:Damon Albarn

Albarn was born in Whitechapel, London. He is the eldest child of artist Keith Albarn and his wife Hazel (née Dring).{{Cite web |last=Sweeney |first=Eamon |title=Damon Albarn interview: 'I think my life has been a bit too colourful to be quite ready for an autobiography' |url=https://www.businesspost.ie/culture/damon-albarn-interview-i-think-my-life-has-been-a-bit-too-colourful-to-be-quite-ready-for-an-autobiography-756231e5 |access-date=2022-03-08 |website=Business Post |language=en |archive-date=8 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220308224512/https://www.businesspost.ie/culture/damon-albarn-interview-i-think-my-life-has-been-a-bit-too-colourful-to-be-quite-ready-for-an-autobiography-756231e5 |url-status=live }} He has some Danish descent through his mother.{{cite web|url=https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/leisure/national/19710547.damon-albarn-discusses-new-citizenship-sense-wasnt-just-english/|title=Damon Albarn discusses new citizenship and 'sense he wasn't just English'|website=Salisburyjournal.co.uk|date=11 November 2021|access-date=6 January 2023|archive-date=6 January 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230106152445/https://www.salisburyjournal.co.uk/leisure/national/19710547.damon-albarn-discusses-new-citizenship-sense-wasnt-just-english/|url-status=live}} Their daughter Jessica (born 1971) also went on to become an artist.Maconie, Stuart (1999). Blur: 3862 Days, The Official History. Virgin Books; {{ISBN|0-7535-0287-9}} Hazel, originally from Lincolnshire, was a theatrical set designer for Joan Littlewood's theatre company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London, and was working on the satirical play Mrs Wilson's Diary just before Damon was born. Keith, originally from Nottinghamshire, was briefly the manager of Soft Machine and was once a guest on BBC's Late Night Line-Up.Harris, John (2003) [https://web.archive.org/web/20090402214804/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/damon-albarn-from-cool-britannia-to-radical-campaigner-for-peace-597655.html "Damon Albarn: From Cool Britannia to radical campaigner for peace"], The Independent, 15 February 2003. He was head of the Colchester School of Art at Colchester Institute.{{cite web |title=Colchester School of Art |website=Colchester Institute |url=https://www.colchester.ac.uk/colchester-school-of-art/ |access-date=30 December 2020 |quote=At Colchester School of Art we are proud to have a history dating from 1885, the year the original Art School was founded. |archive-date=19 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210119210631/https://www.colchester.ac.uk/colchester-school-of-art/ |url-status=live }}

Damon's paternal grandfather Edward, an architect,{{cite web|url=http://www.samscorergallery.co.uk/antonin-bartl-100-years-retrospective/|title=Antonin Bartl 100 years Retrospective {{!}}|website=Samscorergallery.co.uk|access-date=9 May 2016|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160528085610/http://www.samscorergallery.co.uk/antonin-bartl-100-years-retrospective/|archive-date=28 May 2016}}{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/eastmidlands/series6/lincolnshire_peace_community_conscientious_objector.shtml|title=BBC Inside Out – Lincolnshire Peace Community|publisher=BBC|access-date=9 May 2016|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016153709/http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/eastmidlands/series6/lincolnshire_peace_community_conscientious_objector.shtml|url-status=live}} had been a conscientious objector during the Second World War and was involved in a farming community in Lincolnshire, becoming a peace activist. In 2002 Edward Albarn died; Damon stated in an interview that Edward did not want to live any longer and decided to go on a hunger strike.{{cite journal|last=Mulholland|first=Gary|title=Special relationships|journal=The Observer|date=21 September 2003|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/21/popandrock.blur|access-date=18 September 2012|archive-date=24 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024011949/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/sep/21/popandrock.blur|url-status=live}} In 1968, at the age of six months, Albarn was a "testing expert" for designs for educational aids and toys for children including fibreglass furniture and play-structures fancifully called "The Kissmequiosk". "The Apollo Cumfycraft" and "The Tailendcharlie" produced by his father's company "Keith Albarn & Partners Ltd" under the trade-name of "Playlearn, Ltd."{{cite web |author=Stephen K. Oberbeck |url=http://aliciapatterson.org/stories/massage-parlors-jaded-senses |title=Massage Parlors for Jaded Senses | Alicia Patterson Foundation |publisher=Aliciapatterson.org |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=6 June 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140606084416/http://aliciapatterson.org/stories/massage-parlors-jaded-senses |url-status=live }}

File:Damon Albarn (Waltham Forest Heritage).jpg, East London, where Albarn was brought up]]

When Damon and Jessica were growing up, their family moved to Leytonstone, East London. The household was described as "bohemian"Ankeny, Jason [{{AllMusic|class=artist|id=p50874/biography|pure_url=yes}} "Damon Albarn Biography"], AllMusic, Macrovision Corporation and their upbringing as "liberal". Damon and Jessica were also raised in the Quaker religion. Albarn agreed with his parents' views, later claiming, "I always thought my parents were absolutely dead right. I went against the grain in a weird way – by continually following them." His parents primarily listened to blues, Indian ragas and African music. When Albarn was nine years old, his family took a holiday trip to Turkey for three months before settling in Aldham Fordstreet, Essex, an area described by Albarn as "one of those burgeoning Thatcher experiments where they were building loads of small estates".No Distance Left To Run. Pulse Films (2010) The population of the area was predominantly white as opposed to the ethnically mixed part of London which he had become used to. He described himself as "not really fitting in with the politics of the place."

Albarn was interested in music from an early age, attending an Osmonds concert at the age of six.{{cite web|title=sometime in 2001, Zombie Hip-Hop|url=http://www.gorillaz-unofficial.com/media_archive/smhinterview01.htm|work=The Sydney Morning Herald|access-date=2 October 2012|year=2001|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305150450/http://www.gorillaz-unofficial.com/media_archive/smhinterview01.htm|archive-date=5 March 2016}} He started playing guitar, piano and violin in his youth and was interested in composing music, one of his compositions winning a heat in the nationwide Young Composer of the Year competition. Damon and Jessica both attended a primary school nearby which, according to Damon, was burnt down seven times over a period of 18 months by one of the teachers. After both siblings failed their Eleven-Plus exams, they started attending Stanway Comprehensive School, where Damon described himself as being "really unpopular" and "[irritating to] a lot of people". However, he developed an interest in drama and started acting in various school productions. It was at Stanway where he would meet future Blur guitarist Graham Coxon, who recalls seeing him act and feeling that he was a "confident performer" as well as a "show off". Albarn's first words directed at Coxon were "Your brogues are crap, mate. Look, mine are the proper sort" as he was showing off his leather shoes, fashionable footwear at the time influenced by the Mod Revival. Nevertheless, the pair went on to become good friends, owing to their shared passion for music, particularly bands such as the Jam, the Beatles, the Human League, XTC and Madness. Albarn has also credited the Specials and Fun Boy Three as some of his earliest influences,{{Cite web|url=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVCg4BnxtGY&gl=US&hl=en|title=Damon Albarn On First Songs He Wrote With Graham Coxon – YouTube|website=YouTube|date=10 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140410143343/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVCg4BnxtGY&gl=US&hl=en|access-date=13 November 2021|archive-date=10 April 2014}} and John Lennon in his taking up songwriting.{{Cite web|url=https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/musicnews/damon-albarn-wished-worked-john-lennon-1164780.html|title=Damon Albarn wished he worked with John Lennon|date=September 26, 2018|website=Femalefirst.co.uk|access-date=17 August 2020|archive-date=23 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201123195445/https://www.femalefirst.co.uk/music/musicnews/damon-albarn-wished-worked-john-lennon-1164780.html|url-status=live}}

He studied acting at the East 15 Acting School in Debden, but left after the first year. On leaving drama school he entered a production and management contract with Marijke Bergkamp and Graeme Holdaway, owners of the Beat Factory recording studio, where the members of Blur, then known as Seymour, did their first recordings. His first band was the synthpop group, Two's a Crowd. Before Blur, he played with the Aftermath and Real Lives.

{{Further|Blur (band)|l1=Blur}}

File:Blur Newcastle 2009 Coxon Albarn.jpg (left) performing with Blur at Newcastle Academy in June 2009]]

Albarn enrolled on a part-time music course at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988, claiming that his sole intention was to gain access to the student union bar.Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/AkNvk2MgiCc Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20100805092955/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkNvk2MgiCc Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AkNvk2MgiCc |title=Nardwuar vs. Blur |date=12 May 2007 |via=YouTube |access-date=30 April 2014}}{{cbignore}} Albarn was in a group named Circus alongside Coxon and drummer Dave Rowntree.{{cite book |last=Harris |first=John |author-link=John Harris (critic) |date=2004 |title=Britpop!: Cool Britannia and the Spectacular Demise of English Rock |publisher=Da Capo |isbn=9780306813672}}Thompson, pg. 209 Alex James, a fellow student at Goldsmiths, eventually joined as the group's bassist. They changed their name to Seymour in December 1988, inspired by J.D. Salinger's Seymour: An Introduction.Harris 2004, pg. 46 In March 1990, after changing their name to Blur, they signed to Food Records.Harris 2004, pg. 49–50

In October 1990, Blur released their first single, "She's So High", which reached number 48 in the UK Singles Chart. The band had trouble creating a follow-up single, but made progress when paired with producer Stephen Street. The resulting single, "There's No Other Way", became a hit, peaking at number eight.Harris 2004, pg. 53–55 As a result of the single's success, Blur became pop stars and were accepted into a clique of bands who frequented the Syndrome club in London dubbed the "Scene That Celebrates Itself".Harris 2004, pg. 56–57 The recording of the group's debut album was hindered by Albarn having to write his lyrics in the studio. Although the resulting album Leisure (1991) peaked at number seven on the UK Albums Chart, it received mixed reviews, and according to journalist John Harris, "could not shake off the odour of anti-climax".Harris 2004, pg. 59 Albarn has since referred to Leisure as "awful".{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a46469/damon-albarn-criticises-blur-albums.html|title=Damon Albarn cusses Blur albums|last=Kilkelly|first=Daniel|website=Digital Spy|date=12 May 2007|access-date=2 December 2012|archive-date=16 June 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080616163650/http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/music/a46469/damon-albarn-criticises-blur-albums.html?|url-status=live}}

