Gorillaz stand earned a Guinness World Record for being a [http://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/gwr5/content_pages/record.asp?recordid=57561 Most Successful Virtual Band].

History
Early career (1998-2000)
Gorillaz formed as a band around April 1998. A number one song it recorded was "Ghost Train" (2000), late discharged as a B-side on their single "Rock the House". A band's foremost release was a EP Tomorrow Comes Today, which was very easily received in the UK underground music scene, generating a good deal of word-of-mouth advertising, as well as a big shroud of mystery on top world health organization was behind Gorillaz & what can be required from either a band in the months to came. a promotional folder was circulated across promo outlets to promote a backstory behind the band. A band's official internet site, [http://www.gorillaz.com/ www.gorillaz.com], was a virtual representation of Kong Studios, the band's fictitious studio & residence, in the to the full feel of the word: in, busy people may browse across both member's chamber, their recording environment & potentially a hall & bathrooms. For each one room too experienced bonus surprises & games to play: e.g., a lobby experienced a remix machine, a cafeteria contained the message board on the wall and [http://www.murdocswinnebago.com/ Murdoc's Winnebago] (accessible exclusively by using the enhanced section of the first album) contained the voodoo doll of Second. To each one member too got their have computer which contained pictures, healthy bits from either various requires of songs & their e-electronic mail inboxes. Because of the nature and severity of the places, an official fansite, [http://fans.gorillaz.com/ fans.gorillaz.com], was created to hang on to a standard b& web site references, including news, a discography and the band's touring schedules.

Phase One: Celebrity Take Down (2001-2002)

A band's 1st single, "Clint Eastwood", was released in March 5 2001. a blend of raw hip-hop, bum horror music & a haunting melodica solo struck chords in the world, thrusting Gorillaz into the spherical limelight. Due to this, a made-up band members' Hotmail accounts were abandoned (& in a future hacked) and the inboxes on the places were never updated. Late that equivalent year, their number one good-length album, a self-titled Gorillaz was released, producing quaternity singles: "Clint Eastwood", "19-2000", "Rock the House" and "Tomorrow Comes Today". Apiece of the singles' streaming videos contained humourous & typically ridiculous plot line & imagination, though "Clint Eastwood" & "19-2000" were a lone singles to break through the American music scene. "19-2000" became popular fallowing existence featured inside an Icebreakers commercial. A lone period a streaming for "Tomorrow Comes Today" was played in the States was while Toonami broadcasted a "Midnight Run" favorite in which it played alive music video from either Gorillaz, Daft Punk, and Kenna.

Around this period, the half-30 minutes TV mockumentary entitled Charts Of Darkness was freed, which follows Channel 4 news reporter Krishnan Guru-Murthy attempting to track down Albarn & Hewlett fallowing it were positioned within an insane asylum. A favorite likewise interviews Rachel Stevens of S Club 7 fame and two or three of the band's voice talents, world health organization got tend roles to play. A prevent of a month brought the song "911", a collaboration between the Gorillaz & rap creative person D12 (sans Eminem) and Terry Hall about the September 11, 2001 attacks. Meanwhile G-Sides, a compilation of a B-sides from either the foremost 3 singles was freed around Japan and quickly followed with international releases around early 2002. a recently season besides saw a outstanding performance at the 2002 Brit Awards, featuring the band around 3D animation, weaving in & away from every more in quadruplet big screens along by having rap accompaniment by Phi Life Cypher. Eventually, Laika Come Home, a dub remix album, containing most of the tracks from either Gorillaz reworked by Spacemonkeyz, was released within June 2002. A individual to watch, "Lil' Dub Chefin'", contained an original track by the Spacemonkeyz titled "Spacemonkeyz Theme".

Along by owning a November 2002 release of the DVD Phase 1: Celebrity Choose Down the band's site closed well-nigh wholly down, using a invented Kong Studio there is no hanker accessible. A DVD contains completely 5 training videos (including a abandoned videos "5/4"), a "Charts Of Darkness" documentary film, the 5 Gorilla Bites (short vignettes), a tour of the site per MEL 9000 server & great deal thomas more. A DVD's menu was intentional very much prefer a elastic internet site & depicts an abandoned Kong Studios (single eight rooms, including a lobby, come accessible.)

