Damon Albarn Fun Facts, Quotes and Tweets
19th April 2015
Quote: "Does music say anything today? Music and young artists generally talk about themselves; they don't talk about what's happening out there. It is the selfie generation in every sense of the word." Blur frontman Damon Albarn slams modern pop stars for failing to address social issues and politics in their music.
19th February 2015
Quote: "We finished mixing last Friday and we literally mastered it yesterday. The reason that we've kept it secret is because we didn't have a record until yesterday!" Damon Albarn on the surprise news his band Blur are releasing a new album, titled The Magic Whip, 12 years after their last project, 2003's Think Tank.
29th July 2014
Quote: "Well, since Damon's spilled the beans I feel we can all sort of talk about it now." Singer/songwriter Marianne Faithfull is happy to discuss her former addiction to heroin since Blur frontman Damon Albarn spoke out earlier this year (14) to detail his battle with the drug in the 1990s.
13th March 2014
Fact: Blur star Damon Albarn's new song Mr. Tembo was inspired by a baby elephant the singer/songwriter met in Tanzania.
8th March 2014
Fact: Blur and Gorillaz star Damon Albarn has signed up to headline a castle festival in Serbia. The singer will front the EXIT Festival in July (14), joining a line-up that includes Disclosure, Rudimental and Skrillex. The event will take place over three days at the Petrovaradin Fortress in Novi Sad.
27th February 2014
Quote: "NME were (sic) the first magazine to write about Blur and it meant so much to me." Blur star Damon Albarn was flattered to receive the Innovation accolade at the Nme Awards in London on Wednesday (26Feb14).
10th February 2014
Fact: Blur star Damon Albarn will be honoured with the first-ever Innovation Award at the NME Awards in London later this month (Feb14). Announcing the news, Nme editor Mike Williams says, "Damon's enduring popularity is a testament to his unrivalled talent. He is somebody who is always pushing things forward, always operating in his own sphere and forever innovating via experimentation and collaboration... We're lucky to have him, and it's an absolute honour for us to be giving Damon the Nme Award For Innovation."
1st October 2013
Fact: Blur star Damon Albarn is set to make his debut as a radio Dj on Saturday (05Oct13) when he steps in for BBC Radio 2 presenter Dermot O'Leary for the day. The rocker will welcome a number of special guests during the show, including The Wire star Idris Elba and The Clash's Paul Simonon, who was also a member of the singer's Gorillaz collective.
13th July 2013
Fact: Blur singer Damon Albarn, Red Hot Chili Peppers star Flea and Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos have teamed up to record a charity single to benefit Oxfam's Syria Crisis Appeal. Latest Style will be available on 12-inch vinyl exclusively at the Independent Label Market in London on Saturday (13Jul13) and then as an auction item on eBay.com.
22nd May 2012
Fact: Blur star Damon Albarn has teamed up with Portishead's Beth Gibbons for a track on Jj Doom's new album Key To The Kuffs.
8th May 2012
Quote: "This week we're mucking around with these Russian synthesizers in a very loose mind of doing some kind of record under my name. I suppose you could call it a solo record, but I don't like that word. It sounds very lonely - solo. I don't really want to be solo in my life. But yeah, I'm making another record." Blur star Damon Albarn is hard at work in the studio.
26th March 2012
Quote: "For about 24 hours, many years ago, I was making a record with David and Ray. It's not the case anymore. I've played around with a lot of ideas and most don't come to fruition." Blur star Damon Albarn was once planning to collaborate with rock legends David Bowie and THE KINKS' RAY DAVIES.
2nd February 2012
Fact: Rockers Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon will warm up for the forthcoming Brit Awards by playing an intimate London show for charity. The Blur legends, who will receive the Outstanding Contribution prize at the ceremony on 21 February (12), are set to take to the stage for War Child at the Shepherd's Bush Empire on 19 February (12).
2nd November 2011
Quote: "We've always wanted to play in America again. Yeah, we do still meet up regularly. And we think there might be an audience over there." British rocker Damon Albarn and his Blur bandmates haven't given up on their dream of finding fame in the U.S.
28th October 2011
Fact: Damon Albarn has named his supergroup Rocketjuice And The Moon. The band, which he has formed with Red Hot Chili Peppers rocker Flea, will make its live debut in London on Saturday (29Oct11).
25th November 2010
Quote: "We're working on a song together. We haven’t finished it, but it sounds so dope though." N.E.R.D. rapper Pharrell Williams reveals to NME.com he has teamed up with British rocker Damon Albarn for a new track rumoured to feature on the Gorillaz's next album.
22nd November 2010
Quote: "It's everything. It's an ongoing search for inspiration. A few days ago I was inspired by a revolving door in a hotel. I was." Gorillaz rocker Damon Albarn's music is influenced by his everyday life.
13th November 2010
Quote: "At Madison Square Garden the whole crowd was going 'Lou, Lou!' which sounds like 'boo, boo', unfortunately." British singer Damon Albarn reveals the downfalls of performing with music legend Lou Reed.