After discovering they were £60,000 in debt, Blur toured the US in 1992 in an attempt to recoup their losses.Harris 2004, pg. 66 Albarn and the band became increasingly unhappy and homesick during the two-month American tour and began writing songs which "created an English atmosphere".Harris, John. "A shite sports car and a punk reincarnation". NME. 10 April 1993. Blur had undergone an ideological and image shift intended to celebrate their English heritage in contrast to the popularity of American grunge bands like Nirvana.Harris 2004, pg. 79 Although sceptical of Albarn's new manifesto, Balfe gave his assent for the band's choice of Andy Partridge of the band XTC to produce their follow-up to Leisure. The sessions with Partridge proved unsatisfactory, but a chance reunion with Stephen Street resulted in him returning to produce the group.Harris 2004, pg. 82

The second Blur album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, was released in May 1993 and peaked at number 15 on the British charts,"[http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/blur/ Blur Single & Album Chart History] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022195217/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/_/blur/ |date=22 October 2012 }}". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 21 August 2012. but failed to break into the US Billboard 200, selling only 19,000 copies.Duffy, Tom. "SBK, Blur focus on U.S. market". Billboard. 28 May 1994."[https://www.allmusic.com/artist/blur-mn0000758444/awards Blur – Awards] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200727010751/https://www.allmusic.com/artist/blur-mn0000758444/awards |date=27 July 2020 }}". AllMusic. Retrieved 21 August 2012. Despite the album's poor performance, Albarn was happy with the band's direction and wrote prolifically for Blur's next album. Parklife was released in 1994 and revived Blur's commercial fortunes, with the album's first single, the disco-influenced "Girls & Boys", achieving critical acclaim and chart success. Parklife entered the British charts at number one and stayed in the album charts for 90 weeks.Harris 2004, pg. 142 Enthusiastically greeted by the music press, Parklife is regarded as one of Britpop's defining records.Dee, John. "Blur – Parklife". NME. April 1994.Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "[{{AllMusic|class=album|id=r202255|pure_url=yes}} Parklife review]". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2008. Blur won four awards at the 1995 Brit Awards, including Best British Group and British Album of the Year for Parklife.Harris 2004, pg. 192 Coxon later pointed to Parklife as the moment when "[Blur] went from being regarded as an alternative, leftfield arty band to this amazing new pop sensation".Tuxen, Henrik; Dalley, Helen. "Graham Coxon interview". Total Guitar. May 1999. Albarn was uncomfortable with fame, however, and he suffered from panic attacks.

Blur began working on their fourth album The Great Escape at the start of 1995.Harris 2004, pg. 222 Building upon the band's previous two albums, Albarn's lyrics for the album consisted of several third-person narratives. James reflected, "It was all more elaborate, more orchestral, more theatrical, and the lyrics were even more twisted ... It was all dysfunctional, misfit characters fucking up."Harris 2004, pg. 223–24 The release of the album's lead single "Country House" played a part in Blur's public rivalry with Manchester band Oasis termed the "Battle of Britpop". Partly due to increasing antagonism between the groups, Blur and Oasis decided to release their new singles on the same day, an event the NME called the "British Heavyweight Championship". The debate over which band would top the British singles chart became a media phenomenon, and Albarn appeared on News at Ten.Live Forever: The Rise and Fall of Brit Pop. Passion Pictures, 2004. At the end of the week, "Country House" outsold Oasis' "Roll With It" by 274,000 copies to 216,000, becoming Blur's first number-one single.Harris 2004, pg. 235

The Great Escape was released in September 1995 to positive reviews, and entered the UK charts at number one. However, opinion quickly changed and Blur found themselves largely out of favour with the media. BBC Music writer James McMahon recalled how the "critical euphoria" surrounding the album lasted "about as long as it took publishers to realise Oasis would probably shift more magazines for them".{{cite web |last=McMahon |first=James |date=2011 |title=The Great Escape review |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8qwx/ |access-date=2 January 2017 |publisher=BBC Music |archive-date=26 November 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171126092235/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/8qwx/ |url-status=live }} Following the worldwide success of Oasis' (What's the Story) Morning Glory?, the media quipped that Blur "wound up winning the battle but losing the war."Erlewine, Stephen Thomas. "[{{AllMusic|class=song|id=t1315546|pure_url=yes}} 'Country House' song review]". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 June 2008. Blur became perceived as an "inauthentic middle-class pop band" in comparison to "working-class heroes" Oasis, which Albarn said made him feel "stupid and confused". Bassist James said: "After being the People's Hero, Damon was the People's Prick for a short period ... basically, he was a loser – very publicly."Maconie, Stuart. "The Death of a Party". Select (August 1999). In the New Statesman, Stuart Maconie noted "Albarn... was mocked as the posh boy of Britpop when in fact he’d gone to a comprehensive in Essex and his family was just mildly bohemian. Nowadays he’d be decidedly 'below stairs'".{{cite web | url=https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2015/02/privileged-are-taking-over-arts-without-grit-pop-culture-doomed | title=Stuart Maconie: The privileged are taking over the arts – without the grit, pop culture is doomed | date=4 February 2015 | access-date=16 October 2022 | archive-date=16 October 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221016015516/https://www.newstatesman.com/long-reads/2015/02/privileged-are-taking-over-arts-without-grit-pop-culture-doomed | url-status=live }}

An early 1996 Q interview reported that relations between Blur members had become strained; journalist Adrian Deevoy wrote that he found them "on the verge of a nervous breakup." Coxon, in particular, began to resent his bandmates and, in a rejection of the group's Britpop aesthetic, made a point of listening to noisy American alternative rock bands such as Pavement.Harris 2004, pg. 259–60 Albarn grew to appreciate Coxon's tastes in lo-fi and underground music, and recognised the need to change Blur's musical direction once again. "I can sit at my piano and write brilliant observational pop songs all day long but you've got to move on," he said, and decided to give Coxon more creative control over their new album. Albarn visited Iceland during this period: "I used to have a recurring dream, as a child, of a black sand beach. And one hazy, lazy day [laughs], I was watching the TV and I saw a programme about Iceland, and they had black beaches. So I got on a plane ... I was on my own. I didn't know anybody. I went into the street, Laugavegur, where the bars are, and that was it."{{cite web|url=http://damonalbarnunofficial.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/damon-albarn-gorillaz-heroin-and-the-last-days-of-blur-the-guardian-april-2012/ |title=Damon Albarn | 'Gorillaz, heroin and the last days of Blur' – The Guardian: April 2012 | damon albarn unofficial archive |publisher=Damonalbarnunofficial.wordpress.com |date=6 March 2013 |access-date=30 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140221193335/http://damonalbarnunofficial.wordpress.com/2013/03/06/damon-albarn-gorillaz-heroin-and-the-last-days-of-blur-the-guardian-april-2012/ |archive-date=21 February 2014 }}

After initial sessions in London, the band left to record the rest of the album in Iceland, away from the Britpop scene. The result was Blur, the band's fifth studio album, released in February 1997. Although the music press predicted that the lo-fi sonic experimentation would alienate Blur's teenage girl fanbase, they generally applauded the effort. Pointing out lyrics such as "Look inside America / She's alright", and noting Albarn's "obligatory nod to Beck, [and promotion of] the new Pavement album as if paid to do so", reviewers felt the band had come to accept American values during this time – an about-face of their attitude during the Britpop years.Collins, Andrew. "Blur: Keeping It Simple". Q. March 1997. Despite cries of "commercial suicide," the album and its first single, "Beetlebum", debuted at number one in the UK.Sutherland, Mark. "Altered States". Melody Maker. 21 June 1997. Although the album could not match the sales of their previous albums in the UK, Blur became the band's most successful internationally, particularly in the US, helped by the successful single "Song 2". After the success of Blur, the band embarked on a nine-month world tour.

File:Damon Albarn live29.07.2013 in Rome 4.JPG at the Rock in Roma, 2013]]

Blur's sixth studio album 13, released in March 1999, saw them drift further from Britpop. Albarn's lyrics – more heartfelt, personal and intimate than on previous occasions – were reflective of his break-up with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, his partner of eight years.Sullivan, Caroline. "[https://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,,313434,00.html Down and outstanding] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160303174209/http://www.theguardian.com/friday_review/story/0,,313434,00.html |date=3 March 2016 }}". The Guardian. 5 March 2008. Retrieved 1 October 2012. Recording for Blur's next album began in London in November 2001. Not long after the sessions began, Coxon left the group.Greeves, David. "[http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul03/articles/benhillier.asp Recording Blur, Tom Rae & Elbow] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120307205637/http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/jul03/articles/benhillier.asp |date=7 March 2012 }}". Sound on Sound. July 2003. Retrieved 11 September 2012. Coxon stated "there were no rows" and "[the band] just recognised the feeling that we needed some time apart"."[http://www.the-fly.co.uk/news/article/4812/Graham-Coxon-Explains-Blur-Split/ Graham Coxon Explains Blur Split] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120606144707/http://www.the-fly.co.uk/news/article/4812/Graham-Coxon-Explains-Blur-Split/ |date=6 June 2012 }}". The Fly. May 2009. Retrieved 23 December 2011. Think Tank, released in May 2003, was filled with atmospheric, brooding electronic sounds, featuring simpler guitar lines by Albarn, and largely relying on other instruments to replace Coxon. The guitarist's absence also meant that Think Tank was written mostly by Albarn. Its sound was seen as testament to Albarn's increasing interest in African and Middle Eastern music and to his control over the group's direction.{{cite web|url=http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1475339/20030804/blur.jhtml|title=Blur: The Undiscovered Country|last=Bottomley|first=C.|date=12 August 2003|website=VH1 Interviews|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071001030713/http://www.vh1.com/artists/interview/1475339/20030804/blur.jhtml|archive-date=1 October 2007 |access-date=9 May 2016}} Think Tank was another UK No. 1 and achieved Blur's highest US position of No. 56. The album was also nominated for best album at the 2004 Brit Awards.{{cite web |url=http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/2004 |title=2004 |publisher=Brit Awards |date=17 February 2004 |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=7 August 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120807024604/http://www.brits.co.uk/history/shows/2004 |url-status=live }}

File:Blur - Hyde Park 3rd July 2009 (09).jpg in July 2009]]

In December 2008, Blur announced they would reunite for a concert at London's Hyde Park on 3 July 2009."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7771000/7771915.stm Blur confirm massive outdoor show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081212085616/http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7771000/7771915.stm |date=12 December 2008 }}". BBC. 9 December 2008. Retrieved 10 December 2008. Days later, the band added a second date, for 2 July."[http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7779000/7779399.stm Blur add second date at Hyde Park] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150221212019/http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/music/newsid_7779000/7779399.stm |date=21 February 2015 }}". BBC News. 12 December 2008. Retrieved 21 August 2012. A series of June preview shows were also announced, ending at Manchester Evening News arena on the 26th. All the shows were well received; The Guardian{{'}}s music critic Alexis Petridis gave their performance at Goldsmiths College a full five stars, and wrote that "Blur's music seems to have potentiated by the passing of years ... they sound both more frenetic and punky and more nuanced and exploratory than they did at the height of their fame".Petridis, Alexis. "[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/23/review-blur-live-goldsmiths-college Blur, Goldsmiths College, London] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327081440/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/23/review-blur-live-goldsmiths-college |date=27 March 2017 }}". The Guardian. 23 June 2009. Retrieved 26 June 2009. Blur headlined the Glastonbury Festival on 28 June, where they played for the first time since their headline slot in 1998. Reviews of the Glastonbury performance were enthusiastic; The Guardian called them "the best Glastonbury headliners in an age".Jonze, Time. "[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/29/blur-glastonbury-2009 Blur at Glastonbury 2009] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327081432/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2009/jun/29/blur-glastonbury-2009 |date=27 March 2017 }}". The Guardian. 29 June 2009. Retrieved 26 March 2010.