Rumour were circulating around this period that Gorillaz were occupy preparing the film, however an EMI interview later revealed that plans for the film were abandoned. Inside an locate by having Haruka Kuroda (a voice of Noodle), Kuroda stated that Jamie Hewlett rejected several scripts prior to returning au fait the motion-picture show.

Phase Two: Demon Days (2004-now)

In December 8 2004, the site reopened using an exclusive streaming video entitled "Rock It" (which hwhen non been freed anywhere else as of August 2005) and the announcement of a recently album en route, including production by DJ Danger Mouse and a guest appearance by De La Soul. The contest entitled Research For The Star was likewise announced, leaving fans to send within the microscopic-long clip of streaming or even audio it experienced processed. A prize involved collaborating sustaining a band someway, shape or even form, also when generating their have virtual room on the freshly rebuilt Kong Studios site.

Presently another [http://promo.virginrecords.net/artists/gorillaz/flipbook/uk/ promotional booklet] wwhen issued, recapping a antecedently issued pamphlet, too as detailing a failing motion picture production inside Hollywood & a breakup & reforming of Gorillaz. The culture jamming project named Reject False Icons was formed to strike down modern pop numbers. A recently album was number one reported to become freed inside March 2005, however was down the road changed to Will of the equivalent season. A title of the album was originally reported to become I am Happy Landfill, however has been changed to Demon Days. the number 1 release off a album was a white label Dozen" promotional single of the song "Dirty Harry" featuring Bootie Brown and the San Fernandez Youth Chorus. "Contaminated Harry" was ineligible for the charts due to its status as a promotional single.

The first proper single off the album was "Feel Good Inc.", released as an EP in Japan and as a CD single in Europe and Australia. The single entered the UK Singles Chart at #22, several weeks before the CD single was released, because the single was released as a 7" vinyl inside April & newly stock and index charts regulations involved sales at online music stores, where a song experienced been available since March 22, if there is a physical same. "Feel Good Inc." managed to email #2 in a UK Singles Chart a week it was freed, existence the elastic greatest ever placed only. A lone stayed in the top decade for eight sequentially weeks.

A Album, Demon Times, was #1 in the Album Stock and index charts on that's number 1 week however fell when online when #29 within simply sevener weeks. Nevertheless, when a music streaming video for the 2nd only "DARE" started getting played in MTV and other music trend lines, Demon Times rose as much as a top Ten once more. "DARE" was freed in August 29 2005 in the UK, where it debuted at #1. The Japanese EP followed September 7. When of September 21 2005, "DARE" has non been freed in the United States.

A third only off Demon Times hwhen been confirmed as "Dirty Harry", which got already been freed as a promotional lone earliest that month. It has been scheduled for the November 2005 release. (This instance, but, it is eligible to chart.) The for only off Demon Times has been confirmed for release around early 2006, although a title of the record has non however been revealed.

IMDb has reported that there will be the Gorillaz flick freed around 2007. [http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0465655/] Occasionally of the voice talents credited for the b& members come treacherously and this is the lone source to indicate the motion picture is inside production. These are on the whole unconfirmed & exclusively the hearsay. What's in all probability is that IMDB heard news of the plans to produce the pic, however come however unaware that people plans were cancelled above a year ago.

Fictional band history

A plot line of the Gorillaz, every bit established by Albarn & Hewlett.

Stu-Pot (very title rumored to exist when Stuart Tusspot, however this is just the hearsay, as it has never appeared around one official source), was the mentally insufficient keyboard enthusiast & star employee at Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium, until the risk encounter sustaining Satanist hoodlum Murdoc Niccals. Murdoc experienced decided to ramraid Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium to procure synthesizer equipment in order to establish the "chart topping" musical organization. Even so, Murdoc ended higher camping his Vauxhall Astra through the building and directly into Stu-Pot, for good damaging Stu-Pot's left eye & putting him into the catatonic state. Murdoc was sentenced to "30,000 hours of community service, plus 10 hours every week of caring for the vegetabilised Stu-Pot". Shortly when, Murdoc once more wounded Stu-Pot inside an accident inside Nottingham's Tesco parking lot, permanently damaging Stu-Pot's correct eye, however reviving him from either his coma. Murdoc so recruited a freshly recovered (albeit however mentally defective) Stu-Pot when a keyboardist and vocalist for his group, re-dubbing him 2nd for a matching pair of dents around his head from either the accidents.

