Gorillaz: Last News

Peter Hook & The Light were joined onstage by Damon Albarn for a performance of the Gorillaz song ‘Aries’ – check out footage below.The moment took place during Hook’s ongoing UK tour in which he plays both New Order’s ‘Substance’ album and Joy Division’s ‘Substance’ album in full.At the recent slot at London’s Eventim Apollo over the weekend, however, fans were in for a surprise when the Joy Division/New Order bassist brought out Albarn as a special guest.“Not long ago, I was honoured to be asked by a wonderful, very kind gentleman if I’d play with him,” Hook told the crowd on Saturday evening (October 14). “And this track is what we did, innit, Damon?”From there, the Blur and Gorillaz singer took to the stage and together they performed their 2020 track ‘Aries’.

Ezra Collective have shared new single ‘Streets Is Calling’ and spoken to NME about the importance of social activism and Damon Albarn’s influence on the group following drummer Femi Koleoso’s stint in Gorillaz.Last year, the London quintet became the first jazz act to walk away with the prestigious Mercury Prize. What has followed has been a whirlwind of acclaim and further accolades.

Gorillaz collaborator has been diagnosed with lung cancer, as per a message on the newly launched GoFundMe page, and treatments are becoming increasingly pricey.Everett’s friend, George Shaban, is the one behind the fundraiser, and it was launched at the end of last month with the hopes of gathering $100,000 in donations to help support the cancer treatment.“Trying to raise money for my friend Peven who needs treatment for lung cancer. Any donation will help.

Blur’s Damon Albarn has shared that he does not agree with Bob Dylan’s mobile phone ban from his upcoming tour.The discussion arose following the folk-rock icon announcing details of an upcoming UK tour, which will see him play a total of 10 shows across the country this winter.It was also confirmed that a phone ban would be implemented on all dates, and attendees would be made to switch off their phones and place them into a Yondr pouch that would be locked by staff at the venue.Visitors then keep the pouch throughout the gig, however, it can only be re-opened either at the end of the show or if they try to leave the building beforehand.Now, in a new interview with BBC, Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has shared his opposition to the approach, and said that he thinks fans having phones adds to the atmosphere of live performances.“If you start banning things where does it end? I think you’ve just got to turn up and do your thing,” he told the outlet. “People won’t want to be on their phone if you’re engaging with them correctly.”He also went on to reflect on his huge summer shows at Wembley Stadium with Blur last year, and said that the Sunday gig was their favourite-ever performance.

Blur and Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn has been awarded an honorary degree from the University of Exeter.Presented to him yesterday (July 17), the musician was recognised by the university for his “creativity, innovation, and commitment to environmental causes.”The degree was also awarded in celebration of “the impact of his diverse talents and innovative spirit, and the way he has continuously pushed the boundaries of contemporary music, opera, composition, and collaboration.”In footage shared online, Albarn is seen being presented the certificate and standing on a stage while onlookers cheer. He also gave a speech at the ceremony, where he told others receiving degrees on the day to be proud of what they accomplished and open-minded about their futures.“The last time I came to Exeter was to receive my driving theory certificate.

Damon Albarn recently joined Thundercat on stage and performed a handful of solo tracks and a Gorillaz song.The Gorillaz frontman appeared at the third night of Thundercat’s four-night residency at London’s KOKO venue on Friday April 5 as part of his UK tour.Albarn joined the bassist towards the end of his set. Together they performed ‘Oh Sheit It’s X’, ‘Funny Thing’, ‘Them Changes’ and Gorillaz ‘Cracker Island’, the lead track from the animated band’s album of the same name in which Thundercat was originally featured on.Has this crowd been euthanised like do they know thundercat and damon albarn are in front of them playing cracker island pic.twitter.com/bJMLD0aVwX— tara (@drknesstolight) April 5, 2024Damon and Thundercat playing Funny Thing tonight in London.