The band released their second greatest-hits album Midlife: A Beginner's Guide to Blur in June 2009. After the completion of the reunion dates, Albarn told Q that the band had no intention of recording or touring live again. He said, "I just can't do it anymore", and explained that the main motivation for participating in the reunion was to repair his relationship with Coxon, which succeeded.{{cite news |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8168723.stm |title=Entertainment | Albarn rules out more Blur gigs |work=BBC News |date=25 July 2009 |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=20 December 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141220132522/http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/8168723.stm |url-status=live }}

In January 2010, No Distance Left to Run, a documentary about the band, was released in cinemas and a month later on DVD and was nominated as Best Long Form Music Video for the 53rd Grammy Awards, Blur's first-ever Grammy nomination.(3 December 2010). [https://archive.today/20120917124718/http://www.vblurpage.com/news/2010/1203.htm "No Distance Left To Run nominated for Grammy Award"] Retrieved 8 December 2010.{{cite web |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/37602-blur-documentary-coming-to-dvd |title=Blur Documentary Coming to DVD |website=Pitchfork |date=15 January 2010 |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=27 May 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140527033218/http://pitchfork.com/news/37602-blur-documentary-coming-to-dvd/ |url-status=live }} In April 2010, Blur released their first new recording since 2003, "Fool's Day" in April 2010 as part of the Record Store Day event as a vinyl record limited to 1000 copies; it was later made available as a free download on their website.Chester, Tim. [https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=122&title=free_blur_mp3_download&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 "Free Blur MP3 Download"]{{dead link|date=April 2017 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}. NME. 18 April 2010. Retrieved 21 August 2012.

In February 2012, Blur were awarded the Outstanding Contribution to Music award at the 2012 Brit Awards.Topping, Alexandria. "[https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/21/brit-awards-adele-triumphant-return?INTCMP=SRCH Brit awards: Adele takes away two awards on a triumphant return] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170327081243/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/feb/21/brit-awards-adele-triumphant-return?INTCMP=SRCH |date=27 March 2017 }}". The Guardian. 21 February 2012. Retrieved 21 August 2012. Later that month, Albarn and Coxon premiered a new track together live, "Under the Westway"."[http://news.qthemusic.com/2012/02/blurs_damon_graham_reunite_liv.html Blur's Damon & Graham play new song as they reunite live for War Child's 2012 Brit Award gig] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120705033037/http://news.qthemusic.com/2012/02/blurs_damon_graham_reunite_liv.html |date=5 July 2012 }}". Q. Retrieved 2 March 2012. Blur entered the studio early that year to record material for a new album, but in May producer William Orbit told the NME that Albarn had halted recording."[https://www.nme.com/news/blur--2/63943 William Orbit: 'Damon Albarn has halted new Blur recording sessions'] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120625112310/http://www.nme.com/news/blur--2/63943 |date=25 June 2012 }}". NME. 23 May 2012. Retrieved 22 August 2012. Blur released two singles "The Puritan" and "Under the Westway" on 2 July.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/blur--2/64481 |title=Blur announce the release of two brand new singles |work=NME |date=22 June 2012 |access-date=30 April 2014 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140109202527/http://www.nme.com/news/blur--2/64481 |archive-date=9 January 2014 }} That August, Blur headlined a show at Hyde Park for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony which was followed by a world tour the following year."[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17110538 London 2012: Blur to headline Olympics closing show] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180618065345/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-17110538 |date=18 June 2018 }}", BBC. Retrieved 25 July 2012. On 19 February 2015, Blur announced on social media that they would be releasing their eighth studio album on 27 April, titled The Magic Whip, Blur's first album in 12 years and first in 16 years in their original line-up."[https://www.facebook.com/blur/posts/10153603290425744 Blur – Finally, we can confirm that we will be releasing an album,...]". Facebook. 19 February 2015. Retrieved 19 February 2015.{{cite web|url=http://overblown.co.uk/blur-share-go-out-announce-new-album-hyde-park-gig/|title=Blur Share 'Go Out', Announce New Album, Hyde Park Gig|website=overblown.co.uk|publisher=Overblown|last1=Coughlan|first1=Jamie|date=19 February 2015|access-date=19 February 2015|archive-date=19 February 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150219194832/http://overblown.co.uk/blur-share-go-out-announce-new-album-hyde-park-gig/|url-status=live}}

{{Further|Gorillaz}}

Albarn and Jamie Hewlett met in 1990 when Coxon, a fan of Hewlett's work, asked him to interview Blur.{{cite journal|last=Elliot|first=Paul|title=Feature: Damon and Jamie Interview. Hey Hey We're the Monkeys!|journal=Q|date=August 2001}} The interview was published in Deadline magazine, home of Hewlett's comic strip, Tank Girl. Hewlett initially thought Albarn was "arsey, a wanker", and despite becoming one of the band's acquaintances, Hewlett often did not get on with its members, especially after he started going out with Coxon's ex-girlfriend, Jane Olliver. Nonetheless, Albarn and Hewlett started sharing a flat on Westbourne Grove in London in 1997.{{cite journal|first=Chris|last=Heath|author-link=Chris Heath|date=November 2007|title=The 21 People Who Changed Music: Damon Albarn|journal=Q|page=87}} Hewlett had recently broken up with Olliver and Albarn was also at the end of his highly publicised relationship with Frischmann.

The idea to create Gorillaz came about when the two were watching MTV: "If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell—there's nothing of substance there. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that," Hewlett said.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.07/gorillaz.html |title=Keeping It (Un)real |access-date=5 October 2008 |first=Neil |last=Gaiman |author-link=Neil Gaiman |date=July 2005 |magazine=Wired |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100105225835/http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.07/gorillaz.html |archive-date=5 January 2010 |url-status=live }} The band's music is a collaboration between various musicians, Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor, and incorporates influences including alternative rock, Britpop, dub, hip-hop, and pop music.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/7309415/review/7313456 |title=Demon Days : Gorillaz : Review : Rolling Stone |access-date=10 October 2007 |author=Mar, Alex |date=2 June 2005 |magazine=Rolling Stone |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090505085851/http://www.rollingstone.com/reviews/album/7309415/review/7313456 |archive-date=5 May 2009 |url-status=dead }}{{cite web |url=http://inmusicwetrust.com/articles/42r21.html |title=In Music We Trust – Gorillaz: Gorillaz |access-date=10 October 2007 |author=Steininger, Alex |date=November 2001 |publisher=In Music We Trust |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090404195331/http://inmusicwetrust.com/articles/42r21.html |archive-date=4 April 2009 |url-status=live }} In 2001, the band's eponymous debut album sold over seven million copies, and featured hits such as the songs "19-2000" and "Clint Eastwood," earning them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band.{{cite web |url=http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/reviews/music/r-n-b-rap/gorillaz-d-sides-$1170827.htm |title=Gorillaz: D-Sides |access-date=11 February 2009 |author=Cooper, James |date=19 November 2007 |publisher=inthenews.co.uk |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100418193200/http://www.inthenews.co.uk/entertainment/reviews/music/r-n-b-rap/gorillaz-d-sides-$1170827.htm |archive-date=18 April 2010 |url-status=dead }}

File:Gorillaz, Brixton Academy, London (35187100075).jpg in London, June 2017]]

The second Gorillaz studio album, Demon Days, was released in 2005 and included the singles "Feel Good Inc.", "Dare", "Dirty Harry", "Kids with Guns" and "El Mañana". Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK,{{cite web|url=http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=32542|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160411081059/http://www.bpi.co.uk/platinum/platinumright.asp?rq=search_plat&r_id=32542|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 April 2016|title=Platinum Awards Content – Demon Days|access-date=7 December 2008|date=24 February 2006|publisher=British Phonographic Industry}} double platinum in the United States{{cite web|url=https://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Gorillaz&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50 |title=Gorillaz RIAA certifications |access-date=7 December 2008 |publisher=Recording Industry Association of America |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150903230335/http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?table=SEARCH_RESULTS&artist=Gorillaz&format=ALBUM&go=Search&perPage=50 |archive-date=3 September 2015 |url-status=dead }} and earned five Grammy Award nominations for 2006{{cite web|url=http://www.emigroup.com/Press/2005/Press35.htm|title=EMI Music earns 54 Grammy nominations|access-date=1 June 2007|date=8 December 2005|publisher=EMI|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070926234841/http://www.emigroup.com/Press/2005/Press35.htm|archive-date=26 September 2007}} and won one of them in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category.{{cite web|url=http://www.emimusicpub.com/news/index_2006.php |title=EMI Music Publishing Wins Big at the Grammys! |access-date=1 June 2007 |date=14 February 2006 |publisher=EMI |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091010034217/http://www.emimusicpub.com/news/index_2006.php |archive-date=10 October 2009 }} The combined sales of Gorillaz and Demon Days had, by 2007, exceeded 15 million albums.{{cite web |url=http://www.ffwdweekly.com/Issues/2007/0125/mus2.htm |title=Living in a Virtual World |access-date=25 October 2008 |author=Marchetto, Sean |date=25 January 2007 |work=Fast Forward Weekly |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090416104658/http://www.ffwdweekly.com/Issues/2007/0125/mus2.htm |archive-date=16 April 2009 |url-status=dead }} Gorillaz released their third studio album, Plastic Beach, in early 2010, which was received with high praise. In December 2010, the group released The Fall, recorded over 32 days during their North American tour.{{cite web|url=https://medium.com/micro-chop/the-gorillaz-made-an-entire-album-with-an-ipad-46cfbd78ee01|title=The Gorillaz Made an Entire Album with an iPad|publisher=Medium|last=Sorcinelli|first=Gino|date=27 October 2016|access-date=10 November 2021|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20211110142352/https://medium.com/micro-chop/the-gorillaz-made-an-entire-album-with-an-ipad-46cfbd78ee01|archivedate=10 November 2021|url-status=live}}

