Damon Albarn

At 56 years old, Damon Albarn has this physical status:

Damon Albarn (born 23 March 1968) is an English singer, guitarist, songwriter, and record producer best known for his work as the lead singer of the rock band Blur and as the band's co-founder, lead vocalist, and primary songwriter of the virtual band Gorillaz. Albarn was born in Leytonstone, East London, and Essex, Essex, where he first met guitarist Graham Coxon and formed Blur, which released its first album Leisure in 1991.

Albarn's songwriting became more inspired by British bands from the 1960s after long toured the United States.

The result was Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995).

All three albums received critical acclaim, but Blur gained mass fame in the United Kingdom, aided by a Britpop rivalry with Oasis.

Blur (1997), 13 (1999), and Think Tank (2003) both featured influences from lo-fi, experimental, and hip hop music, which were later released. In 1998, Albarn formed Gorillaz, a virtual book artist.

Gorillaz released their self-titled debut album in 2001, which resulted in huge audience appreciation, followed by successful sequels Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach, the Fall (both released in 2010) and The Now Now (2018), incorporating elements from hip hop, dub, pop, trip hop, and world music.

Despite the fact that Albarn is the sole permanent musical contributor, Gorillaz albums feature collaborations from a variety of musicians.

The Guinness Book of World Records has named Gorillaz as the "Most Popular Virtual Band."

Albarn's other ventures include two supergroups, The Good, Bad & the Queen, and Rocket Juice & the Moon, which he co-founded, and film soundtracks.

He has also performed in stage productions, including Monkey: Journey to the West (2008), Dr Dee (2012), and Wonderland (2016).

In 2014, Everyday Robots, his debut solo studio album, was released. The Daily Telegraph ranked Albarn number 18 in their list of the "100 most influential people in British culture" in 2008.

The British Academy of Songwriters, Composers, and Authors awarded Albarn the Ivor Novello Award for Lifetime Achievement in 2016.

In the 2016 New Year Honours for services to music, he was named Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE).

Early life

Albarn was born on March 23, 1968, he is the elder son of artist Keith Albarn and his wife Hazel, née Dring. Jessica, their daughter, was born in 1971 and went on to be an artist. Hazel Albarn, a native of Lincolnshire, was a set designer for Joan Littlewood's Theatre Company in London and was working on the satirical play Mrs Wilson's Diary right before she was born. Keith Albarn, a native of Nottinghamshire, was briefly the boss of Soft Machine and was once a participant on BBC's Late Night Line-Up. He was Director of the Colchester School of Art at Colchester Institute.

Edward, Damon's paternal grandfather, was a conscient objector during the Second World War and was active in a farming community in Lincolnshire, becoming a peace campaigner. Edward Albarn died in 2002; in an interview, Damon said that Edward did not want to live any longer and instead went on a hunger strike. Albarn, a "testing master" of educational aids and toys for children, including fibreglass furniture and play-structures, was born in 1968 at the age of six months. "The Apollo Cumfycraft" and "The Tailendcharlie" were produced by his father's company "Keith Albarn & Partners Ltd" under the trade name "Playlearn, Ltd."

As Damon and Jessica were growing up, their family moved to Leytonstone, East London, where they were living. The family was dubbed "bohemian" and "liberal" in its upbringing. Damon and Jessica were both raised in the Quaker faith. Albarn accepted his parents' beliefs, but later claimed, "I always believed my parents were absolutely wrong." I went against the grain in a strange way by following them on a daily basis." His parents mainly listened to blues, Indian ragas, and African music. When Albarn was nine years old, his family took a holiday to Turkey for three months before settling in Aldham Fordstreet, Essex, Essex, England, where Albarn described as "one of those burgeoning Thatcher experiments" where they were building loads of small estates. The population of the area was predominantly white as opposed to the ethnically mixed part of London, which he had grown used to. He described himself as "not really fitting in with the local political system."

