![]() ![]() Over ten years since forming, the subversive ideals of Gorillaz’s first steps had given way to other priorities – collaboration, inclusion and all-out entertainment. This time, Albarn ditched the comfort of playing behind a screen, hogging the spotlight for the group’s biggest ever performance. Standing in for U2 as Glastonbury headliners in 2010, they had to live up to Bono and his stadium-conquering cronies. Snoop Dogg, Little Dragon, Lou Reed and Bobby Womack all appeared on the 2010 LP, and their shows – guest-filled, grand-scope feasts of fun – reflected that. With third album ‘Plastic Beach’, collaboration was just as much of a core to Gorillaz as playful illusions. Flanked by strings and a full band, this was the sight of Gorillaz adapting to bigger stages by ditching the cartoon exterior and creating something more all-encompassing. But everyone else was in view, including a brilliantly staggering Shaun Ryder for his rendition of ‘Dare’. Albarn remained veiled by a screen, his silhouette huddled over a piano. For the first time, the majority of what was being created live was on public display. And the Scala, a former cinema, was the perfect place to debut this image-first approach.Ģ005’s five-day residency at the Manchester Opera House was a turning point. Similar visuals might have been placed behind big-name DJs, instead of being centre stage. ![]() Put that down to technical limitations, or the fact Gorillaz were just starting out. Most of the visuals consisted of hazy, pixelated patterns, instead of interactive 3D images of the band’s four members. ![]() Fittingly, it was aired in full on MTV, and it showed the faint image of Albarn performing beyond a giant Technicolor screen. Footage of their debut show at London Scala shows a mixture of intrigued and perplexed reactions from onlookers. Gorillaz’s scrappy early shows never gave the hint of a band who’d go on to headline Glastonbury. With the news that they’re putting on their very own festival in Margate, Dreamland (June 10), here’s a look at how they’ve progressed on stage. Over the years, Gorillaz’s live shows have evolved from make-do blueprints to wild, interactive frenzies. ![]() But Gorillaz, for all their playful edge, were designed to be a band. How do you make the manufactured feel real in the flesh? Virtual pop stars like Hatsune Miku skip this potential problem by being so hyper-digitised, you don’t even consider its tangibility. But with the freedom that creating a fictional, cartoon band can offer – not having to be sincere in interviews, creating music without fear of personal scrutiny – there was always one big challenge: translating Gorillaz to the stage. ![]()
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January 2023
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