In a 2012 interview, Albarn talked about the unlikelihood of any future Gorillaz releases; his relationship with Hewlett had soured when Albarn chose to undercut the role of animation on their Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour.{{cite news|author=John Harris|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/07/damon-albarn-gorillaz-heroin-blur|title=Damon Albarn: Gorillaz, heroin and the last days of Blur|work=The Guardian|date=7 April 2012|access-date=4 May 2012|location=London|archive-date=31 October 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131031122252/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2012/apr/07/damon-albarn-gorillaz-heroin-blur|url-status=live}} Albarn later rescinded this claim, stating "When Jamie [Hewlett] and I have worked out our differences, I'm sure we'll make another record."{{cite web|author=Mayer Nissim|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a378314/damon-albarn-blur-and-gorillaz-arent-finished.html|title=Damon Albarn: 'Blur and Gorillaz aren't finished'|website=Digital Spy|date=25 April 2012|access-date=12 February 2013|archive-date=4 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130704232604/http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a378314/damon-albarn-blur-and-gorillaz-arent-finished.html|url-status=live}} On 23 March 2017, the fifth Gorillaz studio album, Humanz, was announced and released worldwide on 28 April 2017.{{cite web|url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/gorillazs_animated_tv_series_and_clothing_line_are_coming_says_artist_jamie_hewlett|title=Gorillaz's Animated TV Series and Clothing Line Are Coming, Says Artist Jamie Hewlett|last=Lindsay|first=Cam|date=27 April 2017|website=Exclaim!|access-date=3 May 2017|archive-date=1 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170501074851/http://exclaim.ca/music/article/gorillazs_animated_tv_series_and_clothing_line_are_coming_says_artist_jamie_hewlett|url-status=live}} The sixth Gorillaz album, The Now Now, was announced on 31 May 2018 and released on 29 June 2018.{{cite news |last1=Serota |first1=Maggie |title=Gorillaz — "Humility" and "Lake Zurich" |url=https://www.spin.com/2018/05/gorillaz-humility-and-lake-zurich/ |access-date=1 June 2018 |work=Spin |date=31 May 2018 |archive-date=12 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180612142830/https://www.spin.com/2018/05/gorillaz-humility-and-lake-zurich/ |url-status=live }} In 2020, Gorillaz began a project called Song Machine, in which new songs with collaborations would be released as monthly "episodes". The first nine episodes were compiled together along with more songs in Gorillaz's seventh studio album, Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez, which was released on 23 October 2020 to positive reviews.{{Cite magazine|last1=Dolan|first1=Jon|date=2020-10-23|title=20 Years In, Gorillaz Are Still Imagining Pop's Future|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/gorillaz-song-machine-season-one-strange-timez-1080234/|access-date=2021-04-30|magazine=Rolling Stone|language=en-US|archive-date=16 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201116185454/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/gorillaz-song-machine-season-one-strange-timez-1080234/|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2020-10-22|title=Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez is the finest Gorillaz album in a decade – review|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/gorillaz-review-strange-timez-song-machine-damon-albarn-robert-smith-b1156905.html|access-date=2021-04-30|website=The Independent|language=en|archive-date=3 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201103231218/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/gorillaz-review-strange-timez-song-machine-damon-albarn-robert-smith-b1156905.html|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2020-10-22|title=Gorillaz – 'Song Machine: Season One – Strange Timez' review: outré pop|url=https://www.nme.com/en_au/reviews/album/gorillaz-song-machine-strange-timez-season-one-review-2795456|access-date=2021-04-30|website=NME|language=en-AU|archive-date=10 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410152832/https://www.nme.com/en_au/reviews/album/gorillaz-song-machine-strange-timez-season-one-review-2795456|url-status=live}}{{Cite web|date=2020-10-15|title=Gorillaz: Song Machine Season One: Strange Timez review – the poignant sound of social distancing|url=http://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/15/gorillaz-song-machine-season-one-strange-timez-review-the-poignant-sound-of-social-distancing|access-date=2021-04-30|website=The Guardian|language=en|archive-date=29 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210429112922/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/oct/15/gorillaz-song-machine-season-one-strange-timez-review-the-poignant-sound-of-social-distancing|url-status=live}} A second season of Song Machine was planned, though it was later scrapped.{{Cite web |last=Parraguez |first=Daniel Seclen |date=2020-10-15 |title=Damon Albarn dice que le gustaría trabajar con Bad Bunny |url=https://garajedelrock.com/noticias/damon-albarn-dice-que-le-gustaria-trabajar-con-bad-bunny/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=Garaje del Rock |language=es-PE |archive-date=22 April 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422054630/https://garajedelrock.com/noticias/damon-albarn-dice-que-le-gustaria-trabajar-con-bad-bunny/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |last=Andrés Del Real |date=2020-10-18 |title=Damon Albarn: "Nuestra mayor crisis existencial es nuestra relación con internet" |url=https://www.latercera.com/culto/2020/10/18/damon-albarn-nuestra-mayor-crisis-existencial-es-nuestra-relacion-con-internet/ |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=La Tercera |archive-date=31 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031022016/https://www.latercera.com/culto/2020/10/18/damon-albarn-nuestra-mayor-crisis-existencial-es-nuestra-relacion-con-internet/ |url-status=live }} On 31 August 2022, their eighth studio album, Cracker Island was announced, and was later released on 24 February 2023.{{Cite web |last=Krol |first=Charlotte |date=2022-08-31 |title=Gorillaz announce new album 'Cracker Island', release 'New Gold' with Tame Impala and Bootie Brown |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-announce-new-album-cracker-island-release-new-gold-with-tame-impala-and-bootie-brown-3301856 |access-date=2023-04-22 |website=NME |language=en-GB |archive-date=31 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220831192632/https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-announce-new-album-cracker-island-release-new-gold-with-tame-impala-and-bootie-brown-3301856 |url-status=live }}

In 2000, Albarn participated in the soundtrack of Ordinary Decent Criminal.{{Cite web |url=https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0160611/soundtrack/ |title=Ordinary Decent Criminal (2000) - Soundtracks - IMDb |website=IMDb }}

Albarn released Mali Music in 2002, recorded in Mali, during a trip he made to support Oxfam in 2000.{{cite web|last=Tingen|first=Paul|title=Damon Albarn & Simon Burwell: Recording Mali Music|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/damon-albarn-simon-burwell|website=Sound On Sound|date=September 2002|access-date=12 March 2024}} He has visited Nigeria to record music with Nigerian drummer Tony Allen.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}

In 2003, Albarn released an EP, Democrazy, a compilation of demos he recorded in various hotel rooms during the United States portion of Think Tank{{'}}s tour.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/fg63/ |title=Review of Damon Albarn – Democrazy |last=Smith |first=Jack |publisher=BBC |date=2003 |access-date=5 February 2022 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100421183715/http://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/fg63 |archive-date=21 April 2010 }}

Albarn collaborated with producers Dan the Automator, XL Recordings, Richard Russell & Rodaidh McDonald, Jneiro Jarel, DJ Darren Cunningham aka Actress, Marc Antoine, Alwest, Remi Kabaka Jr., Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Kwes as part of his week-long visit to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo to record an album, Kinshasa One Two, released in 2011.{{cite web|url=http://drcmusic.org/ |title=Kinshasa One Two |publisher=DRC Music |date=19 December 2011 |access-date=22 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111120032047/http://drcmusic.org/ |archive-date=20 November 2011 }} All proceeds benefit Oxfam's work in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2011/07/damon-albarn-previews-drc-music-project-with-hallo|title=Damon Albarn previews DRC Music project with "Hallo" " Consequence of Sound|publisher=Consequence.net|date=25 July 2011|access-date=22 March 2012|archive-date=22 January 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220122210031/https://consequence.net/2011/07/damon-albarn-previews-drc-music-project-with-hallo/|url-status=live|author-first1=Alex|author-last1=Young}}

Maison Des Jeunes, an album for Albarn's project Africa Express, was released in 2013.{{cite web|title=Damon Albarn, Brian Eno, Nick Zinner, Holy Other Detail Africa Express Album|website=Pitchfork|date=14 November 2013|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/53002-damon-albarn-brian-eno-nick-zinner-holy-other-detail-africa-express-album/|access-date=14 November 2013|archive-date=15 November 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131115141125/http://pitchfork.com/news/53002-damon-albarn-brian-eno-nick-zinner-holy-other-detail-africa-express-album/|url-status=live}} In 2014, Albarn appeared in the song "Go Back" in Tony Allen's albums Film of Life and The Source.{{Citation needed|date=June 2018}}