Albarn was interested in music from an early age, attending an Osmonds concert at the age of six. He began playing guitar, piano, and violin in his youth and was interested in creating music, one of his compositions winning a heat in the national Young Composer of the Year competition. Both Damon and Jessica attended a primary school nearby, but Damon's account says one of the teachers was burned seven times over a period of 18 months. Since both siblings failed their Eleven-Plus exams, they began attending Stanway Comprehensive School, where Damon described himself as "very unpopular" and "[irritating to] a lot of people." Nonetheless, he discovered an interest in drama and began participating in various school productions. It was at Stanway that Graham Coxon, a former Blur guitarist who recalls being a "confident performer" as well as a "show off." "Your brogues are fucked," Albarn's first words at Coxon. As he was showing off his leather shoes and chic boots at a time that were influenced by the Mod Revival, look, mine are the right sort. Despite this, the pair continued to become good friends due to their common love of music, especially the Beatles, the Human League, XTC, and Madness. Albarn has also credited the Specials and Fun Boy Three as three of his early influences, as well as John Lennon's involvement in songwriting.

He studied acting at Debden's East 15 Acting School but left early in the first year. After leaving drama school, he began a production and management job with Marijke Bergkamp and Graeme Holdaway, the owners of the Beat Factory recording studio, where the members of Blur, then known as Seymour, made their first recordings. Two's a Crowd was his first band. He appeared on Aftermath and Real Lives before Blur.

Personal life

Albarn had a long-term friendship with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann in the 1990s. This friendship inspired his songwriting, particularly on the Blur album (1997), where they discussed their heroin use, as well as "No Distance Left to Run" and "Stender" – which seemed to be about their break-up in 1998.

Artist Suzi Winstanley gave birth to Missy, a narrator named after hip hop artist Missy Elliott, on October 2nd, 1999. Albarn referred to his father as "witnessing a life force" and adding that "witnessing a life force" is a key to his success.

Albarn was given an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of East London in 2006, adding: "It's [great to] receive [the] award from an institution where my dad used to work and that I, as a child, used to imagine as a large building with lots of interesting people in."

Albarn was named Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in 2015, the Queen's New Year Honours list, which honors British citizens for their contributions to public life and service to the United Kingdom.

Albarn, a long-time promoter of west African country Mali's music, has been given the title "Local King" and has founded a school of music and dance named after him south of Bamako.

Albarn was granted citizenship in 2020. He travelled around the country in the mid-90s for recording as well as holiday, and then bought a house in Reykjavk.

Albarn and his family live in London and Devon's Notting Hill neighborhood. He is a Chelsea F.C. fan.

Albarn has been a prominent promoter of many charities and philanthropic causes throughout his career as a performer, and has appeared on various charity compilations and singles. DRC Music, a Albarn group, debuted Kinshasa One Two as a charity project on which all of the funds were donated to Oxfam. Albarn has also formed a team with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Nick Zinner, Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, and Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos to create a charity single with the funds earned from the single's donation to Oxfam. Albarn appeared alongside former Blur bandmate Graham Coxon to appear live on Blur's 1999 album "Tender" in support of Teenage Cancer Trust.

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Music career

Albarn enrolled in a part-time music course at Goldsmiths College in London in 1988, saying that his sole intention was to gain access to the student union bar. Albarn was part of a Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree group. Alex James, a fellow Goldsmiths student, joined as the group's bassist. They changed their name to Seymour in December 1988, inspired by J.D. An introduction by Salinger. They went to Food Records in March 1990, after changing their name to Blur.

Blur's first single, "She's So High," debuted in October 1990 and topped the UK Singles Chart at number 48. The band had a difficult time making a sequel, but they made strides when teamed with producer Stephen Street. "There's No Other Way" the resultant single became a hit, peaking at number eight. Blur became a pop sensation and was accepted into a club that frequented the Syndrome club in London, "Scene That Celebrates Itself." Albarn's ability to write his lyrics in the studio delayed the group's debut album. Despite the fact that the new album Leisure (1991) reached number seven on the UK Albums Chart, journalist John Harris said it was "not possible to brush off the odour of anti-climax." Albarn has since referred to Leisure as "awful."

