Gorillaz

Biography

Gorillaz are an English virtual band created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The band consists of four animated members: 2D (lead vocals, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboard, and backing vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). These members are completely fictional and are not personas of any "real life" musicians involved in the project. Their fictional universe is explored through the band's website and music videos, as well as a number of other media, such as short cartoons. The music is a collaboration between various musicians, with Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Writers and critics have described their music as alternative rock, Britpop, trip hop, hip hop, electronica, indie, dub, reggae and pop. The band's 2001 debut album Gorillaz sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 2001, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band's request. Their second studio album, Demon Days, released in 2005, went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the US, earned five Grammy Award nominations for 2006 and won one of them in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category. The band has won numerous other awards, including two MTV Video Music Awards, an NME Award, three MTV Europe Music Awards, and have been nominated for nine Brit Awards. The combined sales of the Gorillaz and Demon Days albums had exceeded 15 million by 2007. The band's third studio album, Plastic Beach, was released in March 2010. Their latest album, The Fall, was released in December 2010 as a free download for fan club members, then in April 2011 as a physical release. Gorillaz plan to release new material in 2016.

Details

Item Name Item Details
Year Formed 1999
Number of Albums 65
Record Label EMI
Website
Wikipedia Gorillaz on Wikipedia
Social Networks

Trivia

Gorillaz is a turboboosted fourpiece in what?

overdrive

...Biography Official biographies Gorillaz is a turboboosted fourpiece in overdrive , a band with their collective foot slammed squarely to the floor of t...
What is the collective foot slammed square to the floor of?

Gorillaz mobile

...and with their collective foot slammed squarely to the floor of the Gorillaz mobile . Lock up your sons, daughters and leave a light on in the hallway ...
How long did it take for the Gorillaz to release their dark pop classic?

ten months

...limportant signatures. He set Murdoc, 2D, Russel, and Noodle to task: ten months and close to thirty tracks later, they delivered their dark pop class...
What is Murdoc Niccals' job?

bass guitar

...sts of four animated members: 2D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals ( bass guitar ), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, vocals), and Russel Hobbs (drums). Thei...
Who is Russel Hobbs?

drums

...als (bass guitar), Noodle (guitar, keyboards, vocals), and Russel Hobbs ( drums ). Their fictional universe is presented in music videos, interviews, co...
Who is the only permanent musical contributor to Gorillaz?

Albarn

...ten features collaborations with a wide range of featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor. With Gorillaz, Albarn depart...
What was the name of the band's third album?

Plastic Beach

...s of the album's lead single Clint Eastwood. The band's third album, Plastic Beach (2010), featured environmentalist themes, a synthpop approach and a...
What is the name of Gorillaz's fifth album?

Humanz

...in the official 2019 documentary Gorillaz: Reject False Icons. The band's fifth album, Humanz , was released after a sevenyear hiatus on 28 April 2017....
How long did Humanz have been on hiatus?

sevenyear

...in the official 2019 documentary Gorillaz: Reject False Icons. The band's fifth album, Humanz, was released after a sevenyear hiatus on 28 April 2017....
Who created the Gorillaz?

Damon Albarn from the Britpop band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett

...op, to Punk, and Ska. The band was created by Damon Albarn from the Britpop band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett , the cocreator of the comic book Tank Girl. T...
What is the name of Gorillaz's second album?

Demon Days

...cords as the Most Successful Virtual Band. Their second studio album, Demon Days , was released in 2005 and included the hit singles Feel Good Inc., DA...
When was Demon Days released?

2005

...ful Virtual Band. Their second studio album, Demon Days, was released in 2005 and included the hit singles Feel Good Inc., DARE, Dirty Harry and Kids ...
Who are the people behind Gorillaz?

Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett

...ns El Ma?ana. HISTORY FORMATION The people behind Gorillaz, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett , formed in April 1998. They originally identified themselve...
What was the name of the first song they recorded?

Ghost Train

...emselves under the name Gorilla, and the first song they recorded was Ghost Train (1999), later released as a Bside on their single Rock the House and...
What was the name of the band's first EP?

Tomorrow Comes Today

...e Rock the House and GSides. The band's first release was the EP Tomorrow Comes Today , released in 2000. It was very well received in the UK undergrou...
What was a promotional booklet circulated to promote the fictional backstory behind the cartoon band?

Promo outlets

...llaz and what could be expected from the band in the months to come. Promo outlets circulated a promotional booklet to promote the fictional backstory...
How many animated members does 2D have?

four

...It consists of four animated members: 2D on lead vocal and keyboard, Murdoc Niccals on bass, Noodle on guitar and Russel Hobbs on drums and percussion...
What is Murdoc Niccals on?

bass

... four animated members: 2D on lead vocal and keyboard, Murdoc Niccals on bass , Noodle on guitar and Russel Hobbs on drums and percussion. In 2000, the...
Who is on drums and percussion?