In a 2013 interview with Rolling Stone, Albarn announced that a forthcoming solo record would be produced by Richard Russell of XL Recordings. He also said he would be taking his album on tour, and that he would play songs from all of his other bands, including Blur and Gorillaz.{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-damon-albarn-on-the-future-of-blur-his-first-ever-solo-album-and-why-he-doesnt-hate-oasis-anymore-20130528 |title=Damon Albarn on Blur, His First Ever Solo Album and Why He Doesn't Hate Oasis Anymore |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=28 May 2013 |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=11 June 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180611121009/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/q-a-damon-albarn-on-the-future-of-blur-his-first-ever-solo-album-and-why-he-doesnt-hate-oasis-anymore-20130528 |url-status=live }} Albarn's debut solo album, Everyday Robots, was released on 25 April 2014 to generally positive reviews. The album peaked at No. 2 on the UK charts and produced five singles: "Everyday Robots", "Lonely Press Play", "Hollow Ponds", "Mr Tembo", and "Heavy Seas of Love".{{cite web|url=https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/7983/Listen-Damon-Albarn---Mr-Tembo.utr|title=Listen: Damon Albarn – Mr Tembo|date=26 March 2014|publisher=Model Media|access-date=10 November 2021|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20211110205441/https://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/7983/Listen-Damon-Albarn---Mr-Tembo.utr|archivedate=10 November 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-1282812|title=Damon Albarn – Hollow Ponds|publisher=GfK Entertainment|access-date=10 November 2021|archiveurl=https://archive.today/20211110205506/https://www.offiziellecharts.de/titel-details-1282812|archivedate=10 November 2021|url-status=live}}{{cite web|url=https://www.officialcharts.com/artist/7431/damon-albarn/|title=Damon Albarn|website=officialcharts.com|access-date=9 May 2016|archive-date=1 June 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160601223903/http://www.officialcharts.com/artist/7431/damon-albarn/|url-status=live}} It was nominated for the 2014 Mercury Prize for Best Album.{{cite web | title = Mercury Prize 2014 The nominees | website = www.BBC.com | publisher = BBC | date = 10 September 2014 | url = https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29079657 | access-date = 26 October 2021 | archive-date = 26 October 2021 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20211026171838/https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-29079657 | url-status = live }}

In 2018, Albarn collaborated with Kali Uchis, taking co-writing credits and performing on the song "In My Dreams", which appears on Uchis' album Isolation.{{Cite web |last=Hogan |first=Marc |title=Kali Uchis: "In My Dreams" |url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/tracks/kali-uchis-in-my-dreams/ |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}

In June 2021, Transgressive Records announced that they had signed Albarn and would be releasing his second solo album, after which Albarn revealed the title The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows and 12 November release date alongside the title track's release.{{cite web |last1=Minsker |first1=Evan |title=Damon Albarn Signs to Trangressive Records, Readies New Album |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/damon-albarn-signs-to-trangressive-records-readies-new-album/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=20 June 2021 |date=17 June 2021 |archive-date=19 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210619183408/https://pitchfork.com/news/damon-albarn-signs-to-trangressive-records-readies-new-album/ |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last1=Strauss |first1=Matthew |title=Damon Albarn Details New Album, Shares Song: Listen |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/damon-albarn-details-new-album-shares-song-listen/ |website=Pitchfork |access-date=23 June 2021 |date=22 June 2021 |archive-date=22 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622192657/https://pitchfork.com/news/damon-albarn-details-new-album-shares-song-listen/ |url-status=live }}

{{main|The Good, the Bad & the Queen}}

File:The Good the Bad and the Queen mg 6673.jpg in 2007]]

In May 2006, NME reported that Albarn was working with Danger Mouse on his first solo album, with the group billed as the Good, the Bad & the Queen.{{cite web|title=It's all a bit of a blur for Damon|date=2 February 2007|access-date=5 February 2007|url=https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/therazz/daily/tm_method=full%26objectid=18569699%26siteid=66633-name_page.html|archive-date=30 September 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070930015034/http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/entertainment/therazz/daily/tm_method%3Dfull%26objectid%3D18569699%26siteid%3D66633-name_page.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Good, Bad and super|date=3 February 2007|access-date=5 February 2007|url=http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21126426-5003421,00.html|work=The Sunday Mail (Qld)|first=Lucy|last=Carne|archive-date=14 November 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071114214327/http://www.news.com.au/couriermail/story/0,23739,21126426-5003421,00.html|url-status=live}}{{cite web|title=The band with no name |date=31 January 2007 |access-date=5 February 2007 |url=https://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles1/591/music/the_band_with_no_name.xml |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071114180354/http://www.timeout.com/newyork/Details.do?page=1&xyurl=xyl://TONYWebArticles1/591/music/the_band_with_no_name.xml |url-status=dead |archive-date=14 November 2007 }} It featured Paul Simonon, Simon Tong and Tony Allen. The album was awarded Best Album at the 2007 MOJO Awards on 18 June.{{cite news|title=Osbourne scoops 'icon' at Mojo Awards|date=18 June 2007|access-date=20 June 2007|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6763751.stm|work=BBC News|archive-date=27 August 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070827185707/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/6763751.stm|url-status=live}}

The first single by the line-up, "Herculean", was released in late October 2006, and peaked at No. 22 in the UK Singles Chart. A second single, "Kingdom of Doom", and the band's debut album were then released in January 2007. That single fared slightly better than "Herculean", peaking at No. 20, while the album peaked at No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart and went gold during its first week of release in the UK.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/3641/the_good_the_bad_and_the_queen_herculean/mp3/|title=The Good, The Bad and the Queen – "Herculean"|work=Stereogum|date=10 October 2006|access-date=22 September 2014|archive-date=12 August 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140812101114/http://www.stereogum.com/3641/the_good_the_bad_and_the_queen_herculean/mp3/|url-status=live}} "Green Fields" was released as the third single from the album in April 2007, just missing out on the Top 50. On 27 April 2008, the Good, the Bad & the Queen headlined the Love Music Hate Racism Carnival in Victoria Park where they introduced on stage several guests including ex-Specials keyboard player Jerry Dammers.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/love-music-hate-racism-carnival-victoria-park-london-816631.html|title=Love Music Hate Racism Carnival, Victoria Park, London|work=The Independent|access-date=22 September 2014|archive-date=28 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728061921/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/reviews/love-music-hate-racism-carnival-victoria-park-london-816631.html|url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-great-rock-against-racism-show-plays-it-again-816221.html|title=The great Rock Against Racism show plays it again|work=The Independent|access-date=22 September 2014|archive-date=28 July 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140728055643/http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-great-rock-against-racism-show-plays-it-again-816221.html|url-status=live}} He also worked with Syrian rapper and friend Eslam Jawaad on the song "Mr. Whippy", though the song does not appear on the album it is a B-side on the Herculean single.{{cite news|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/eslam-jawaad--preaching-to-the-unconverted-1655013.html|title=Eslam Jawaad – Preaching to the unconverted|work=The Independent|access-date=22 September 2014|archive-date=23 November 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141123005110/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/features/eslam-jawaad--preaching-to-the-unconverted-1655013.html|url-status=live}}

{{main|Rocket Juice & the Moon}}

Rocket Juice & the Moon is the title of Albarn's side-project featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and afrobeat legend Tony Allen. Albarn has stated that he is not responsible for the name; someone in Lagos did the sleeve design and that was the name it was given. Albarn has claimed that he is content with the outcome, as trying to come up with band names is difficult for him. The band performed together for the first time on 28 October 2011 in Cork, Ireland, as part of the annual Cork Jazz Festival. They performed under the moniker Another Honest Jon's Chop Up!. Their debut album was released on 26 March 2012.{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a347880/damon-albarn-flea-to-release-album-as-rocketjuice-and-the-moon.html|title=Damon Albarn, Flea to release album as Rocketjuice and the Moon|website=Digital Spy|date=27 October 2011|access-date=22 March 2012|archive-date=4 April 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120404230722/http://www.digitalspy.com/music/news/a347880/damon-albarn-flea-to-release-album-as-rocketjuice-and-the-moon.html|url-status=live}}

Albarn, along with Tom Girling and Jason Cox, established Studio 13, a recording studio for their own use, with the first projects at 13 being pre-production work for Blur's similarly-named album, as well as Albarn's contributions to the Ravenous soundtrack.{{cite web|last=Inglis|first=Sam|title=Damon Albarn's 13 Studio|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/people/damon-albarns-13-studio|website=Sound On Sound|date=August 1999|access-date=12 March 2024}} Since then, Studio 13 has been used not only for Albarn's projects, but also by other notable artists, including Paul Simonon, Jorja Smith, and others.{{cite web|last=Tingen|first=Paul|title=Inside Track: Secrets of the Mix Engineers - Riccardo Damian|url=https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/inside-track-jorja-smith-try-me|website=Sound On Sound|date=December 2023|access-date=12 March 2024}}

In 1998, Albarn and Michael Nyman recorded the song "London Pride" for the tribute album, Twentieth-Century Blues: The Songs of Noël Coward, a patriotic song Noël Coward had written in the spring of 1941 during the Blitz.{{Citation | last=Clerk | first=Carol | date=21 March 1998 | title=Tennant saves Albarn's 'Pride' | periodical=Melody Maker |volume=75 |issue=12 | page=8 }}

Collaboration with Terry Hall during 1994–2003:  Having cited Hall as one of his early influences very often, Albarn and Hall went on and held a friendship for many years. They collaborated for multiple times including [https://www.discogs.com/release/1643738-Terry-Hall-Rainbows-EP The Rainbows EP], in which Albarn co-wrote lead track "Chasing A Rainbow" with Hall. Later in Hall’s second solo album Laugh released in 1997, the two co-wrote "For The Girl" and "A Room Full Of Nothing". Hall also sang on a non-album track "911" by Gorillaz;{{Cite web |last=NME |date=2001-11-19 |title='911' IS NOT A JOKE |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-163-1370876 |access-date=2023-01-24 |website=NME |language=en-GB |archive-date=25 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221225213756/https://www.nme.com/news/music/gorillaz-163-1370876 |url-status=live }} they were both lead vocals on "Lil' Dub Chefin'" by Spacemonkeyz vs Gorillaz for both album and single version. In 2003, Hall and Mushtaq released The Hour of Two Lights, in which Albarn co-wrote and sang on the track "Ten Eleven". The album was also released on Albarn's label Honest Jon's Records in the UK.