Blur returned to the United States in 1992 in an effort to recover their debts after discovering they were £60,000 in debt. During the two-month American tour, Albarn and the band became increasingly ill and homesick and began writing songs that "created an English atmosphere." In comparison to the success of American grunge bands such as Nirvana, Blur had undergone an ideological and image shift designed to celebrate their English roots. Balfe gave permission for the band's choice of Andy Partridge of the band XTC to produce their sequel to Leisure, despite being skeptical of Albarn's latest manifesto. Partridge's session were unpleasant, but a chance meeting with Stephen Street resulted in him returning to produce the company.

Modern Life Is Rubbish, Blur's second Blur album, debuted in May 1993 and peaked at number 15 on the British charts, but it didn't do well in the US Billboard 200, selling only 19,000 copies. Despite the album's poor results, Albarn was content with the band's path and wrote prolifically for Blur's forthcoming release. Parklife was released in 1994 and revived Blur's commercial success with the album's debut, the disco-influenced "Girls & Boys," which received critical praise and chart success. Parklife made its way into the British charts at number one and remained in the album charts for 92 weeks. Parklife is regarded as one of Britpop's most awaited albums, after being welcomed enthusiastically by the music press. At the 1995 British Awards, Blur received four trophies, including Best British Group and British Album of the Year for Parklife. Later, Coxon described Parklife as the moment "[Blur] went from being considered an alternative, leftfield arty band to this dazzling new pop sensation." Albarn was content with fame, but he was also vulnerable to panic attacks.

Blur began working on their fourth album The Great Escape in 1995. Albarn's lyrics for the album were based on two of the band's previous albums, with several third-person narratives included. "It was all more elaborate, more elaborate, more dramatic, and, in some cases, more twisted," James said. "All dysfunctional, misfit characters were fucking up." The album's lead single, "Country House," was involved in Blur's public feud with Manchester band Oasis' "Battle of Britpop." Blur and Oasis decided to debut their new singles on the same day, partly due to increased ferocity between the two groups. The discussion over which band will dominate the British singles chart became a media phenomenon, and Albarn appeared on News at Ten. "Country House" sold out by 274,000 copies to 216,000, becoming Blur's first number-one single this week.

The Great Escape was launched in September 1995 to rave reviews and landed at number one in the UK charts. However, opinion soon changed, and Blur fell out of favour with the media. James McMahon of BBC Music recalled how the album's "real euphoria" surrounding the album lasted "about as long as it took publishers to realize that Oasis would possibly change more magazines for them. Following the worldwide success of Oasis (What's the Story) Morning Glory, the media announced that Blur "wound up winning the war but losing the battle." In comparison to "working-class heroes" Oasis, Blur became known as a "inauthentic middle-class pop band," which Albarn described as "stupid and confused." "After being the People's Prick for a short period, Damon was a loser," Bassist James said. "Albarn... was mocked as the posh boy of Britpop," Stuart Maconie wrote in the New Statesman, when in fact he had gone to a comprehensive in Essex and his family was just mildly bohemian. He'd be firmly 'below stairs' now,'" says the narrator.

An early 1996 Q interview revealed that relations between Blur members had strained; journalist Adrian Deevoy wrote that they were "on the brink of a nervous breakup." In particular, Coxon began to resent his fellow musicians and, in a hint at the group's Britpop aesthetic, made a point of listening to tumultuous American alternative rock bands like Pavement. Albarn learned to love Coxon's lo-fi and underground music and understood that Blurn's musical direction had to change Blur's direction once more. "I can sit at my piano and write stellar observational pop songs all day long, but you've got to move forward," Coxon said, granting them more creative control over their latest album. During this time, Albarn visited Iceland: "I used to have a recurring dream of a black sand beach as a child." And there was one hazy, lazy day [laughs], I was watching the television and I saw a program about Iceland, and they had black beaches. So I got on a plane. I was on my own. I didn't know anyone at the time. I went down Laugavegur, where the bars are located, and that was it."

