Gorillaz

Biography

Gorillaz was created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and comics artist Jamie Hewlett. Its public lineup consists of singer 2D, guitarist Noodle, bassist Murdoc Niccals and drummer Russel Hobbs. Warner distinguishes these fictional members from the real division of work: Albarn leads the music and Hewlett the visuals. Continuing character stories accompany human composition, recording and performance. [1] [2]

The 2001 self-titled debut and “Clint Eastwood” brought this combination to a wider audience. For 2005's Demon Days, Danger Mouse joined the production and guests included De La Soul and Shaun Ryder. “Feel Good Inc.,” “DARE” and “Dirty Harry” appeared on the album. A stable animated lineup and changing human collaborators became a way of making successive, distinct records. [1] [3]

Plastic Beach in 2010 widened the guest roster to include Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mick Jones and Paul Simonon, with songs including “Stylo” and “On Melancholy Hill.” This phase also developed into a real stage tour. Warner's history records a world tour starting in October 2010; Albarn subsequently collected recordings made on an iPad while touring as The Fall, which received a physical release in 2011. [4] [1] [2]

Song Machine in 2020 released collaborative songs and videos as episodes. “PAC-MAN” featured ScHoolboy Q and “Strange Timez” featured Robert Smith, before the series was collected as Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez. Cracker Island, released on 24 February 2023, continued this collaboration-based approach; the official catalogue and videos identify contributions by Thundercat, Tame Impala, Bootie Brown and Bad Bunny. [5] [6] [1] [9]

The Mountain, released on 27 February 2026, offers further examples. Its track list pairs “The Happy Dictator” with Sparks and “Damascus” with Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey, while Anoushka Shankar appears on several tracks. The four fictional musicians remain the shared band identity linking these recordings by different musicians with Hewlett's continuing character imagery. [7] [8]

[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9]

Milestones

1. 1998
   Project established [2]
2. 2001
   Self-titled debut album [1]
3. 2005
   Demon Days released [1]
4. 2010
   Plastic Beach released [4]
5. 2020
   Song Machine episodic collaboration project [5] [6]
6. 2026-02-27
   The Mountain released [7]

Works & performances

• Gorillaz2001
• Demon Days2005
• Plastic Beach2010
• Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez2020
• Cracker Island2023
• The Mountain2026

Sources

1. Gorillaz — Warner Music JapanAccessed 2026-10-20
2. Gorillaz — historical overviewAccessed 2026-10-20
3. Demon Days — Warner release catalogueAccessed 2026-10-20
4. Plastic Beach — Warner release catalogueAccessed 2026-10-20
5. Song Machine: PAC-MAN episode — Warner announcementAccessed 2026-10-20
6. Song Machine, Season One — official vinyl track listAccessed 2026-10-20
7. The Mountain — official Bandcamp release and track creditsAccessed 2026-10-20
8. The Mountain — official album presentationAccessed 2026-10-20
9. Cracker Island — Warner digital release and track listAccessed 2026-10-20

This is a selection of recording phases from 1998–2026, not a complete tour or fictional-member chronology. Parts of Warner’s biography still describe 2017 plans; those announcements are not treated as proof of completed events. The Fall’s 2011 date denotes its physical release. The debut still links to the label’s artist catalogue because its specific page could not be retrieved.

Related entries