Russel Hobbs

...ead vocal and keyboard, Murdoc Niccals on bass, Noodle on guitar and Russel Hobbs on drums and percussion. In 2000, they released a mini album Tomorro...
What was the name of their debut single?

Clint Eastwood

... which led them to invade U.S. charts was their debut single called Clint Eastwood . The song also helped them score two nominations of Best British Si...
How many nominations did Clint Eastwood get at the 2002 BRIT Awards?

two

...their debut single called Clint Eastwood. The song also helped them score two nominations of Best British Single and Best British Video at the 2002 BR...
At what number did the album crack the top 10 of the Billboard 200?

6

... with this record and cracked the top 10 of Billboard 200 by peaking at No. 6 on the chart. By the end of the year, it was certified fivetime platinum ...
Who started Gorillaz?

Damon Albarn

...Gorillaz began as something of a lark for Damon Albarn , a way for the singersongwriter to explore music his Britpop band Blur otherwise couldn't make....
Who was Damon Albarn's band Blur?

Britpop

...k for Damon Albarn, a way for the singersongwriter to explore music his Britpop band Blur otherwise couldn't make. And yet, the virtual band he concei...
When did a self-titled fulllength album come out?

spring 2001

...Clint Eastwood single. A selftitled fulllength debut album arrived in spring 2001 . Gorillaz was a massive worldwide success and achieved platinumlevel...
Who released the Bsides collection?

Svengalis

...in the U.S.; worldwide, it sold over seven million copies. The group's Svengalis were quick to capitalize, and released the Bsides collection GSides, ...
What was the name of the DVD released by Svengalis?

Phase One: Celebrity Takedown

...o capitalize, and released the Bsides collection GSides, the Phase One: Celebrity Takedown DVD, and the dubinspired remix album Laika Come Home in 200...
What was the name of the dubinspired remix album released in 2002?

Laika Come Home

... Phase One: Celebrity Takedown DVD, and the dubinspired remix album Laika Come Home in 2002. The project soon went on hiatus, however, as Albarn resum...
Where was a promotional booklet sold to promote the backstory behind the band?

record stores

...e to expect in the months to come. A promotional booklet was sold at record stores to promote the backstory behind the band. The band's website, an or...
What was the website of the band a representation of?

Kong Studios

...band's website, an orgy of Macromedia Flash, was a representation of Kong Studios in the fullest sense of the word: inside, you could browse through e...
What was a representation of Kong Studios in the full sense of the word?

The band's website

...s sold at record stores to promote the backstory behind the band. The band's website , an orgy of Macromedia Flash, was a representation of Kong Studio...
What did each room have to offer?

bonus surprises and games to play

...nt and even the hallways and bathrooms. Each room also had bonus surprises and games to play : for example, the lobby had a remix machine, the cafeteri...
What did the lobby have?

a remix machine

...o had bonus surprises and games to play: for example, the lobby had a remix machine , the cafeteria contained the messageboard on the wall and Murdoc's...
What did Murdoc's Winnebago contain?

a voodoo doll of 2D

...ned the messageboard on the wall and Murdoc's Winnebago contained a voodoo doll of 2D . Each member also had their own computer which contained picture...
What was created to hold the standard band website information?

official fansite

...ngs and their email inboxes. Because of the nature of the site, an official fansite was created to hold the standard band website information, includi...
Who created Gorillaz in 1998?

Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett

...az is a British virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett . Canonically speaking, Murdoc Niccals formed the band. ...
Who formed the band?

Murdoc Niccals

...sician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Canonically speaking, Murdoc Niccals formed the band. The band currently consists of four animated membe...
What is Russel Hobbs' occupation?

drums and percussion

...guitar, vocals), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), and Russel Hobbs ( drums and percussion ). Their fictional universe is explored through animated music vi...
What comic strip did Coxon know of Hewlett's work drawing?

Tank Girl

... his newly formed band, Blur. Coxon knew of Hewlett's work drawing the Tank Girl comic strip in Deadline magazine. When Jamie first met the band's lea...
In what year did Albarn and Jamie become roommates?

1997

...but the two remained acquainted and would eventually become roommates in 1997 , living in London. Both Jamie and Damon tell the story of Gorillaz came ...
In what city did Jamie and Damon live?

London

...ned acquainted and would eventually become roommates in 1997, living in London . Both Jamie and Damon tell the story of Gorillaz came to be about the s...
What was the name of the TV show that the two were watching?

MTV

... be about the same way. They were in their flat watching TV, specifically MTV , and came up with the idea of a virtual band as commentary on the vapidi...