Following the initial sessions in London, the band was left to record the majority of the album in Iceland, away from the Britpop scene. The result was Blur, the band's fifth studio album, which was released in February 1997. Although the music industry predicted that the lo-fi sonic experimentation would alienate Blur's teenage girl fanbase, they nevertheless applauded the project. Reviewers found that the band had come to embrace American values during this period, rather than "Look inside America/She's alright." Despite cries of "commercial suicide," the album and its first single, "Beetlebum," debuted at number one in the United Kingdom. Despite the fact that Blur's sales in the United Kingdom did not measure up to those of their previous albums, the band's most popular internationally, especially in the United States, thanks to its smashing single "Song 2." The band began a nine-month world tour following Blur's popularity.

Blur's sixth studio album 13, which came out in March 1999, saw them shift further from Britpop. Albarn's lyrics, which were more personal, personal, and intimate than on previous occasions, were a result of his break with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, his partner of eight years. In London in November 2001, Blur's next album began. Coxon left the group just after the session began. "There were no rows," Coxon said, and "[the band] understood the feeling that we needed some time apart." Think Tank, which was released in May 2003, was packed with atmospheric, brooding electronic sounds, including simpler guitar lines from Albarn, and mainly relying on other instruments to replace Coxon. Because of the guitarist's absence, Think Tank was mainly written by Albarn. Albarn's increasing interest in African and Middle Eastern music, as well as his influence over the group's direction, was shown by his appearance. Consider Tank, another No. 1 in the United Kingdom. 1 and a half earned Blur's highest US ranking of No. 1. 56 years old. At the 2004 British Academy Awards, the album was also voted for the best album.

Blur announced in December 2008 that they would reunite for a concert at Hyde Park in London. The band played a second date on July 2nd, a few days later. A series of June preview shows had also been announced, but they were cancelled at the Manchester Evening News Arena on the 26th. All the shows were well received, with writer Alexis Petridis of the Guardian giving their verdict that "Blur's music seems to have potentiated as time goes," they said at Goldsmiths College, "more accessible and punky, more nuanced and exploratory than they did at the time of their fame." Blur headlined the Glastonbury Festival on June 28th, where they appeared for the first time since being seated in 1998 for the first time since being in the headlines. The reactions to the Glastonbury show were ecstatic; The Guardian called them "the best Glastonbury headliners in an age."

In June 2009, the band unveiled Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur, their second best-hits album. Albarn said at the end of the reunion dates that the band had no intention of recording or touring live again. "I just can't do it anymore," the narrator explained that the primary reason for coming back was to mend his coworkers with Coxon, which was fruitful.

In January 2010, No Distance Left to Run, a documentary about the band, was released in theaters and a month later on DVD, winning Best Long Form Music Video for the 53rd Grammy Awards, Blur's first-ever Grammy nomination. Blur's first new record since 2003, "Fool's Day," was released in April 2010 as part of the Record Store Day event as a vinyl limited to 1000 copies; later, it was released as a free download on their website.

At the 2012 British Academy Awards, Blur was given the Outstanding Contribution to Music award in February 2012. "Under the Westway," Albarn and Coxon premiered a new track together that month. Blur came out early this year to record music for a new album, but William Orbit, a British singer, told the NME that Albarn had halted recording. On July 2, Blur released two singles titled "The Puritan" and "Under the Westway." A display at Hyde Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, which was followed by a world tour the following year. Blur revealed on social media on February 19th that they would be releasing their eighth studio album, titled The Magic Whip, Blur's first album in 12 years and first in 16 years in their original line-up.

Jamie Hewlett and Coxon, a Hewlett fan, approached Albarn in 1990 when Coxon, a Hewlett fan, wanted to talk to Blur. The interview was published in Deadline magazine, Hewlett's comedic strip, Tank Girl. Albarn was initially thought of as "arsey, a wanker," and Hewlett continued to avoid its members, especially after she went out with Coxon's ex-girlfriend Jane Olliver. Nonetheless, Albarn and Hewlett first shared a flat on Westbourne Grove in London in 1997. Hewlett had recently broken up with Olliver and Albarn, and he was also at the end of his public relations with Frischmann.