In 2003, Albarn worked with the garage rock band the Strokes on their album Room on Fire. Producer Gordon Raphael claims that Albarn was experimenting with backing vocals on the record. In the end, however, Albarn's contributions did not make the record. "Well, I guess the songs are just perfect the way they are," Albarn stated.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/the-strokes-378-1381559|title=Strokes and Damon Record Together|date=16 October 2003|work=NME|access-date=7 January 2018|archive-date=8 January 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180108063422/http://www.nme.com/news/music/the-strokes-378-1381559|url-status=live}} In the same year he performed "Fashion" live with David Bowie.{{cite web |title=Damon Albarn's missed David Bowie opportunity |date=19 November 2021 |url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/damon-albarn-regret-david-bowie/ |publisher=Far Out Magazine |access-date=1 October 2022 |archive-date=1 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221001191517/https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/damon-albarn-regret-david-bowie/ |url-status=live }}

Albarn has contributed backing vocals to the songs "FM" on Nathan Haines' Squire for Hire and "Small Time Shot Away" on Massive Attack's 100th Window, which were released in 2003, however, for both tracks, credit was given to Gorillaz frontman 2-D instead. More recently, on Massive Attack's 2010 Heligoland album, he sang on the track "Saturday Come Slow" and contributed keyboards to the track "Splitting the Atom".{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/blur/20152 |title=NME website |work=NME |location=UK |date=10 June 2005 |access-date=22 March 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021083506/http://www.nme.com/news/blur/20152 |archive-date=21 October 2012 }}

Albarn also produced soul singer Bobby Womack's twenty-seventh studio album The Bravest Man in the Universe, released in 2012. He recently performed on Jools Holland's Hootenanny on New Year's Eve, performing the track "Love is Gonna Lift You Up".{{cite web|url=http://www.blurballs.com/2013/01/watch-bobby-womack-and-damon-albarn-new.html|title=BlurBalls – Blur website|work=BlurBalls|location=UK|date=4 January 2012|access-date=15 February 2013|archive-date=1 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130801122157/http://www.blurballs.com/2013/01/watch-bobby-womack-and-damon-albarn-new.html|url-status=live}} Albarn appeared with Womack at the Glastonbury Festival 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/71166|title=Sunday at Glastonbury news roundup|work=NME|location=UK|date=30 June 2013|access-date=1 July 2013|archive-date=2 July 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130702195403/http://www.nme.com/news/various-artists/71166|url-status=live}}

In 2016, Albarn appeared on De La Soul's studio album And the Anonymous Nobody... on the song "Here in After". Albarn had previously collaborated with the group on Gorillaz' albums Demon Days, Plastic Beach, and Humanz on the songs "Feel Good Inc", "Superfast Jellyfish", and "Momentz", respectively.{{cite web|last1=Minsker|first1=Evan|title=De La Soul Enlist Damon Albarn, David Byrne, 2 Chainz, Little Dragon for Kickstarter-Funded Album|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/58929-de-la-soul-enlist-damon-albarn-david-byrne-2-chainz-little-dragon-for-kickstarter-funded-album/|work=Pitchfork|date=30 March 2015|access-date=1 April 2015|archive-date=1 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150401114022/http://pitchfork.com/news/58929-de-la-soul-enlist-damon-albarn-david-byrne-2-chainz-little-dragon-for-kickstarter-funded-album/|url-status=live}}{{cite web|last1=Cooper|first1=Leonie|title=De La Soul launch Kickstarter for new album set to feature Damon Albarn, David Byrne, 2 Chainz De La Soul Tickets|url=https://www.nme.com/news/de-la-soul/84060|work=NME|date=30 March 2015|access-date=1 April 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402062713/http://www.nme.com/news/de-la-soul/84060|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last1=Weiner|first1=Natalie|title=De La Soul Announce Kickstarter-Funded Album ft. Damon Albarn, David Byrne, 2 Chainz & More|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6516933/de-la-soul-kickstarter-album-damon-albarn-2-chainz|magazine=Billboard|date=30 March 2015|access-date=1 April 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402055211/http://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/the-juice/6516933/de-la-soul-kickstarter-album-damon-albarn-2-chainz|url-status=live}}

In 2017, Albarn sung with Alex Crossan (Mura Masa) on "Blu", the last track of their debut album.

In February of 2025, Albarn contributed to Is This What We Want?, a fully silent album made by 1000 UK artists, in protest against copyright laws in the UK regarding artificial intelligence.

"Closet Romantic" appeared on the soundtrack for Trainspotting alongside an early Blur recording, "Sing", which is from their debut album. Albarn composed the score with collaboration by Michael Nyman for the 1999 movie Ravenous, and was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Music for his work.

In their first major work together since Gorillaz, Albarn and Hewlett, along with acclaimed Chinese theatre and opera director Chen Shi-zheng, adapted for stage the Chinese story Journey to the West as Monkey: Journey to the West, which received its world premiere as the opening show of the 2007 Manchester International Festival, on 28 June 2007 at the Palace Theatre, Manchester.{{cite web |author=Kitty Empire |url=http://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2115649,00.html |title=Opera: Monkey: Journey to the West | The Observer |work=The Guardian |date=July 2007 |access-date=30 April 2014 |archive-date=6 July 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080706005333/http://music.guardian.co.uk/live/story/0,,2115649,00.html |url-status=live }}

In collaboration with theatre director Rufus Norris, Albarn has created an opera for the 2011 Manchester International Festival based on the life of Elizabethan scientist John Dee and titled Doctor Dee.{{cite web|title=Doctor Dee |url=http://mif.co.uk/event/doctor-dee-br-damon-albarn-rufus-norris/ |work=Manchester International Festival website |access-date=18 March 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110321130709/http://mif.co.uk/event/doctor-dee-br-damon-albarn-rufus-norris/ |archive-date=21 March 2011 }}{{cite web|url=http://www.eno.org/see-whats-on/productions/production-page.php?itemid=1885 |title=Damon Albarn's Dr Dee| Production |publisher=Eno.org |access-date=7 April 2013 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130720090505/http://www.eno.org/see-whats-on/productions/production-page.php?itemid=1885 |archive-date=20 July 2013 }}

Albarn recorded the film score for the film version of the book The Boy in the Oak, which was written by his sister, Jessica Albarn. The film was set for a spring 2011 release in select theatres.{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/damon-albarn/54460|title=Damon Albarn composes film score for 'The Boy in the Oak'|work=NME|location=UK|date=6 January 2011|access-date=22 March 2012|archive-date=21 October 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021021304/http://www.nme.com/news/damon-albarn/54460|url-status=live}}

In 2014, Albarn contributed the song "Sister Rust" to the soundtrack of science fiction film Lucy.{{cite web | url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/damon-albarn-35-1229835 | title=Damon Albarn's contribution to 'Lucy' soundtrack revealed – hear 'Sister Rust' now | website=NME | date=30 July 2014 | access-date=22 April 2023 | archive-date=22 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422145026/https://www.nme.com/news/music/damon-albarn-35-1229835 | url-status=live }}{{cite web | url=https://diymag.com/news/damon-albarn-shares-sister-rust-track-blames-heat-on-lack-of-a-blur-album | title=Damon Albarn shares 'Sister Rust' track, blames heat on lack of a Blur album | date=30 July 2014 | access-date=22 April 2023 | archive-date=22 April 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230422143831/https://diymag.com/news/damon-albarn-shares-sister-rust-track-blames-heat-on-lack-of-a-blur-album | url-status=live }}

Albarn wrote the music for a musical based on Alice in Wonderland called Wonder.land with Rufus Norris and Moira Buffini, which officially premiered in the Manchester International Festival on 29 June 2015.{{cite web|last1=Khomami|first1=Nadia|title=Damon Albarn reinvents 'Alice in Wonderland' for Manchester International Festival musical|url=https://www.nme.com/news/damon-albarn/82368|work=NME|date=21 January 2015|access-date=29 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402092257/http://www.nme.com/news/damon-albarn/82368|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last1=Barnes|first1=Anthony|title=Damon Albarn to bring Alice in Wonderland musical to the National Theatre|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/damon-albarn-to-bring-alice-in-wonderland-musical-to-the-national-theatre-9992806.html|work=The Independent|access-date=29 March 2015|archive-date=2 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150402130258/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/theatre-dance/news/damon-albarn-to-bring-alice-in-wonderland-musical-to-the-national-theatre-9992806.html|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/damon-albarn-preps-material-for-musical-20150121|title=Damon Albarn Preps Music for 'Alice in Wonderland'-Inspired Musical|date=21 January 2015|magazine=Rolling Stone|access-date=9 May 2016|archive-date=20 April 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150420054706/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/damon-albarn-preps-material-for-musical-20150121|url-status=live}}

Albarn provided a track for the film The White Helmets called "Crashing Down", an abandoned track initially planned for the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach.

Albarn's live band is called the Heavy Seas, and features guitarist Seye, drummer Pauli the PSM, guitarist Jeff Wootton and Mike Smith on keyboards.{{cite web |url=http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/damon-albarn-lonely-press-play |title=Damon Albarn – Lonely Press Play |work=Clash |first=Robin |last=Murray |date=27 February 2014 |access-date=12 April 2014 |archive-date=6 October 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141006071445/http://www.clashmusic.com/videos/damon-albarn-lonely-press-play |url-status=live }} Both Smith and Wootton had previously been a part of Gorillaz' Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour.{{cite web|url=http://gorillaz-news.livejournal.com/384986.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160206185901/http://gorillaz-news.livejournal.com/384986.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 February 2016 |title=gorillaz_news: Video interview with Jeff Wootton, Gorillaz live guitarist |publisher=Gorillaz-news.livejournal.com |date=20 August 2010 |access-date=12 April 2014 }} With the exception of drummer Pauli, all members have played live with Gorillaz.

Albarn starred in Antonia Bird's 1997 film Face alongside Ray Winstone and Robert Carlyle. Albarn was also featured in Gunar Karlsson's 2007 film, Anna and the Moods, along with Terry Jones and Björk. Albarn played "Bull" in Joe Orton's Up Against It, a Radio 4 play originally written for the Beatles broadcast in 1998.

Albarn had a long-standing and publicized relationship with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann from 1991 to 1998.Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography, Canongate; {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}, pp. 635–636 This relationship profoundly influenced his songwriting, notably on the Blur album (1997) on the track "Beetlebum" – said to be about their experiences with heroin{{cite web|date=10 March 2002|author=Andrew Smith|title=Interview: Justine Frischmann: Elastica limits|url=https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/mar/10/life1.lifemagazine4|work=The Observer|quote=Then, in early 1997, Blur had a hit with a single called 'Beetlebum', which, after being pressed in these very pages, Albarn reluctantly admitted to be about heroin.|access-date=14 December 2016|archive-date=30 January 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170130114455/https://www.theguardian.com/theobserver/2002/mar/10/life1.lifemagazine4|url-status=live}} – and a number of tracks on 13 (1999), such as "Tender" and "No Distance Left to Run", said to be about their break-up in 1998.