Damon Albarn covered The Smiths‘ ‘Panic’ with his Africa Express collective on stage in Mexico City this weekend.The Blur frontman joined the group for the performance in Morelos, Mexico at Bahidorá Festival on Saturday (February 17).The musical collective was formed in 2006 with the aim of bringing together artists from different cultures and musical genres for collaborative events.Albarn sang and played piano for the high-energy performance, and was joined by Camilo Lara for a lively ska interpretation of The Smiths’ 1986 track.Check out footage of the showcase below.Announcing the show last month, the Gorillaz artist shared that the performance would mark Africa Express’ first visit to Mexico, bringing together musicians, singers and DJs from around the world “to collaborate on a very special, completely original show”.NME watched Africa Express live back in 2019, describing the show in a five-star review as a “symbolic display of diversity, collaboration and unity”. It added: “Africa Express rarely gets together, but when it does, it specialises in generating one-off moments through unique combinations.”The collective’s last release, ‘Egoli‘ also came out in 2019.

The 1975, David Bowie, Daft Punk, Blur, Lily Allen, Gorillaz, Elton John, Paramore and Noel Gallagher’s High Flying Birds.This year marks the 17th edition of the event, and it comes after the news that vinyl sales rose by nearly 15 per cent in the first nine months of 2023, despite the ongoing dominance of streaming services.We’re releasing a VERY limited edition Double-A Side 7” version of 'Creeping On The Dancefloor’ for Record Store Day this year.

Liam Gallagher has given his ruthless verdict on a resurfaced clip of his brother Noel playing a version of Gorillaz’ ‘Dare’ with Damon Albarn. The video was captured in December 2015 at a 60th birthday party for Paul Simonon, the bassist in The Clash, who is also part of the performance. Noel Gallagher is singing the vocal that was originally recorded by the Happy Mondays’ Shaun Ryder while playing guitar, and Albarn is singing his original melody line from the 2005 song, with Simonon on bass.

Damon Albarn has offered his thoughts on The Beatles‘ use of AI in their new single ‘Now And Then’, sharing that he could imagine it happening to his own material one day.The Beatles released their “final” song early last month, the last track to feature all the original members of the Fab Four. The song went on to top the charts six decades after their first Number One single.‘Now And Then’ stems from a demo tape recorded by late bandmate John Lennon.

Damon Albarn joined Beck in a live cover of Gorillaz’ ‘The Valley Of The Pagans’ during Beck’s Primavera Sound set in Buenos Aires on Sunday (November 26). “This is a song we wrote together during COVID times,” said Beck, as Albarn walked onstageto thunderous applause, which gave way to a spontaneous, prolonged crowd chant.

James Blunt has recalled the time that Damon Albarn didn’t want to be photographed with him for an episode of Later… With Jools Holland.The topic arose during a discussion with actor Kathy Burke on an episode of her podcast series Where There’s A Will, There’s A Wake. It heard the singer-songwriter recall the shun that he received from the Blur frontman.Recalling feeling “a little bit annoyed” about one of the passages in Blunt’s new memoir Loosely Based On A Made-Up Story, Burke asked the artist about the passage where he discussed his appearance on the Later… With Jools Holland show – namely a moment that happened off camera.“They do this sort of group photo of all the bands at the end… was it Damon Albarn who refused to be in the photograph or didn’t want you in the photograph?” she asked.“I don’t know exactly.

Eddy Grant has shared that he felt “thrown under the bus” when he came out to accuse Gorillaz of copying his song ‘Time Warp’ on their track ‘Stylo’.The Equals member and solo star accused the band of plagiarising his 1982 song in 2010, telling NME at the time that he thought there were similarities with the keyboard section.In another statement he also described it as “pure piracy” and “an obvious infringement of my song”.Reflecting on the accusation in a recent interview with NME, Grant said: “I mean, everybody knows where that song came from. It’s just that there comes a time where you say, ‘Enough.

Damon Albarn has revealed he is currently in the process of working on an opera as well as new music for Gorillaz.While appearing on the Broken Record Podcast, Albarn shared he is putting Johann Wolfgang von Goethe’s 1807’s The Magic Flute Part II to music for the first time. The 1791 original was an opera in two acts to a German libretto by Emanuel Schikaneder.“I’m doing an opera at the moment, using Goethe’s fragment he wrote about The Magic Flute Part II, which is fascinating,” he said.He continued: “You’ve heard of Mozart’s ‘Magic Flute’? Well, Goethe, who is a contemporary of Mozart, wrote ‘Part II’ of that — the sequel — but it never got put to music.