When the two were watching MTV for too long, it came about: "There's nothing of substance here." So we have this idea for a cartoon band, but that will be a remark on that," Hewlett said. Albarn is the band's only permanent musical contributor, and his music draws influences from alternative rock, Britpop, dub, hip-hop, and pop music. The band's eponymous debut album in 2001 sold over seven million copies, as well as hits like "19-2000" and "Clint Eastwood," earning them an entry in Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Popular Virtual Band.

In 2005, Gorillaz studio album Demon Days was released, with the singles "Feel Good Inc."," "Dare," "Dirty Harry" and "Kids with Guns"/"El Maana." Demon Days were five times platinum in the United Kingdom, double platinum in the United States, and five Grammy Award nominations for 2006 include one in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category. By 2007, the Gorillaz and Demon Days' combined sales had sold more than 15 million albums. In early 2010, Gorillaz' third studio album, Plastic Beach, was released, to acclaim. During their North American tour in December 2010, the company, The Fall, made the group's record of over 32 days.

Albarn talked about the possibility of any future Gorillaz launches in a 2012 interview; his relationship with Hewlett soured when Albarn decided to ignore the role of animation on their Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour. Albarn later denied this assertion, adding, "I'm sure we'll make another record" if Jamie [Hewlett] and I had worked out their differences. Humanz, the fifth Gorillaz studio album, was announced and released worldwide on March 23, 2017. On May 31, 2018, Gorillaz' sixth album, The Now Now Now, was announced and released on June 29, 2018. Gorillaz initiated Song Machine in 2020, in which new songs based on collaborations would be released as monthly "episodes" on the website. The first nine episodes were mixed with additional songs from Gorillaz's seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, which was released on October 23, 2020 to rave reviews. Season Two will be released "earlier than you expect," Albarn has said.

On a trip to help Oxfam in 2000, Albarn introduced Mali Music in 2002, who was born in Mali. With African drummer Tony Allen, he has flown to Nigeria to record music.

Albarn launched Democrazy, a collection of demos he recorded in various hotel rooms during the Think Tank's tour in 2003.

Albarn also worked with producers Dan the Automator, XL Recordings, Richard Russell & Rodaidh McDonald, Jneiro Jarel, Darren Cunningham, Esquimous Extinct Dinosaurs and Kwes, as part of his weeklong trip to Kinshasa, Congo's Third Republic of the Congo, to produce Kinshasa One Two, which was released in 2011. All proceeds go to Oxfam's Congo work.

In 2013, Maison Des Jeunes, an album dedicated to Albarn's project Africa Express, was released. Albarn appeared in the song "Go Back" in Tony Allen's albums Film of Life and The Source in 2014.

Albarn revealed that Richard Russell of XL Recordings would produce a new solo album in a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone. He also confirmed that he would be performing his album on tour and that he'll be playing songs from all of his other bands, including Blur and Gorillaz. Everyday Robots, Albarn's debut solo album, received mainly favorable feedback on April 25, 2014. The album reached its high point at No. 1. "Everyday Robots," "Lonely Press Play," "Mr Tembo," "Mr Tembo," and "Heavy Seas of Love" appeared on the UK charts, with "Everyday Robots," "Everyday Robots," "High Ponds," "Mr Tembo," and "Heavy Seas of Love" featuring five singles: "Everyday Robots," "Everyday Robots," "Lonely Press Play," "Mr Tembo," "Mr Tembo," It was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize for Best Album.

Transgressive Records announced in June 2021 that they had signed Albarn and would be releasing his second solo album, After which Albarn announced the name The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows, and the date of release of the title track with the title track.

Albarn was on his first solo album with Danger Mouse, according to NME's Good, the Bad & the Queen. It was starring Paul Simonson, Simon Tong, and Tony Allen. On June 18, the album was named Best Album at the 2007 MOJO Awards.