Albarn began a relationship with artist Suzi Winstanley in 1998. Winstanley gave birth to their daughter, Missy, named after rapper Missy Elliott, on 2 October 1999.{{cite journal|title=Damon Albarn|journal=Esquire|date=January 2000}} Albarn described becoming a father as "witnessing a life force" and saying:

It massively changes you. It slowly sort of shaves off the unpleasant thorny bits and hopefully creates a nicely rounded... I don't know, having a kid, you just become far more, inevitably you look to the future far more and, you know, it's desperate sometimes when you have a particularly bad few weeks of the newspaper just reminding you about this is wrong, this is wrong. We've got ten more years everyone.{{cite journal|last=Kennard |first=Matt |title=An interview: Damon Albarn on the Gorillaz, fatherhood, the war in Iraq, and going out |journal=The Comment Factory |date=24 November 2008 |url=http://www.thecommentfactory.com/an-interview-damon-albarn-on-the-gorillaz-fatherhood-the-war-in-iraq-and-going-out-734 |access-date=24 November 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121117071847/http://www.thecommentfactory.com/an-interview-damon-albarn-on-the-gorillaz-fatherhood-the-war-in-iraq-and-going-out-734/ |archive-date=17 November 2012}}

Albarn and Winstanley are speculated to have separated in 2023, with reviewers noting allusions to a breakup in the lyrics of Blur's ninth studio album The Ballad of Darren (2023). Albarn has declined to specify if these lyrics are related to his relationship status with Winstanley.{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2230152/blur-the-ballad-of-darren/reviews/premature-evaluation/|title="Premature Evaluation: Blur The Ballad Of Darren"|website=Stereogum|date=19 July 2023|access-date=25 July 2023|archive-date=24 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230724225428/https://www.stereogum.com/2230152/blur-the-ballad-of-darren/reviews/premature-evaluation/|url-status=live}} However, in an interview with Paris Match, he stated that he had had a difficult breakup within the last few months, without mentioning anyone by name.{{cite web|url=https://www.parismatch.com/culture/musique/damon-albarn-blur-ne-sest-pas-ecroule-227512|title="Damon Albarn: "Blur didn't collapse"" – Paris Match|date=21 July 2023|access-date=21 July 2023|archive-date=21 July 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721165223/https://www.parismatch.com/culture/musique/damon-albarn-blur-ne-sest-pas-ecroule-227512|url-status=live}}

In 2006, Albarn was awarded an honorary Master of Arts degree from the University of East London, saying it was "great to receive [the] award from an institution where my dad used to work and which I, as a child, used to think of as that big building with lots of interesting people in".{{cite web|url=http://www.uel.ac.uk/news/latest_news/stories/damon.htm|title=Albarn Awarded Honorary MA at UEL |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070216021617/http://www.uel.ac.uk/news/latest_news/stories/damon.htm |archive-date=16 February 2007 |access-date=23 August 2014}}

In 2015, Albarn was made an Officer of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (OBE) in the Queen's New Year Honours list of December 31, which recognises British citizens for their achievements in public life and service to the United Kingdom.{{cite web|url=https://news.yahoo.com/blurs-damon-albarn-awarded-obe-years-honors-173719676.html/|title=Blur's Damon Albarn Awarded OBE in New Year's Honors|work=Yahoo News|date=31 December 2015|access-date=21 October 2020|archive-date=3 October 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221003042141/https://news.yahoo.com/blurs-damon-albarn-awarded-obe-years-honors-173719676.html/|url-status=live}}

In 2016, Albarn, a long-time advocate of the music of Mali, titling his 2002 album Mali Music, has been given the title "Local King", and has had a school of music and dance named after him south of Bamako.{{cite web|url=http://www.spin.com/2016/02/damon-albarn-now-a-local-king-in-mali/|title=Damon Albarn named Local King of Mali|last=Unterberger|first=Andrew|work=Spin|date=21 February 2016|access-date=21 February 2016|archive-date=22 February 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160222092347/http://www.spin.com/2016/02/damon-albarn-now-a-local-king-in-mali/|url-status=live}}

In 2020, Albarn was granted Icelandic citizenship. He visited the country in the mid-90s for recording, as well as on holiday, and subsequently bought a house in Reykjavík.{{cite web|last1=|first1=|title=30 New Citizens, Including Three Familiar Names|url=https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/01/29/30-new-citizens-including-three-familiar-names|website=RÚV|date=29 January 2021|publisher=RÚV (Ríkisútvarpið)- The Icelandic National Broadcasting Service|access-date=2 February 2021|archive-date=29 January 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210129125613/https://www.ruv.is/frett/2021/01/29/30-new-citizens-including-three-familiar-names|url-status=live}}

Albarn is known to have homes in the Notting Hill neighbourhood of London, and Devon. Albarn is a fan of Chelsea F.C.{{Cite web|url=https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2013/12/20/cobham-plays-host-to-singer-albarn|title=Cobham plays host to singer Albarn|website=Chelsea F.C.|date=20 December 2013|access-date=3 April 2021|archive-date=16 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416062031/https://www.chelseafc.com/en/news/2013/12/20/cobham-plays-host-to-singer-albarn|url-status=live}}

Albarn has been an active supporter of various charities and philanthropic efforts throughout his career as a musician and has been involved in various charity albums and singles. DRC Music, a collective formed by Albarn, released their debut album Kinshasa One Two as a charity album in which all of the money earned is given to Oxfam.{{cite web|last1=Ferguson|first1=Bob|title=DRC Music brings the sound of the Congo to benefit Oxfam|url=http://firstperson.oxfamamerica.org/2011/08/drc-music-brings-the-sound-of-the-congo-to-benefit-oxfam/|website=Oxfam America|date=31 August 2011 |access-date=18 May 2015|archive-date=20 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520071657/http://firstperson.oxfamamerica.org/2011/08/drc-music-brings-the-sound-of-the-congo-to-benefit-oxfam/|url-status=live}} Albarn has also formed a collective with Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea, Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, and Franz Ferdinand frontman Alex Kapranos to make a charity single with the money earned from that single also donated to Oxfam.{{cite web|last1=Coplan|first1=Chris|title=Damon Albarn, Flea, Nick Zinner, and more come together for charity single|url=https://consequence.net/2013/07/damon-albarn-flea-nick-zinner-and-more-come-together-for-charity-single/|website=Consequence of Sound|date=5 July 2013|access-date=18 May 2015|archive-date=12 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210612211212/https://consequence.net/2013/07/damon-albarn-flea-nick-zinner-and-more-come-together-for-charity-single/|url-status=live}} In 2013 Albarn, alongside fellow Blur bandmate Graham Coxon, performed live with former rival Noel Gallagher of Oasis and Paul Weller of the Jam to play Blur's 1999 single "Tender" in support of Teenage Cancer Trust.{{cite magazine|title=Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher Unite For Charity|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/damon-albarn-and-noel-gallagher-unite-for-charity-20130324|magazine=Rolling Stone|date=24 March 2013|access-date=18 May 2015|archive-date=20 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520030136/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/videos/damon-albarn-and-noel-gallagher-unite-for-charity-20130324|url-status=live}}{{cite news|title=Britpop rivals Noel Gallagher and Damon Albarn perform together for cancer charity|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/britpop-rivals-noel-gallagher-and-damon-albarn-perform-together-for-cancer-charity-8547317.html|work=The Independent|access-date=18 May 2015|archive-date=20 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150520003916/http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/britpop-rivals-noel-gallagher-and-damon-albarn-perform-together-for-cancer-charity-8547317.html|url-status=live}}{{cite magazine|last1=Brandle|first1=Lars|title=Noel Gallagher, Damon Albarn Bury Hatchet for 'Tender' Performance|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1554402/noel-gallagher-damon-albarn-bury-hatchet-for-tender-performance|magazine=Billboard|date=25 March 2013|access-date=18 May 2015|archive-date=7 September 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150907050622/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1554402/noel-gallagher-damon-albarn-bury-hatchet-for-tender-performance|url-status=live}}

In 2005, Albarn, among others, criticised the London Live 8 concert for not featuring enough black artists; among the few included were Ms. Dynamite, Snoop Dogg, and Youssou N'Dour. Eventually the organisers added a separate concert at the Eden Project in Cornwall to the programme to showcase African musicians. Albarn said he did not want to perform at Live 8 because he thought it was too "exclusive" and may have been motivated by self-promotion.

Albarn has been a vocal critic of celebrity culture, saying: "We need to dismantle very significant parts of our culture and really re-examine them. I suppose you start with the celebrity thing... you have to get rid of things like The X Factor immediately."{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7161966.stm|title=Albarn condemns celebrity culture|date=27 December 2007|work=BBC News|access-date=2 January 2010|archive-date=2 December 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081202032559/http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7161966.stm|url-status=live}}

Albarn was a vocal critic of the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union, describing it as "wrong" and saying that "it doesn't make any sense to me whatsoever."{{cite news|url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/damon-albarn-brexit-has-revealed-terrible-truths-about-the-mental-health-of-the-english-1.3704717|title=Damon Albarn: 'Brexit has revealed terrible truths about the mental health of the English'|date=22 November 2018|newspaper=The Irish Times|access-date=2 November 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108104247/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/music/damon-albarn-brexit-has-revealed-terrible-truths-about-the-mental-health-of-the-english-1.3704717|url-status=live}} Albarn was a signatory on a 2018 editorial advocating for a "Citizen's Assembly" to resolve the parliamentary deadlock over withdrawal terms.{{cite news|url=https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/blurs-damon-albarn-demands-citizens-13744016|title=Blur's Damon Albarn demands 'citizens' assembly' to fix Brexit|date=17 December 2018|work=The Daily Mirror|access-date=2 November 2020|archive-date=8 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201108093806/https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/blurs-damon-albarn-demands-citizens-13744016|url-status=live}} Albarn stated that the Good, the Bad & the Queen album Merrie Land (2018) was inspired by Brexit and his reaction to it.{{cite news|url=https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/music-nightlife/damon-albarn-talks-how-brexit-2197986?cmpredirect=|title=Damon Albarn talks about how Brexit inspired his new album|date=8 November 2018|work=Essex Live|access-date=2 November 2020|archive-date=16 April 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416042145/https://www.essexlive.news/whats-on/music-nightlife/damon-albarn-talks-how-brexit-2197986?cmpredirect=|url-status=live}}

