn. It is a fantasy about a boy who discovers an oak tree in his family's back garden. The book contains detailed pencil drawings of fairies, insects, and children. It also contains translucent pages with close-up...
(2011)
Acting career
Albarn starred in Antonia Bird's 1997 film FaceFace (1997 film)
Face is a British crime drama directed by Antonia Bird and written by Ronan Bennett. It stars Robert Carlyle and Ray Winstone and features the acting debut of rock singer Damon Albarn.-Plot Summary:...
alongside Ray Winstone and Robert Carlisle
- Albarn was also featured in Gunar Karlsson's 2007 film Anna and the MoodsAnna and the MoodsAnna and the Moods is a 2007 computer animated movie by the Icelandic digital design and animation company CAOZ in Reykjavík. The voice of the main character Anna is performed by singer, songwriter and composer Björk....
. - Albarn also played Bull in Joe Orton's "Up Against It", a Radio 4 play about The Beatles broadcast in 1998.