Music
The Video Diaries: Gorillaz
The story of Gorillaz' trailblazing career, told in videos
Part band, part conceptual art piece, Gorillaz defies categorisation. Fronted by Damon Albarn and supported by some of the most talented creatives alive today, the project has evolved into a cultural juggernaut with an extended universe encompassing animation, comic books, video games and, of course, music.
Since debuting in 2001 with the hit single ‘Clint Eastwood’ (more on that in a moment), the band has topped charts, toured the world, claimed prestigious awards and continuously pushed boundaries, both sonically and artistically. While a career that spans more than two decades can’t easily be distilled, we’ve picked out some video highlights from along the way.
The making of ‘Clint Eastwood’
Damon Albarn’s 2023 interview with Zane Lowe is well worth watching in its entirety. The most illustrative moment, however, comes within the first few seconds, when Albarn reveals to Lowe that the main riff from Gorillaz’ breakout single ‘Clint Eastwood’ was lifted wholesale from a preset on the Suzuki Omnichord.
That’s more telling than it sounds. Only a musician who feels like they have nothing to prove would be comfortable taking a preset from a piece of kit that is, for all intents and purposes, a musical toy, without bothering to chop it up or resample it creatively. And that kind of confidence only comes from achievement… like, for example, the achievement of having founded Blur, one of the most consequential bands in British music history. So while ‘Clint Eastwood’ might mark the start of Gorillaz’ stratospheric ascent, for Albarn it was just another moment in a career already defined by distinction.
Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett interview
People often forget that Damon Albarn is only one of Gorillaz’ founding members, the other being prolific cartoonist Jamie Hewlett. This is perhaps unsurprising, given that, of the two, Albarn is clearly more comfortable in the spotlight. However, the pair have sat down for joint interviews on a number of occasions, including this one, when they were interviewed by Schweizer Radio und Fernsehen (the public broadcaster for the German-speaking part of Switzerland, in case you were wondering), with Albarn taking the opportunity to lay out the philosophy that underpins Gorillaz: “Human beings are sort of irrelevant.”
The way Albarn and Hewlett collaborate has changed over the years, largely due to the fact that they now live on opposite sides of the English Channel (Hewlett moved to Paris in 2010 after marrying French actress Emma de Caunes). While the original concept – and the now-iconic characters of Murdoc, 2-D, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs – were dreamed up during intense, booze- and nicotine-fuelled sessions in a Notting Hill flat, today Albarn creates the music in his West London studio before sending it to Hewlett, who develops the accompanying animation and continues to build out the Gorillaz extended universe.
‘Feel Good Inc.’ – Live at the 2010 MTV EMAs
The idea of a virtual band was (and still is) groundbreaking, but it poses something of a challenge when it comes to live performance. The solution to this challenge, at least in the early days of Gorillaz, was to project the band’s animated characters onto a massive screen, behind which Albarn and the other musicians played in obscurity.
This didn’t go down well with audiences, who weren’t sure whether they were listening to live music or a recording. To resolve this problem, the screen was modified so that the musicians’ silhouettes were visible to the audience. While this placated fans, Albarn still struggled with the setup, as his inability to see the audience meant he couldn’t react to shifts in the crowd’s energy.
‘Silent Running’ – Live at the 2022 MTV EMAs
Today, Gorillaz gigs put Albarn front and centre. Although the band’s virtual members are still present, projected onto screens above the stage, the line between Albarn and Gorillaz – once meticulously maintained through the use of technology – has now entirely dissolved.
Albarn is also frequently joined on stage by his various collaborators, with Adeleye Omotayo making an appearance at the 2022 EMAs for a rendition of ‘Silent Running.’
‘El Mañana’
It’s not just Gorillaz’ live performances that have evolved over time; the band’s sound has also undergone a noticeable change, with the booming hip hop and rock ‘n’ roll influences of early years steadily pruned back to make way for dreamier, more introspective fare (although not entirely: Albarn still regularly collaborates with rap titans).
An early sign of what was to come can be found in ‘El Mañana,’ which sits midway through 2005’s Demon Days, an oasis of melancholy and restraint amidst unabashed bangers like ‘Dirty Harry,’ ‘Feel Good Inc.’ and ‘DARE.’
Damon Albarn and Remi Kabaka Jr. interview
In 2015, Remi Kabaka Jr. became a fully fledged member of Gorillaz, having already worked as a producer and drummer for the band (and provided the voice of Russel Hobbs) for a number of years. In 2021, Kabaka and Albarn sat down with Amazon Music for an interview, discussing records they’ve worked on together, as well as how the nature of their relationship has changed over the years.
Halfway through the interview, Albarn becomes visibly emotional when discussing the late Afrobeat pioneer Tony Allen. The pair had worked together for decades, including on ‘How Far,’ which was recorded mere weeks before Allen’s death, and released two days after it.
‘November Has Come’
Most artists have to choose between mainstream success and underground acceptance. Damon Albarn isn’t most artists. While Gorillaz records have boasted the vocals of stars like Elton John, Snoop Dogg and Bad Bunny, they’ve also featured artists unknown to all but the most discerning devotees of niche sub-genres.
Case in point is ‘November Has Come,’ which features the enigmatic lyricism of the late, great MF DOOM. Easily one of the most revered underground rappers of all time, DOOM was famously averse to collaborating with anyone remotely tainted by mainstream success – a rule he was clearly willing to break when it came to Gorillaz.
‘On Melancholy Hill’
The standout track from 2010’s Plastic Beach, ‘On Melancholy Hill’ is perhaps the best representation of Gorillaz’ sonic evolution. Gone are the thunderous breakbeats and euphoric synth lines, replaced by wistful melodies, laidback drums and lyrics that are both gently mournful and surreal (fans still debate what the manatee on the titular hill represents), all delivered in Albarn’s trademark “transistor radio” vocal style.
‘Humility’
Any lingering questions about Gorillaz’ cultural stature were well and truly dispelled in 2018 by the music video for ‘Humility,’ the first single from The Now Now.
The video is set on LA’s Venice Beach, and it intersperses shots of the animated gang getting up to unusually lighthearted hijinks while Jack Black (yes, that Jack Black) struts his stuff, strumming a bright yellow guitar and lip-syncing the song’s lyrics in typically zesty fashion.
Gorillaz presents: ‘NOSTALGIAZ’
In January 2025, a video titled ‘NOSTALGIAZ’ was uploaded to the Gorillaz official YouTube channel. The video – which was created to mark the 25th anniversary of the band’s founding – consists of short snippets from Gorillaz music videos, set to incongruously soothing classical music.
The fact that the video lasts for more than four minutes, despite each snippet only playing for a few seconds, underscores quite how prolific Albarn and co have been over the last 25 years. And with another album expected to drop in late 2025, it seems unlikely that they’ll be slowing down any time soon.
