Gorillaz is a British electropop band consisting of 2D (born: May 23, 1978), Russel Hobbs (born: June 3, 1975), Murdoc Niccals (born: June 6, 1966), and Noodle (born: October 31, 1990), all of whom are fictional animated characters. This virtual band is founded and created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn (born: March 23, 1968) and artist Jamie Hewlett (born: April 3, 1968). They debuted in 2001 with their self-titled album and have over eight albums.
History
Damon Albarn had previously worked with the rock band Blur, and Jamie Hewlett was a comic artist who worked on Tank Girl. They both met in 1990 by a member of Blur, Graham Coxon and they shared a flat together. The idea for the band came up when they watched MTV, calling it "nothing of substance" and "a bit like hell". So they decided to create a band that had creativity and more meaning. They made fictional members based on genres of music and recorded their first song, Ghost Train in 1998.
Phase I: Celebrity Takedown (1998-2003)
2D
2D was born on the 23rd of May 1978 in the town of Crawley in the U.K. His full name is Stuart Tusspot but his father later changed his last name to Pot to avoid 2D being bullied at school. He was educated at St. Wilfred's School, his dad worked as a mechanic at the Tusspot Fair Grounds, he wasn't that intelligent as a child and was often described as "A bit thick", but overall a kind person. When 2D was eleven, he hit his head after falling out of a tree, which then caused all his hair to fall out, his mother was a nurse who supplied him with headache pills at the time, when his hair grew back, it grew back blue for some strange reason.
On August 15, 1997, 2D was working at a music shop called Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium when one day Murdoc Niccals drove his Vauxhall Astra through a window and crashed right into 2D's eye causing him to have an 8-ball fracture in his left eye. An 8-ball fracture is when the eye fills up with blood causing it to appear black and cause blurry vision. After the stunt, Murdoc was charged and sentenced to community service and looking after a catatonic 2D, but it didn't last that long as Murdoc and his friend attempted a 360 in order to impress some girls, causing 2D to go flying out of the car and into a pole, giving him a second 8-Ball fracture in his right eye as well. 2D then woke up from his catatonic state with Murdoc then giving him the nickname 2D signifying the 2 dents in his head, giving 2D's history of getting violent blows to the head.
Russel
Russel was born on June 3, 1975, in Brooklyn, New York. He went to school at Xavier's School For Young Achievers but was subsequently expelled after he was possessed and attacked multiple students, after which he fell into a coma for 4 years and was finally exorcised by a priest named Father Merrin. After his old school wouldn't take him back he started to attend Brooklyn High School where he met other kids who were gifted in Hip Hop, one of those kids' was Del The Funky Homosapien, a former friend of his who would later go onto possess Russel. One rainy night outside a 7/Eleven, all of Russel's friends were killed in a drive-by shooting perpetrated by a gang who all wore red jumpsuits with their leader wearing a black one, which mentally scarred Russel who called the black jumpsuited gang member The Grim Reaper.
After the shooting; he was sent off to the UK to live with his uncle and got a job at Big Rick Black's Record Shack which is where he first encountered Murdoc. Murdoc asked Russel about an obscure 50's record and then slipped a bag over his head, forcefully escorting him out of the shop and he was taken back to Kong Studios, the recording studio that Gorillaz was using at the time. Russel was impressed by the music Murdoc was producing and chose to stay.
Murdoc
Murdoc was born on June the 6th 1966 (whose birth date is ironically 6/6/66) in the city of Stoke-On-Trent in England. The night he was born, he was dumped on the doorstep of his father's house after coming back from a pub. Murdoc grew up in an incredibly abusive household where he and his brothers were often verbally abused and exploited since his dad was often drunk and went out to bars and pubs.