Murdoc so witnessed the drummer for the group around the Soho rap record store, African-American expatriate Russel Hobbs. Russel was the middle-class New York native and the deeply turbulent youth, with been expelled from either either an expensive common soldier school for suffering from demonic possession. the trauma of aforesaid possession resulted inside a 4 month coma from either which Russel was roused single by an in an elaborate way executed exorcism. Fallowing his recovery, Russel began attending Brooklyn High, where he quickly cultivated friendly relationship using the class action of rappers, DJs, & street musicians. A select few would say that "hip-hop saved his soul." This wwhen a short-ephemeral respite, notwithstanding, as tons of Russel's newfound friends would become gunned-down inside the drive-by shooting. Existence that he was a resole survivor, he became a unwilling receptacle for a spirits of everthing of his slain compatriots, virtually all notability of whom was the rhyme dropping blue phantom of his late friend Del. Using their latent possession of his person, Russel gained unbelievable musical comedy artistry around percussion, rap, and hip-hop as well as a disturbing side-burden: his eyes okay, glow an eerie white. Using this fresh & violent turn of cases, Russel's personal shipped him polish off to England in hopes of helping him recover from either his traumas quietly, non realizing it'd put him directly into a path of Murdoc's aspirations to superstardom, & a excesses that come along by owning it.

At that point, all the fledgling class action required was the guitar player. Rather then numbers of british elastic prior to a children, the trio situated an ad within NME. the super day a ad ran, a FedEx freight container from Japan was delivered to their doorstep & retired cleared the mysterious amnesic 10-month-old wielding the Gibson Les Paul. the petite girl manufactured an incomprehensible introduction & tore into a "riff to end all riffs" which ended sustaining an telling ninjutsu kick to the air, she then spoke one word to the stunned boys inside english, which became her nickname, "Noodle". In the late a share of 1998, a Gorillaz played their foremost indicate at the Camden Brownhouse which ended prematurely due to a riot when you took their song "Punk". EMI A&R man Whiffy Smiffy discharged several rounds from shotgun to disperse the crowd enough to make his way to the stage and quickly signed them to the label. Ten months late it got recorded their self-titled debut LP.

around the wintertime of 1999 Murdoc acquired the property of Kong Studios, the straggling haunted studio using the like shady history, placed atop the hill in the middle of a start-down memorial park & landfill in Districtshire, Essex. A Gorillaz lived & recorded around Kong Studios higher until their 2002 11-date tour of Northerly Usa. At the prevent of July of that year, a Gorillaz took a sise month break around L.A.. There it attempted for a moving-picture show plan off the ground. Meanwhile, that Halloween, Kong Studios experienced been close down pinching inside its creator's absence by local law enforcement fallowing an unknown human was seen going, naked & within hysterics, in a lakes touching the studio. A constabulary proceeded to keep a front yard secured when it investigated a unknown paranormal events surrounding Kong. the Gorillaz spent a interim period of time working in their film, when sleep in a big rented zero in the Hollywood Hills.

