Damon Albarn


Damon Albarn, born 23 March 1968 is an English singer-songwriter and record producer who has been involved in many high profile projects and collaborations throughout his career. He is perhaps best known internationally for his current role as the lead vocalist and songwriter of Gorillaz, whose first two studio albums had sold more than 20 million copies combined by 2007. He came to prominence, particularly in the United Kingdom, as the frontman and primary songwriter of Britpop band Blur, and has also helmed projects such as The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Monkey: Journey to the West and Mali Music. Albarn has released multiple singles and albums which have charted at #1, both in the UK and internationally.

Albarn was voted the 4th greatest frontman of all time in a national 2010 Q magazine poll. In 1994’s chart-topping Parklife, featuring the hit "Girls & Boys", cemented Blur as British superstars and won the band four BRIT Awards, including Best Group and Best Album. By the time Blur released 1995’s The Great Escape, it was locked in a battle of the bands with a new contender to the Brit-pop throne, working-class heroes Oasis. The UK press made front-page news out of each band’s bid for #1 with their new singles, and Blur’s "Country House" beat out Oasis' "Roll with It" by a narrow margin. It was the #1 Oasis album (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, however, that won in the end, earning the Manchester band bragging rights as the biggest new band in the UK and significant stateside success, while The Great Escape stalled on the U.S. chart at #150.

Gorillaz is a virtual band composed of four animated band members created in 1998 by Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl. The band's music is a collaboration between various musicians; Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is broadly alternative rock, but with a large number of other influences including: Britpop, dub, hip-hop, and pop music.

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