As a child, he was educated at Sodsworth Comprehensive School where he gained a reputation for his pranks, ugliness, truancy and poor personal hygiene. He would often be found outside of class propping up walls and distracting students with his endless quacking noises, described by his form teacher Mr. Gradvalax, who also described him as a "Stupid imbecile who often turned up to class smelling like whiskey". He was bullied at school by a kid named Tony Chopper who would call him names and thought up new ones daily. Murdoc got back at Tony after he snapped and called him "a useless, bloated backward waste of space who would probably get a job of holding up "For Sale" signs on the corner of streets only to then get himself fired and replaced by a bucket of soil" and that "a pissed monkey would stand a better chance in life" which resulted in Tony punching Murdoc's nose in; breaking it. The local pup had a singing contest called Are You A Star? that Murdoc was always forced to participate in to win back his father's drinking money, one of those acts included him dressing up as Pinocchio and singing I've Got No Strings Attached from there on out Murdoc decided he was going to be a musician.
Noodle
Noodle was born on October 31st, 1990 in Osaka, Japan as part of a secret experiment along with 22 other kids for the Japanese Military but after the project was shut down, the scientist Mr. Kyuzo was ordered to kill all 23 kids, he did kill them all; all except Noodle who he had grown emotionally attached to, he put her in a state of amnesia with the words Ocean Bacon and smuggled her to the UK in a FedEx crate and falsely reported her death. The crate ended up on the doorstep of Kong Studios, where 2D opened the door with Murdoc investigating the crate out popped an 8 year old doing a shredding guitar solo and finishing with a 20 foot high karate kick, 2D described the act as "200 demons screaming in Arabic, brilliant!" the 8 year old the bowed and said the word Noodle in Japanese, and the name stuck ever since.
Now that the band was together, they decided to record their first song Ghost Train and played their first live show on November 5th, 1998 which was ended prematurely due to a riot breaking out, but it was worth it in the end since EMI immediately signed them onto their label after dispersing several shotgun rounds to break up the riot, their first batch of music was in the form of the Tomorrow Comes Today EP and their first full-length album Gorillaz was released in March 26th, 2001 featuring the hit singles Clint Eastwood, 19-2000, Rock The House and Tomorrow Comes Today. In 2002 Gorillaz started an 11 month tour of North America and took a break in LA where they tried to get a Gorillaz Movie made, that Halloween Kong Studios was shut down by police who kept the area secure while they investigated the paranormal activity in the area but Gorillaz took this time to work on their movie but things took a topspin due to them overpartying and having disagreements with producers and directors and ended up with Murdoc nearly killing 2D and the band all went their separate ways on a Year and a half hiatus.
Phase II: Slowboat to Hades (2004-2007)
2D went back to Eastbourne to work at his father's funfair where he came to terms with his newfound pop icon status, Murdoc went to Mexico to get drunk and was arrested after using bad cheques to bay for the drinks, his only companions were his raven Cortez and two other Mexican mobsters who helped him break out if prison, Russel stayed in LA but became increasingly haunted by the grim reaper; who eventually ripped the soul of Del out of his body, even though he was free of his possession his glowing eyes remained as a permanent side effect which caused Russel to have a break down but in a stroke of luck Ike Turner let Russel stay in his basement where we began to work on an album but had trouble completing because of him having hallucinations of demons flying out of the speakers.
Noodle was plagued by nightmares and visions throughout the Gorillaz tour, so she went back to Japan in hopes of learning about her forgotten past, Noodle arrived at a sushi bar in Osaka where she heard waiter say that he needed an order of Ocean Bacon, after hearing the phrase she suddenly regained all her memories of the past and her ability to speak English and every other known language. She reunited with her mentor Mr. Kyuzo where she learned that she was part of a top-secret project along with 22 other kids for the Japanese military and government and that after the project was scrapped Kyuzo was forced to kill all 23 subjects, but he didn't with Noodle because of his emotional attachment to her.