"Herculean," the first single by the line-up, was released in late October 2006 and reached No. 1 in the charts. In the UK Singles Chart, the 22nd place is on page 22. In January 2007, the band's debut album, "Kingdom of Doom," and a second single, "Kingdom of Doom," were both released. The single farewell was marginally better than "Herculean," peaking at No. 10 on the charts. 20, although the album reached No. 20 on its own. During its first week of debut in the United Kingdom, two of the UK Albums Charts went gold and the first week of release in the United Kingdom. In April 2007, "Green Fields" was the album's third single, but it was just missing out on the Top 50. The Good, the Bad & the Queen headlined the Love Music Hate Racism Carnival in Victoria Park on Saturday, where they welcomed many guests, including ex-Specials keyboardist Jerry Dammers. He collaborated with Syrian rapper and friend Eslam Jawaad on the track "Mr. Whippy," but the song does not appear on the album; it is a B-side on the Herculean single.

Rocket Juice & the Moon is Albarn's side-project, which also stars Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and afrobeat legend Tony Allen. Albarn has claimed that he is not responsible for the name; someone in Lagos created the sleeve design, and that was the name it was given. Albarn has stated that he is content with the result, although finding out with band names is difficult for him. The band appeared together in Cork, Ireland, on October 28th, 2011 as part of the annual Cork Jazz Festival. They were praised under the moniker Another Honest Jon's Chop Up! On March 26, 2012, the band's debut album was released.

Albarn and Michael Nyman recorded the song "London Pride" for the tribute album "Twenty-Century Blues: The Songs of No.l Coward," a patriotic song written in 1941 during the Blitz.

Albarn appeared on their album Room on Fire in 2003, during the Strokes' garage rock band. Albarn is accused of being an experiment with backing vocals on the record, according to producer Gordon Raphael. Albarn's contributions, on the other hand, were not noteworthy. "Well, I guess the songs are just fantastic the way they are," Albarn said. In the same year, he appeared on 'Fashion' live with David Bowie.

Albarn has performed backing vocals on Nathan Haines' "FM" and "Small Time Shot Away" on Massive Attack's 100th Window, which were released in 2003, but on both tracks, credit was given to Gorillaz frontman 2-D instead. On Massive Attack's 2010 Heligoland album, he performed on the track "Saturday Come Slow" and contributed keyboards to the song "Splitting the Atom."

Bobby Womack's twenty-seventh studio album The Bravest Man in the Universe, which was released in 2012, was also produced by Albarn. On New Year's Eve, he appeared on Jols Holland's Hootenanny, performing the song "Love Is Gonna Lift You Up." At the Glastonbury Festival in 2013, Albarn appeared with Womack.

Albarn appeared on De La Soul's album "And the Anonymous Nobody," a track about "Here in After" was released. Albarn had previously worked on Gorillaz' albums Demon Days, Plastic Beach, and Humanz, for the songs "Feel Good Inc," "Superfast Jellyfish," and "Momentz."

Albarn sang with Alex Crossan (Mura Masa) on "Blu," the last track on their debut album in 2017.

"Closet Romantic" appeared on Trainspotting's soundtrack alongside an early Blur album called "Sing," which is from the company's debut album. Albarn wrote the score for Michael Nyman's 1999 film Ravenous, and he was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Music.

The Chinese story Journey to the West, which became the opening show of the 2007 Manchester International Festival, was performed by the Palace Theatre in Manchester by Gorillaz, Albarn, and Hewlett, as well as celebrated Chinese theatre and opera director Chen Shi-zheng.

Albarn has produced an opera for the 2011 Manchester International Festival based on the life of Elizabethan scientist John Dee and titled Doctor Dee.

Albarn wrote the film score for his sister's book The Boy in the Oak, which was written by Jessica Albarn. In select theaters, the film was scheduled for a spring 2011 premiere.

In Wonderland, Albris Norris and Moira Buffini composed the music for a musical based on Alice, which premiered in the Manchester International Festival on June 29, 2015.

Albarn also posted a video for "Crashing Down," the film The White Helmets' "Crashing Down" was originally intended for the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach, which was later planned for the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach.

Seye, drummer Pauli the PSM, guitarist Jeff Wootton, and Mike Smith on keyboards are among Albarn's live band's nicknamed the Heavy Seas. Both Smith and Wootton were members of Gorillaz' Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour earlier this year. All members have performed live with Gorillaz, with the exception of drummer Pauli.

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