Alas, a film was non intended to become, due withinside a portion to extensive across-partying, in-fighting, & disagreements using producers, directors, & a notable incident of Murdoc acquiring himself banned from either the Playboy Mansion for stealing ashtrays. Intelligibly, at this point a Gorillaz went in a year and half hiatus, every of the members running their separate ways to call for themselves. Murdoc headed to Mexico to booze it up inside Tijuana brothels, getting himself arrested for passing bad cheque within the run, & enjoying little company in his Mexican prison cell aside from either his corvus corax, Cortez, & 2 Mexican gangster world health organization would late assist break him retired. Second went back page to operate for his father within his carnival, re-establish his grip in reality, & came to terms by using his newfound popular icon status by owning a ladies. Russel disappeared into the States to literally & figuratively exorcise his private demons, unfortunately including a ghost of Del, allowing Russel a mentally & spiritually exhausted mobile shadow of the human he another time was. Fallowing shamble as much as Los Angeles for occasionally instance, Russel was taken within by Ike Turner & helped to recover, and when sleep in Turner's basement Russel recorded his have solo album which wwhen shelved due to unknown supernatural activity inherent in the music itself, what Russel described as something of the "cosmic disruption". Noodle travelled to Japan, withinside the profitable attempt to uncover the secrets of her have retiring which involved non just the revelation that she was a line 3 text subject in a secret government extremely soldier task, however that she too speaks fluent English. Armed by owning her newfound noesis & cast-iron resolve, Noodle was a 1st to go to to Kong Studios. There she attend project battling a zombie and monster-infested darkness of a building, set up the "Search For A Star" contest, & began a run of pulling a band back together to record their freshly album, Demon Times.

Members
Second (Assumed name: Stu-Pot) (just about 27 years old) - vocals, keyboards Murdoc Niccals (39, born 6/6/66) - bass Noodle (astir Xiv) - guitars, vocals Russel Hobbs (astir 31) - drums, percussion

Note that a establishment of Murdoc's birthday & a celebration of it many days on a official fansite proves that the cartoon band members wash age. It has been rumoured that Noodle's birthday get on Halloween, October 31st, though this has non been confirmed. Within 2001 whenever a album debuted, their ages were Xxiii, 34, 10 & 27. Which are actually non their todays ages, when it keep around plain aged.

Actual members
There st& been waves of speculation and disceptation surrounding world health organization is actually behind Gorillaz ever since "Tomorrow Comes Today" was 1st freed. In the half-30 minutes TV mockumentary Charts Of Darkness it was explicitly stated that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett were behind the task; quoting Albarn, "There could be fifty [people] here, but there's two." Several fans develop just assumed that a guest creative person in the liner notes of the foremost album (including Cibo Matto vocalist Miho Hatori, Del Tha Funkee Homosapien of Deltron 3030 and producer Dan "The Automator" Nakamura) complete the band. In point of fact, a single lasting member behind a music happens to become Albarn, when completely art & music video cds come created by Zombie Flesh Eaters (Hewlett's own company) & Passion Pictures (animators including 2000AD artist Rufus Dayglo).

In a period of the "hidden" credits to the DVD Phase A single: Celebrity Choose Down, it states a list of a creators, the voice talents & victims responsible performing survive. A names of integral performing artist in a class action changed drastically for the 2nd album, by using the exception of Albarn himself.

For the roughly complete names of humans included inside Gorillaz, view [http://www.gorillaz-unofficial.com/biography/realpeople.htm this site].

Live performances
For a tours attached by owning a debut album, the physical band played behind a specially intentional screen which covers the stage metropolitan area. Video, animatics & image collages were projected onto the audience side of the screen, piece choreographed lights behind the screen lit higher silhouettes of the physical band, creating a canasta of the physical and alive. For their 1st tour of the United States, two screens were utilized; 1 was only a animatics, patch a 2nd, moo screen displayed a band's silhouettes along sustaining various quotes from either interviews.

2005 radio tour
As a consequence a release of their Demon Times album, Gorillaz began an Western radio tour. Inside keeping by owning a style of a band the 'Demon Detour' featured the placed of pre-recorded songs played in take radio stations, along using comments per quadruplet band members.

Future live shows
There is the Gorillaz "festival", by having collaborators from either Demon Times (De La Soul, Shaun Ryder and Roots Manuva have already been confirmed) and Damon Albarn performing songs from either a album live Five nights, November One - 5, 2005, at a Opera inside Manchester. A ocular element of the evening is provided by Gorillaz co-developer Jamie Hewlett.

Gorillaz stand likewise mass produced plans for a vast globe tour around 2007-2008 which would include the band members existence holograph in stage. These shows come attend exist as pre-recorded & Damon Albarn has stated that he may non exist as possibly there after a performance may happen.