Noodle went back to Kong Studios which she found in a state of disrepair and was overrun by hordes of zombies. She used the Kong Surveillance Room as a safe house and slowly cleared the studio of its undead inhabitants, while their Noodle began to write an album which ultimately became the basis of the 2005 album Demon Days when it was released on the 23rd of May that same year which had the singles Feel Good Inc, Dirty Harry, Kids WIth Guns and El Mañana. Noodle set off to reunite with her bandmates, she was planning on leaving the band at the end of filming the music video for El Mañana but things went south when as part of the music video, two heavily armed helicopters gun down a floating island Noodle is on but she was meant to jump off the island which never happened. When the island crashed Noodle was presumed dead.
Everyone was devastated; everyone except Murdoc who knew what was happening. This was all a plan to get rid of Jimmy Manson a 3 foot tall hippie who auditioned for the guitarist role but was turned down after Noodle took the job and Jimmy set off in an attempt to kill Noodle and the rest of Gorillaz and asked Murdoc for help, he agreed to stash guns in the windmill tower on the island when the helicopters started firing but Jimmy soon realized that Murdoc had double-crossed him; locking him in the tower with no guns and Jimmy was ultimately killed in the crash while Noodle parachuted off the island safely. With Noodle presumed missing 2D and Russel set off to find her and the band went their separate ways once again
Phase III: Escape to Plastic Beach (2008-2012)
Now on his own Murdoc spent the next few years on a worldwide Bender until 2008. He was running low on funds so he burned down the ruins of Kong Studios, cashed in on the insurance money, blamed on two boys who were arrested and fled the country. Some of his motivation for fleeing the country was that he was being hunted by an underground network of pirates called the black cloud after a failed business deal, he set out onto the ocean where he found an island made entirely out of landfill stuck together, Murdoc painted the island bright pink and used the insurance money to build a new Gorillaz recording studio naming it Plastic Beach. He had all the bands' belongings shipped to the island to begin production for the third album after Demon Days 2D was said to be on vacation on a Jamaican Beach and according to text on the G Sides compilation album he is said to be completing a law degree. It's hard to say for sure since we first see him in an apartment in Beirut [the capital of Lebanon]. 2D is then gassed and shipped to Plastic Beach, he thinks that Murdoc is to blame but the person responsible is the embodiment of all evil, a demon wearing a gas mask called The Boogeyman.
Noodle was still missing and after searching the El Mañana crash site, he found some of Noodles hair which he used to create a robotic replica of her Cyborg Noodle to act as the guitarist for the album and his bodyguard, Murdoc did go searching for Russel but said he had essentially dropped off of the face of earth and was forced to build a drum machine out of Russel's equipment to provide a drummer for the album. Eventually, they released their 3rd album in 2010 Plastic Beach which was released on the 23rd of March featuring the singles Stylo, Superfast Jellyfish, On Melancholy Hill and Rhinestone Eyes, although Noodle and Russel's whereabouts are unknown, we find them out later in the phase. The journey to plastic beach begins in the Stylo music video where 2D, Murdoc, and Cyborg Noodle are seen in a 1969 SS Camero called Stylo with Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955 [age 64]) is trailing them as a bounty hunter but loses them after they drive into the Pacific Ocean.
After in On Melancholy Hill, we see Noodle 4 years after her disappearance on an ocean liner called the M Harriet, who is attacked by two bomber planes, Noodle retrieves a machine gun and shoots one plane down but fails to shoot the other when it drops a bomb on the ship. She escapes the ship to a lifeboat with her guitar and supplies, Cyborg Noodle regains consciousness in Stylo which is now a submarine; the trio set off to Plastic Beach and are joined by a fleet of submarines being piloted by the various collaborators on the album such as De La Soul and Snoop Dogg. When they rise to the surface Murdoc spots the boogeyman orders Cyborg Noodle to shoot at it; the boogeyman retreats back into the water and when the fog clears Plastic Beach is shown. Noodle is still floating around aimlessly and underneath her lifeboat she spots a giant Russel which she ends up on the top of his head when he rises; Before Russel was shown driving off a pier into the Pacific Ocean swimming to an unknown destination, he ingested so much trash, pollution and toxic waste he grew to a monstrous size. The trio set off on their first world tour but spent all of it stuck in a dressing room while an imposter Gorillaz live band took their place.