12th November 2010
Quote: "I've made it on an iPad - I hope I'll be making the first record on an iPad. Which is ironic, being the sort of technophobe and Luddite that I am. But I fell in love with my iPad as soon as I got it, so I've made a completely different kind of record." Damon Albarn is embracing new technologies for his next Gorillaz album.
8th September 2010
Quote: "Gorillaz definitely deserve some kind of award - if only for having 104 people on stage at Glastonbury. What a f**king rider that must've been to organise - more complicated than a Big Brother shopping list!" Noel Gallagher re-ignites his war-of-words with Damon Albarn at the GQ Men of the Year Awards in London, where Albarn's Gorillaz took home the Best Band prize.
26th March 2010
Quote: "We have a young lad called Jeff who funnily enough is in Liam's new band. I just thought that was quite funny." Former Blur frontman Damon Albarn has recruited a member of Liam Gallagher's new band to play with Gorillaz. Gallagher previously fronted Blur's arch-rivals Oasis.
22nd March 2010
Quote: Gorillaz have announced their first U.K. gigs in five years. The British band, led by former Blur frontman Damon Albarn, will play at London's Roundhouse on 29 and 30 April (30), with guest spots from De La Soul and Shaun Ryder.
15th January 2010
Quote: "Noel used to take the p**s out of me constantly and it really, really hurt at the time. Oasis were like the bullies I had to put up with at school." Blur frontman Damon Albarn on the band's Britpop rivals OASIS.
22nd May 2009
Quote: "We've rehearsed about 40 songs so we're having to take it down to around 20 or we'll be on stage for four hours." Damon Albarn warns fans to prepare to rock all night at Blur's comeback shows this summer (09).
3rd December 2008
Fact: After his concerts in London last month (Nov08), Kanye West unwound by playing a game of Connect 4 with Gorillaz creator and Blur frontman Damon Albarn.
5th October 2008
Quote: "Even if I wanted to, how would I go about writing an opera... I don't think two blokes having the same f**king argument for 16 years over and over is the stuff of an opera. Oasis: The Opera would be very short." Noel Gallagher insists he wouldn't know where to start if he was to follow one-time chart rival Damon Albarn and pen an opera. He dismisses the idea that his constant bickering with bandmate and brother LIAM would make a good storyline.
31st July 2008
Fact: Former Blur frontman Damon Albarn is obsessed with table tennis - and has played against members of the British Olympic squad.
25th July 2008
Fact: Gorillaz founders Damon Albarn and JAMIE HEWLETT have reteamed to create an animated clip promoting BBC coverage of the Beijing Summer Olympics. The video is inspired by Albarn's new opera, Monkey: Journey to the West, which is based on a classic Chinese novel.
27th June 2007
Fact: An opera penned by Gorillaz star Damon Albarn opens on Wednesday evening (27Jun07) as part of the Manchester International Festival in England. Monkey: Journey To The West, which is based on the legendary tale of the Chinese Monkey, features a set designed by his Gorillaz collaborator and artist Jamie Hewlitt.
16th May 2007
Quote: "He doesn't get out enough and I know this is a bit out of order, but who in their right mind would've married a one-legged brass?" Damon Albarn on Sir Paul McCartney.
10th May 2007
Quote: "We're never a dull moment, me and Paul. Both like black music, both know what it's like to be too pretty for your own good when you're young. I love him." THE GOOD, THE BAD + THE QUEEN's Damon Albarn has formed a close friendship with new bandmate, former The Clash star PAUL SIMONON.
6th January 2007
Quote: "We are experienced warriors. Grown men. We are not spotty 17-year-old kids any more who have nothing to show apart from their desire to make noise, let alone experience." Damon Albarn insists age isn't a barrier for THE GOOD, THE BAD + THE QUEEN, the new band he's formed with former The Clash bassist PAUL SIMONON.
5th December 2006
Fact: Damon Albarn's new group THE GOOD, THE BAD AND THE QUEEN will become the first band to be broadcast performing live on MySpace, when they are filmed playing at London's Wilton Music Hall next week (12DEC06).
21st November 2006
Fact: Former Blur and Gorillaz star Damon Albarn recently spent three days in Algiers producing local group EL GUSTO's new album. The project will be released on his own Honest Jon record label next year (07).
14th November 2006
Fact: Gorillaz originator Damon Albarn will support improved musical education in Africa by performing a rare DJ set at London club Fabric on Thursday (16NOV06). Other DJs on the bill include Fatboy Slim and ARTHUR BAKER.
23rd August 2006
Fact: Author Irvine Welsh, Pete Townshend and Damon Albarn will contribute liner notes to a new The Clash singles box set.
24th April 2006
Fact: GORILLAZ star Damon Albarn is establishing a charity music programme which will send British musicians to Africa to make music with local artists.
9th November 2005
Quote: <p>"Michael Moore helped get (US President GEORGE W) Bush back into power. I don't care what anyone says." Blur and GORILLAZ star Damon Albarn is not a fan of controversial movie-maker Michael Moore. </p>
6th September 2005
Fact: <p>GORILLA mastermind Damon Albarn is sending his animated creations out on tour in 2007, when curious fans will finally see the cartoon stars on stage - as giant 3D holograms. </p>
Damon Albarn