Albarn has been a vocal supporter of Palestinian rights, cancelling concerts in Israel following the Gaza flotilla raid in 2010{{cite news|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/pixies-pull-out-of-israeli-concert-1.921777|title=Pixies pull out of Israeli concert|date=6 June 2010|work=CBC News|access-date=26 April 2023|archive-date=27 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230427001147/https://www.cbc.ca/news/entertainment/pixies-pull-out-of-israeli-concert-1.921777|url-status=live}} and played a concert at the Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East Gala Dinner in 2014. During Glastonbury Festival 2024, Albarn gave a pro-Palestine speech, labeling the Gaza war an "unfair war" and encouraging people to vote in the upcoming UK general election.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-28 |title=Glastonbury 2024: Damon Albarn Gives Pro-Palestine Speech |url=https://consequence.net/2024/06/damon-albarn-palestine-glastonbury-2024/ |access-date=2024-06-29 |language=en-US}}

Albarn is anti-war, holding views shared by others in his family, including his grandfather Edward Albarn, who died during a hunger strike in 2002.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/eastmidlands/series6/lincolnshire_peace_community_conscientious_objector.shtml|title=LINCOLNSHIRE PEACE COMMUNITY|date=6 September 2004|publisher=BBC Inside Out|access-date=18 September 2012|archive-date=27 April 2014|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140427034124/http://www.bbc.co.uk/insideout/eastmidlands/series6/lincolnshire_peace_community_conscientious_objector.shtml|url-status=live}} In November 2001, shortly after the United States invasion of Afghanistan in response to September 11 attacks, the MTV Europe Music Awards were held in Frankfurt, where Gorillaz won awards for Best Song and Best Dance.{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/09/1|title=Brits take six MTV Europe awards|work=The Guardian|date=9 November 2001|access-date=9 October 2012|archive-date=25 August 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130825214900/http://www.theguardian.com/world/2001/nov/09/1|url-status=live}} As Albarn and Jamie Hewlett walked onto stage to make a speech after receiving the latter award, Albarn wore a T-shirt with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament logo on it. In his speech, he said "So, fuck the music. Listen. See this symbol here, [pointing to the T-shirt] this the symbol for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. Bombing one of the poorest countries in the world is wrong. You've got a voice and you have got to do what you can about it alright?"{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtJOhdsFVQ0| archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140501151834/http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtJOhdsFVQ0| archive-date=2014-05-01 | url-status=dead|title=Gorillaz – EMA's 2001 ("Best Dance" Award)|via=YouTube|access-date=9 October 2012}}{{cite news|title=Damon Albarn and Robert del Naja interview, Rock Crusaders|work=The Independent on Sunday|date=9 February 2003}}{{cite journal|title=MTV winners Gorillaz protest U.S. bombing|journal=Jam! Showbiz|date=9 November 2001|url=http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/G/Gorillaz/2001/11/09/745450.html|access-date=9 October 2012|publisher=canoe.ca|location=Canada|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://archive.today/20130101013804/http://jam.canoe.ca/Music/Artists/G/Gorillaz/2001/11/09/745450.html|archive-date=1 January 2013}}

{{Quote box

|quote = "Each individual has their own opinions about whether war is an answer to any problems. Personally I think it's a waste of time, but I think more importantly, that it's an issue that we haven't had any say in. That's why I feel so strongly about it. I don't feel like we've really been given any choice in this matter. I think if you had a referendum tomorrow, Tony Blair would have no choice but to call off the war."

|source =—Albarn on Britain's involvement with the Iraq invasion{{cite web |title=Damon Albarn's Anti-War Protest |date=2 July 2003 |url=http://www.xfm.co.uk/Damon-Albarns-Anti-War-Protest?spid=16525 |access-date=15 September 2012 |publisher=XFM}} {{dead link|date=December 2016 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}

|width=29%

|align=right

}}

In 2002, Iraq was under threat of invasion from a United States-led coalition. Opposition to the planned invasion led to protests being organised by a number of organisations. Albarn spoke out against the invasion.{{cite web|last=Anderson|first=Errol|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/10-things-you-never-knew-about-damon-albarn|title=10 Things You Never Knew About Damon Albarn|date=16 September 2011|access-date=19 November 2011|archive-date=27 November 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111127184128/http://www.clashmusic.com/feature/10-things-you-never-knew-about-damon-albarn|url-status=live}}{{cite journal|title=WAR ON WAR!|journal=NME|date=20 August 2002|url=https://www.nme.com/news/blur/12332|access-date=15 September 2012|archive-date=20 December 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131220223806/http://www.nme.com/news/blur/12332/|url-status=live}}{{cite news|last=Smith|first=Martin|title=Musicians who won't be silenced|url=http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=3298|newspaper=Socialist Worker|access-date=15 September 2012|archive-date=16 October 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151016153709/http://www.socialistworker.co.uk/art.php?id=3298|url-status=dead}} Albarn teamed up with Robert "3D" Del Naja of Massive Attack and worked with Stop the War Coalition, CND and the Muslim Association of Britain to organise campaigns to oppose British involvement in the war. This included spending £15,000 on anti-war adverts which ran in the NME, featuring quotes from Tony Benn and the former US Attorney-General, Ramsey Clark.

Albarn revealed that originally, many people whom he knew were against the Iraq War were reluctant to take a stand, stating "to be honest with you when Robert Del Naja and myself started really stepping up prior to the war it was very difficult to find anyone. And I don't want to name any names because they are people who I respect but they were really, for some reason, very reticent to stand with us. A lot of people who you would now associate with being anti-war at that particular point didn't seem to be prepared to do it."

He was due to speak in Hyde Park on the rally in February 2003 when a million people took to the streets of London in protest at the imminent war. In the event, he was too emotional to deliver his speech.{{cite journal|title=Deconstructing Damon|journal=The Scotsman|date=16 November 2003}} Albarn later revealed that he had "this image of my grandad in his slippers reading the paper, knowing that his grandson had been involved in something which he'd put so much of his life into" and "got over-emotional". He also stated that "it obviously wasn't the best moment to get in that state, when you're at the head of the biggest peace march in the history of this country." Albarn also attended a protest in November where he commented on the diversity of people in attendance, saying that "It represents everybody. It's the voice in our democracy and that's why we should be listened to."Archived at [https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211211/oGi2jF5T8Tg Ghostarchive]{{cbignore}} and the [https://web.archive.org/web/20150904100450/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGi2jF5T8Tg Wayback Machine]{{cbignore}}: {{cite web|title=Damon Albarn @ Anti Bush Protest (2003)|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oGi2jF5T8Tg|via=YouTube|access-date=17 November 2012|author=TracyJackAlbarn2|date=6 October 2012}}{{cbignore}} Speaking about the experience in 2008, Albarn stated:

I think in this case the only reason we went to war was the result of our individual apathy in the end. You know, our inability to really express what was I think was a consensus that this was a terrifying idea and a very badly thought-out one.

{{Main|Damon Albarn discography}} {{See also|Blur discography|Gorillaz discography}}

Solo albums

• Everyday Robots (2014)
• The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows (2021)

Collaboration albums

• Mali Music (2002) (with Afel Bocoum, Toumani Diabaté & Friends)
• The Good, the Bad & the Queen (2007) (with The Good, the Bad & the Queen)
• Kinshasa One Two (2011) (as part of DRC Music)
• Rocket Juice & the Moon (2012) (with Flea and Tony Allen as part of "Rocket Juice and the Moon")
• Maison Des Jeunes (2013) (as part of Africa Express)
• In C Mali (2014) (as part of Africa Express)
• The Orchestra of Syrian Musicians and Guests (2016) (with Africa Express)
• Merrie Land (2018) (with The Good, the Bad & the Queen)
• Molo (EP) (2019) (with Africa Express)
• Egoli (2019) (with Africa Express)
• Bahidorá (2025) (with Africa Express)

{{See also|List of awards and nominations received by Blur|List of awards and nominations received by Gorillaz}}

{{award table}}

|-

| rowspan=2|2022

| Himself

| International Solo Act

| {{pending}}

| rowspan=2|{{Cite web|url=https://gaffa.dk/prisen/afstemningen|title=GAFFA-PRISEN 2022 | GAFFA.dk|access-date=1 February 2022|archive-date=31 January 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200131124707/https://gaffa.dk/prisen/afstemningen|url-status=dead}}

|-

| The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows

| International Album

| {{pending}}

{{end}}

The Mercury Prize is a highly prestigious annual music prize awarded for the best album from the United Kingdom and Ireland. Nominations are chosen by a panel of musicians, music executives, journalists and other figures in the music industry in the UK and Ireland.{{cite web| url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/mercuryprize2008/prize/| title = Mercury Prize 2008| work = BBC Music| access-date = 22 June 2009| archive-date = 15 September 2008| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080915070321/http://www.bbc.co.uk/musicevents/mercuryprize2008/prize/| url-status = live}}

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2014 || Everyday Robots || Album of the Year || {{nom}}

{{end}}

The Brit Awards are the British Phonographic Industry's annual popular music awards.{{Cite web|url=https://www.brits.co.uk/news/british-male-solo-artist-nominations-announced|title=British Male Solo Artist nominations announced|website=Brits.co.uk|access-date=17 August 2020|archive-date=29 November 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201129074016/https://www.brits.co.uk/news/british-male-solo-artist-nominations-announced|url-status=live}}

{{awards table}}

|-

| 2013 || Damon Albarn || British Producer of the Year || {{nom}}

|-

| 2015 || Damon Albarn || British Male Solo Artist || {{nom}}

{{end}}

Martin Roach, David Nolan, Damon Albarn – Blur, Gorillaz and Other Fables (John Blake Publishing, 2015)

Nicolas Sauvage, Damon Albarn l'échapée belle (Camion Blanc Eds, 2020)

{{Reflist}}

{{commons category}}

• {{Official website}}
• {{discogs artist}}
• {{IMDb name|0016332}}
• [https://www.bbc.co.uk/imagine/tag/damon_albarn.shtml Damon Albarn pieces including video interviews on BBC Imagine], bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 2 March 2014.
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20090708002143/http://www.musicomh.com/music/features/damon-albarn.htm Damon Albarn interview at musicOMH]
• [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/1926727.stm Albarn's Mali mission], BBC News. Retrieved 2 March 2014.

{{Damon Albarn|state=expanded}}

{{Blur}}

{{Gorillaz}}

{{The Good, the Bad & the Queen}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albarn, Damon}}

Category:1968 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century English male singers

Category:20th-century English singers

Category:21st-century English male singers

Category:Alternative dance musicians

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