The Boogeyman eventually managed to track down Murdoc; coming to reap his soul, we would've seen the epic climax to the phase III story in Rhinestone Eyes' music video if it wasn't for the fact that it was canceled but we can still piece together what happened through the storyboard. It starts with Noodle and Russel traveling to Plastic Beach, on the roof of Plastic Beach; the boogeyman is waiting and he's joined by Murdoc and Cyborg Noodle, Cyborg Noodle opens fire onto the boogeyman and he jumps into the ocean. 2D sees him from his underwater room which is when the boogeyman summons The 4 Horseman of the Apocalypse, apparently, the boogeyman is a rejected fifth horseman called Flatulence. Cyborg Noodle faces the boogeyman as soon as he summons some pirates who are part of the Black Cloud with the boogeyman leading them. All hell breaks loose as the black cloud leader shoots at Murdoc from a plane and he jumps back into Plastic Beach, fearing for his life. 2D sees a whale heading straight for his room until Russel picks up the whale and hurls it at a Black Cloud plane. The video ends with Russel leaning over the side of the island and opens his mouth revealing the real Noodle who takes of her cat mask to reveal a facial scar under her left eye from the El Mañana incident.
While all this is happening another whale heads for 2D's room, destroying his room and nearly swallowing him whole in the process, Cyborg Noodle suffers a malfunction and tries to kill Murdoc but is shut down permanently by the real Noodle who is then rescued by Russel with 2D just managing to escape the whale. The boogeyman comes searching for Murdoc to reap his soul but Muroc faked his death leaving behind a shoddy fake Murdoc when the boogeyman took the wrong soul, the polar opposite of the Boogeyman The Evangelist comes and wipes the boogeyman out. Murdoc then says that when he was escaping, he was caught in a typhoon and ended up in Hawaii and started a radio show to celebrate Gorillaz's 10th anniversary but in actual fact, he wasn't in Hawaii instead he was in a ransacked apartment in London and the other members were able to track him down.
Phase IV: Humanz After All (2012-2017)
In this phase some of the previous information may have been changed since the details of phase iv may contradict past information. Each member has their one book to detail what they were up to, The black cloud took over the island and Murdoc and Cyborg Noodle escaped in a rusty submarine. Unfortunately, Murdoc drunk all of the Psycho Jerry's Rum on board and headed to the surface for a whiz. While he was emptying his dangerously large bladder, a giant ship named Ringo came up to Murdoc which was owned by EMI, Murdoc was finally found and was soon captured, slapped around and taken to a secret prison. For years, he lived in Dungeon Abbey, a secret prison under Abbey Road Studios until one day he was struck a deal by EMI. They desperately needed his help since the music industry was going down the toilet and in exchange for his freedom Murdoc agreed to write a new Gorillaz album and moved to a new studio in West London.
2D hid in his underwater room in the attack on Plastic Beach but was soon eaten whole by a whale and swam deep into the ocean. The whale soon died after a lifetime of eating trash and its carcass washed up on a beach and 2D managed to get out of the whale. Too bad he had no survival skills whatsoever and was forced to eat the dead whale; months later he spotted a plane and was moved to tears by the sign of help and then joined a rave. Turns out he was never in a deserted island, he was on Guadelupe off the coast of Mexico while he was there he danced, had some strange tasting brownies and came third in the wet t-shirt contest, suddenly 2D had eureka moment; he would take a whole year to find himself which was pretty easy since he was right there but he stayed the whole year anyway until he was sacked from his job weaving friendship bracelets. It was time to go home; when he arrived at Heathrow airport there was a man holding up a sign saying 2D which he obviously knew was for him. He jumped in a taxi that took him back to West London with Murdoc, Russel, and Noodle, Gorillaz were back.
