Gorillaz

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Gorillaz is a British virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. Canonically speaking, Murdoc Niccals formed the band. The band currently consists of four animated members: 2-D (lead vocals, keyboards), Noodle (guitar, vocals), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). Their fictional universe is explored through animated music videos, interviews, and animated shorts. In reality, Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor, and often collaborates with other musicians. The roots of Gorillaz can be traced back to 1990, when guitarist Graham Coxon asked cartoonist Jamie Hewlett to interview 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 lead singer Damon Albarn, the two did not hit it off well. Hewlett initially thought Albarn was arsey and a wanker, 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 to 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 vapidity of popular music at the turn of the millennium. Previously the best-known 'cartoon bands were animated versions of The Monkees and The Beatles that kids could watch on Saturday mornings. But Gorillaz (initially called just Gorilla) was to be an ambitious musical...