Gorillaz are an English virtual band formed in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett, from London. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs (drums). Their universe is presented in media such as music videos, interviews, comic strips and short cartoons. Gorillaz' music has featured collaborations with a wide range of featured artists, with Albarn as the only permanent musical contributor.
The Pharcyde is an American alternative hip hop group, formed in 1989, from South Central Los Angeles. The original four members of the group are Imani, Slimkid3, Bootie Brown, and Fatlip. DJ Mark Luv was the group's first disc jockey (DJ), followed by producer J-Swift and then J Dilla. The group is perhaps best known for the hit singles "Drop", "Passin' Me By" and "Runnin'", as well as their first album, Bizarre Ride II the Pharcyde (1992). The group continues to tour and record, both collaboratively and in solo projects—the most recent being Hardson's collaborative EP with DJ Nu-Mark released in 2014 on Delicious Vinyl.
Neneh Mariann Karlsson, better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer-songwriter, rapper, occasional DJ and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a number of punk and post-punk bands in her youth, including the Slits and Rip Rig + Panic.
Rodney Hylton Smith, better known by his stage name Roots Manuva, is a British rapper and producer. Since his debut in 1994, he has produced numerous albums and singles on the label Big Dada, achieving commercial success with albums Run Come Save Me and Slime & Reason. He has been described as "one of the most influential artists in British music history." His most recent studio album, Bleeds, was released in October 2015.
Laika Come Home is a remix album by British virtual band Gorillaz, released in July 2002. Unlike a typical remix album, it is done by just one group, Spacemonkeyz. It contains most of the songs from Gorillaz' first album, Gorillaz, but remixed in dub and reggae style. The album features Terry Hall, U Brown, Earl Sixteen and 2-D. One single, "Lil' Dub Chefin'", was released from the album on 22 July 2002, with moderate success. The limited edition was packed in digipak, featuring two hidden tracks. In 2004, the album was packaged with 2001's Gorillaz in a box set as part of EMI's "2CD Originals" collection. The album's title is a reference to Laika, the Soviet space dog, and the film Lassie Come Home. The album contains mixes of every song on the original album except "Double Bass", "Latin Simone ", and "Rock the House".
Demon Days is the second studio album by British virtual band Gorillaz. It was first released on 11 May 2005 in Japan and on 23 May 2005 in the United Kingdom by Parlophone and in the United States by Virgin Records. Produced by the band, Danger Mouse, Jason Cox, and James Dring, 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, and Dennis Hopper. As with the band's eponymous 2001 debut, the release of Demon Days and its respective live performances were both accompanied by various multimedia, including interactive features on the Gorillaz website, a total of four animated music videos, and animatics for select videos. Almost all visuals associated with the album were designed by Gorillaz co-creator Jamie Hewlett, under his design company Zombie Flesh Eaters.
"Dare" is a song by English virtual band Gorillaz, taken as the second single from their second studio album, Demon Days (2005). The track features Happy Mondays and Black Grape frontman Shaun Ryder, and is sung by Rosie Wilson with backing vocals from Damon Albarn. It peaked at number one on the UK Singles Chart in September 2005, becoming the band's only UK number one. "Dare" additionally reached the top 10 in the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), Iceland, Ireland, New Zealand, and Scotland.
"Tomorrow Comes Today" is a song from British virtual band Gorillaz's self-titled debut album Gorillaz and was their first release when issued as an EP in November 2000. The first three songs from the EP ended up on their debut album, however, "Latin Simone" was heavily edited, and dubbed into Spanish, for the album release. The new version was sung by Ibrahim Ferrer, and renamed "Latin Simone ". The original version is sung by 2-D and appears along with "12D3" on some versions of the later-released compilation album G-Sides. The song itself was also the fourth and final single from that album, released on 25 February 2002. It peaked at number 33 on the UK Singles Chart. A demo version of the song, "I Got Law" was included as a bonus track of the Japanese edition of 13 by Blur, Damon Albarn's other musical project.
"Clint Eastwood" is a song by English virtual band Gorillaz, released as the first single from their self-titled debut album on 5 March 2001. The song is named after the actor of the same name due to its similarity to the theme music of The Good, the Bad and the Ugly. The song is a mix of electronic music, dub, hip hop and rock. The verses are rapped by Del the Funky Homosapien, portrayed as a blue phantom in the video, while the chorus is sung by Damon Albarn.
"Dirty Harry" is a song from British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz' second studio album, Demon Days (2005).
"Kids with Guns" is a song from the British virtual band Gorillaz' second album, Demon Days. It was released on 10 April 2006 in the United Kingdom as a double A-side as the fourth and final singles from the album. "Kids with Guns" and its other A-side "El Mañana", reached number 27 upon its release in the United Kingdom, a significantly lower position than its predecessors.
"El Mañana" is a song by British alternative rock band Gorillaz. It was released on 10 April 2006 in the United Kingdom as a double A-side, and the fourth and final singles from their album Demon Days. "El Mañana", along with its other A-side "Kids with Guns", reached number 27 upon its release in the UK.
The London Community Gospel Choir is Britain's first renowned contemporary "performance touring, inspirational gospel choir band", fusing gospel with multi-genres of music, including pop, soul, jazz, R&B, and classical. It was founded in 1982 and has gone on to provide backing for performers such as Justin Timberlake, Madonna, Gorillaz, and Kylie Minogue.
Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades is a compilation DVD by Gorillaz, released in October 2006. The DVD is similar to the band's first DVD, Phase One: Celebrity Take Down, but compiles the videos and animatics related to the release of the band's second album, Demon Days, as well as the related singles.
Cass Browne is an English musician and writer.
The Escape to Plastic Beach Tour was a concert tour by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz in support of their third studio album Plastic Beach. During the tour, Damon Albarn recorded The Fall, described by Albarn as a "diary of [his] experience" throughout its American leg. The album was released in late December 2010 to fan club members, and physically in April 2011.
The Humanz Tour was a concert tour by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, in support of their fifth studio album Humanz.
Demon Days Live was a limited concert tour performed by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, in support of their second studio album Demon Days. Demon Days Live consisted of two residencies, with five shows played at the Manchester Opera House in England, and another five played at New York City's Apollo Theater. The Manchester residency was later released onto DVD as Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House. One of the New York shows was broadcast on MHD as Gorillaz: Live in Harlem. The Manchester Opera House film was later nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
The Now Now Tour was a concert tour by the British alternative rock virtual band Gorillaz, in support of their sixth studio album The Now Now.
"New Gold" is a song by British virtual band Gorillaz, featuring Australian music project Tame Impala, and American rapper Bootie Brown, marking the latter's second collaboration with the band since "Dirty Harry" in 2005. The track was released on 31 August 2022 as the second single from their eighth studio album, Cracker Island.