Russel managed to escape the pirates with Noodle but ran into trouble off the coast of Japan after he was mistaken for a whale and harpooned. He managed to get free but Noodle was lost, after being swept away in the blood-red waters, bleeding and delirious he struggled through the ocean while humming ALL By Myself until he lost consciousness and floated to through the yellow sea and into North Korea. He was taken by North Korean Officials and was put on exhibition. The leaders claimed they had caught Pulgasari, a North Korean bootleg Godzilla and became the country's biggest attraction. Unfortunately, the countries food rations for Russel ran out and he shrank back to normal size, the officials realizing that Russel was human claimed that they had defeated Pulgasari and he was sent back to England. He wandered the streets of London until he got a call from Murdoc and immediately moved into his new place.
Noodle awoke days after the Plastic Beach attack in a small Japanese fishing village. She was nursed back to health by an old Pearl Diver called Chiyoko. For her kindness Noodle took up an apprenticeship as a pearl diver. One day while diving for pearls Noodle opened a clam that released an ancient demon called Maazu and it was ready to party like it was 1499. Noodle learned that Maazu was a shapeshifter and the embodiment of all evil, the only way to kill it was by decapitating it or the other way around. Noodle spent years tracking Maazu down until she finally tracked him down in Tokyo at a restaurant, She dressed up as Geisha and infiltrated the restaurant, while Maazu was distracted by a heated bout of drink while you think, she chopped the creatures head offending its unearthly existence. She then escaped Maazu's bodyguards and packed herself into a FedEx crate with dried fish, bottled water and a copy of Moby Dick. Her package was addressed West London, England c/o Murdoc Niccals.
With Gorillaz together again in 2017, they released their 5th Album Humanz featuring the singles Hallelujah Money, Saturnz Barz, We Got The Power, Ascension, Andromeda, Let Me Out and The Apprentice. While filming for the Stroblite video a bored Murdoc goes to the bar and meets a man called El Mierda a violent criminal kingpin who hands Murdoc a white card for some odd reason and then frames him for smuggling, getting Murdoc to get threw in Prison.
Phase V: The Now Now (2018-2019)
With Murdoc incarcerated the band set out to find a new member, Ace. Ace was a close friend of Noodle and if the name seems familiar and you're not thinking of cards, you'll remember that he's the leader of the GanGreen Gang in The Powerpuff Girls confirming the two universes are connected, since the creator of Gorillaz Damon Albarn is good friends with Powerpuff Girls creator Craig McCracken.
On June 16th, 2018, the music video for Humility was released, it shows an upbeat 2D rollerskating through a beachside city with white eyes, Jack Black (known on YouTube as Jablinski Games) is shown on a guitar in the background, Ace is nearby a basketball court and when one of the players misses a shot, Ace grabs the ball and deflates it with his pocket knife, Noodle is seen playing Chess with Remi Kabaka Jr. The voice actor for Russel, at the end Russel trips 2D with his eyes going back to black soon after. 13 days later Gorillaz sixth and latest studio album The Now Now was released which is the only album that Murdoc doesn't have any involvement in.
Noodle headed off to the mountains after she found out that 2D was possessed by El Mierda when she finally answered one of Murdoc's phone calls. Noodle says she isn't doing it for Murdoc's sake, she's doing it for 2D's sake. After a week and a half, she posted a photo of her self on Instagram with the caption Still Alive. She claims that she got lost but was helped back on track by some mountain dogs.
Discography
| Album | Release |
|---|---|
| Gorillaz | 2001 |
| Demon Days | 2005 |
| Plastic Beach | 2010 |
| The Fall | 2011 |
| Humanz | 2017 |
| The Now Now | 2018 |
| Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez | 2020 |
| Cracker Island | 2023 |
Trivia
- The members' height is billed here from tallest to shortest, 2D is 6'2", Murdoc and Russel are both 5'9" and Noodle is 5'2"
- Damon Albarn is in a band himself called Blur.
- Murdoc has since been released from Prison.
- The band is named Gorillaz because Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett where born in 1968, the year of the monkey.
- Murdoc's design was inspired by Rolling Stones member, Keith Richards.