Horror references
A band's art is deeply rooted around horror film imagination & ideals. On text come two or three of the films it refer to in their exposure, video cds & songs: 28 Days Later The Amityville Horror Dawn of the Dead Day of the Dead Dracula Faust Friday The 13th ''The Head that Wouldn't Die The Exorcist Night of the Living Dead Nosferatu Psycho Resident Evil The Shining The Texas Chainsaw Massacre'' Michael Jackson's "Thriller" The Wicker Man Zombi II

Gorilla Bites
There is a series of alive shorts, known as Gorilla Bites, starring a Gorillaz. It is available at various wharehouses, occasionally on the enhanced CD, DVD versions of a records or when bonus content available upon buying the "Feel Good Inc." lone (as an album) in iTunes, others on the band's official homepage. Virtually all of the children were freed on the DVD Phase A single: Celebrity Require Down. A handle greatly resembles a art inside Samurai Jack. "The Eel" "Hey Our Toys Have Arrived" "Fancy Dress" "Free Tibet Campaign" "Game Of Death" "Gorillaz Talent Quest" "Gorillaz On Set" "Jump The Gut"

Discography
Albums
Gorillaz (26 March 2001) first studio album - #3 UK, #14 US G-Sides (11 March 2002) b-sides collection - #65 UK, #84 US Laika Come Home (1 July 2002) dub remix of Gorillaz - #156 US Demon Days (23 May 2005) second studio album - #1 UK, #6 US

EPs
Tomorrow Comes Today (November 27 2000)

DVDs
Phase One: Celebrity Take Down (18 November 2002)

Others
The Apex Tapes (Interview Video that was sent to members of a click to promote the release of Gorillaz) We Are the Dury (Interview Video that was sent to members of a click to promote the release of Demon Times) Gorillazish Mix (A mixtape processed by producer Dan The Automator, released within 2001 after he was however a band's producer. A mixtape was freed on The Cornerstone Streaming video player 2 dozen existence 1 disc of the Ii discharged.) Roadkill: The Mixtape (A mixtape of songs from either Demon Times & its collaborators. This was given away at public sign language.)

Vivir Mata (Soundtrack, features Gorillaz' "Latin Simone") Blade II OST (Soundtrack, features "Gorillaz on My Mind" by Gorillaz & Redman) Bad Company OST (Soundtrack, features "9/11" by Gorillaz & D-12 featuring Terry Hall)

Kevin and Bean - Swallow My Eggnog (Compilation, features "Don Quixote's Christmas Bonanza") XFM The Remix (Features "19/2000' (Remix compilation, Ben Brown's UKFUNK.COM Remix As Chosen By Gorillaz)") Help: A Day In The Life (Charity compilation, features "Hong Kong")

MTV Music Generator 2 (Video game, features "Dub Dumb" (as well contains a music videos for "Clint Eastwood"))

Redman - ''Smash Sumthin' / Let's Get Contaminated'' (Double The-side only, features "Let's Get Dirty (Gorillaz Remix)")

Massive Attack - 100th Window (Features vocals from 2nd in "Small Time Shot Away") Nathan Haines - Squire For Hire (Features vocals from 2nd in "FM")

Singles

!rowspan="2"| Date !rowspan="2"| Title !colspan="3"| Chart positions !rowspan="2"| Album |- !UK Singles Chart !US Hot 100 !US Modern Rock |- | March 5, 2001 | "Clint Eastwood" | #4 | #57 | #3 | Gorillaz |- | June 25, 2001 | "19-2000" | #6 | - | #23 | Gorillaz |- | October 22, 2001 | "Rock the House" | #18 | - | - | Gorillaz |- | December 7, 2001 | "911" (with D12 feat. Terry Hall) | - | - | - | Non-album single |- | February 25 2002 | "Tomorrow Comes Today" | #33 | - | - | Gorillaz |- | July 22, 2002 | "Lil' Dub Chefin'" | #73 | - | - | Laika Came Home |- | May 9, 2005 | "Feel Good Inc." (feat. De La Soul) | #2 | #14 | #One (Viii weeks) | Demon Days |- | August 29, 2005 | "DARE" (feat. Shaun Ryder) | #One (Unity week) | - | - | Demon Days |- | November 21, 2005 | "Dirty Harry" (feat. Bootie Brown) | - | - | - | Demon Days |}