Gorillaz have cancelled their upcoming US tour dubbed ‘The Getaway’, with ticket providers citing “scheduling conflicts”.The tour was announced only last month and was set to see the Damon Albarn-fronted cartoon band play four shows in support of their eighth and most recent album ‘Cracker Island’.Now, the September gigs have been cancelled, with ticket providers sharing a statement. “Due to scheduling conflicts and circumstances beyond our control, the previously announced Gorillaz shows in September have been cancelled,” they said.“Refunds will be issued automatically at your point of purchase and will be processed as quickly as possible, there is nothing further for you to do at this time.

Gorillaz have announced a run of headline shows in the US for this autumn – find all the details below.The Damon Albarn-fronted cartoon band are due to head stateside this September in support of their eighth and most recent album ‘Cracker Island’, which was released in February.Kicking off at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, California (September 10), the stint – dubbed ‘The Getaway – includes further stop-offs in Austin, Texas (13), Chicago, Illinois (16) and Boston, Massachusetts (19).Kaytranada, Lil Yachty and Remi Wolf will appear as the support acts on all dates.Tickets go on general sale at 10am local time this Friday (June 2) – you’ll be able to buy yours here.“Gorillaz are ON THE RUN… one band, one bus, four cities,” an announcement on social media reads.

Noel Gallagher has explained that his younger self wouldn’t be too happy about his collaboration with Blur frontman and former Britpop rival Damon Albarn.The former Oasis member reflected on his time working with Albarn in 2017 in a new interview with The Big Issue (via Music-News.COM).The team-up in question was when Gallagher contributed backing vocals to Gorillaz‘s track ‘We Got The Power’, which appears on the band’s 2017 album ‘Humanz’. “What would my younger self think of me working with Damon Albarn,” he pondered.“It would depend entirely on what side of the bed I got out of on that day,” he added.

Noel Gallagher has explained that his younger self wouldn’t be too happy about his collaboration with Blur frontman and former Britpop rival Damon Albarn.The former Oasis member reflected on his time working with Albarn in 2017 in a new interview with The Big Issue (via Music-News.COM).The team-up in question was when Gallagher contributed backing vocals to Gorillaz‘s track ‘We Got The Power’, which appears on the band’s 2017 album ‘Humanz’. “What would my younger self think of me working with Damon Albarn,” he pondered.“It would depend entirely on what side of the bed I got out of on that day,” he added.

Blur frontman Damon Albarn has said that Brexit has been a “travesty” in a new interview.Speaking to Channel 4, Albarn explained that Brexit has been a “disaster” for younger musicians.“In the old days, pre-Brexit, you could be a young band and go over to Europe and play bottom of the bill at festivals. You wouldn’t be paid hardly anything but the experience was life-changing, whether you went on to do bigger and better things in the future [or not]. That’s a solid foundation for the rest of your life,” Albarn said.“That kind of creativity has very much been curtailed for people on this island, because it’s expensive to go over there now.

Little Simz has opened up about her experience working with Damon Albarn, saying she will “always have so much love and respect” for the Blur and Gorillaz legend.The rapper linked up with Albarn in 2017, delivering a guest spot on the 2017 Gorillaz single ‘Garage Palace’ (which later appeared on the “super deluxe” edition of the ‘Humanz’ album). In a new interview with Apple Music 1, she told Zane Lowe (via Music News): “I remember first getting into the studio with [Albarn] for the first time, and my anxiety just being through the roof like, ‘This is mad…’“I felt myself trying to mold myself into what their thing was, and I remember Damon peeping it and being like, ‘No, that’s not why I called you in here.

Coachella 2023 Weekend 2 kicks off today (April 21), with Bad Bunny headlining and many more FADER favorites filling out the undercard: Gorillaz, Burna Boy, Kaytranada, Pusha T, Metro Boomin, Karol G, and others. Where last Friday’s schedule featured a short-notice set from a newly reunited Blink-182, Weekend 2 will see them taking the headlining role on Sunday, replacing Frank Ocean after he bowed out of Coachella 2023’s closing set following leg injuries he sustained on festival grounds before Weekend 1 (per his publicist).