It features a roster of contributors so diverse it numbers not just Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg, Mark E Smith, De
La Soul, Mos Def and Bobby Womack, but The National Orchestra Of Arabic Music and Hypnotic Brass
Ensemble, a Chicago-based nine-piece jazz/hip-hop group. Also appearing are Mick Jones and Paul
Simonon, playing together for the first time since The Clash.
The ongoing saga of singer 2D, bassist Murdoc Niccals, guitarist Noodle and drummer Russel Hobbs is
leant a latest twist with the unveiling of a new look for the group. Now based at Plastic Beach, a mammoth
Tracy Island-style HQ atop a floating trash pile at Point Nemo in the South Pacific, the place furthest from
land on Earth, we find the meddlesome Murdoc now running the show more than ever, keeping 2D held
prisoner while being protected by a cyborg Noodle – built from the DNA of the original Japanese girl
guitarist, last seen having bombs dropped on her head in 2006’s El Mañana’ video. Drummer Russel,
meantime, is currently missing in action. Not that any of this matters much to Murdoc. “I like to think of
myself as The Gorillaz,” he explains. “You take me out of this set-up and, well, you’ve just got three bellends
staring at the camera.” For the band’s third album they have crafted an allegorical picture of humanity
– a picture of waste, destruction, consumerism and human failure.
Since first appearing in 1998, Gorillaz have become one of the world’s most popular bands. A truly global
phenomenon, they have achieved success in ways entirely groundbreaking in popular music. Recognised by
The Guinness Book Of World Records as the planet’s Most Successful Virtual Act, their eponymous debut
album sold some 6 million copies following its release in 2001, with hit singles ‘Clint Eastwood’ and ’19-
2000’. 2005’s Demon Days was more successful still, properly breaking the band on a global level, with
singles ‘Feel Good Inc.’, ‘DARE (featuring Shaun Ryder’s infamous cottonmouthed vocal), and ‘Dirty
Harry’ becoming hits across Europe, America and further afield. It gave Gorillaz their first UK Number
One in ‘DARE’ and was heralded as one of the year’s great records. Married to the groundbreaking pop
was an acute sense of melancholy and a clear-eyed commentary on the brave new century and the monsters
in it. Demon Days, as its name suggests, is a contemporary phantasmagoria.
Demon Days saw the band step-up their live performances – not just in a 40-date ‘Demon Detour’ across
America’s radio stations, but with a series of events that broke new ground in their scale and ambition.
From 1st -5th November 2005, ‘Demon Days Live’ saw Gorillaz assemble the collaborators from the album
live in Manchester. Neneh Cherry, Bootie Brown, De La Soul, Ike Turner, Roots Manuva, Martina Topley110
Greene Street Suite 605 New York, NY 10012 www.nastylittleman.com tel 212.343-0740 fax 212.343-0630
Bird and Shaun Ryder all reprised their contributions live, while Dennis Hopper, MF Doom and Afro-
Cuban singer Ibrahim Ferrer appeared ‘virtually’. In April 2006 over five nights at Harlem’s legendary
Apollo Theatre, Gorillaz performed with 87 musicians, including a string quartet from the acclaimed
Julliard School and the Harlem Gospel Choir. Later that year Gorillaz were awarded the Ivor Novello for
Songwriters Of The Year.
On screen, Gorillaz proved no less innovative. Their videos, probably the most complete manifestation of
the Gorillaz identity, have been on heavy rotation on music television worldwide and picked up numerous
awards. They opened the 2006 BRITs with a 100-piece children’s choir and dueted with a holographic
Madonna at the Grammy Awards, while bass-wielding nasty face Murdoc found time to record an
‘Alternative Christmas Speech’, broadcast while HRH was addressing the nation. There were rumours of a
full-length feature film backed by serious Hollywood money. At the end of 2007, Gorillaz were that rare
beast - culturally significant, critically admired and commercially viable, appealing to the broadest of
demographics. If further proof was needed – Gorillaz were MySpace’s Most Popular Band for the whole of
2008… a year in which they released no new music.
And now they’re back. Plastic Beach represents Gorillaz’ high-water mark. A 16 track tour through pop,
rap, dub, soul, and electronica, from East to West and a whole lot more. Like Murdoc says: “You’re either
alive or you’re not. You’re either on the ride or not. The rest of it is just whimsical etchings on the cave
walls inside of the human skull, just someone trying to decorate their cage, keep themselves entertained
while they’re here. The album’s coming out. And it makes Demon Days seem like a warm up act.”
