Music Folks
Gorillaz: The Cartoon Band That Became Real Pop Stars
October 13, 2026 · by Music Folks
Gorillaz are one of the strangest success stories in pop: a band whose four famous members don’t exist. 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle and Russel Hobbs are cartoons. The real people behind them are Blur singer Damon Albarn and comic artist Jamie Hewlett, who launched the project in 1998.
Quick Facts
- Formed: 1998, England
- Creators: Damon Albarn (music) and Jamie Hewlett (art)
- Virtual members: 2-D (vocals, keys), Murdoc Niccals (bass), Noodle (guitar), Russel Hobbs (drums)
- Breakthrough single: “Clint Eastwood” (2001)
- Grammy: Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for “Feel Good Inc.” (2006)
A Band Made in Front of the TV
Albarn and Hewlett met in 1990. The idea came while watching MTV. Albarn has said Gorillaz started partly as a reaction to the manufactured boy bands of the late ’90s. The answer was a group that was openly invented, with Hewlett drawing the characters and Albarn singing as 2-D.
At early concerts the musicians played hidden behind a big screen while the cartoons were projected in front. Even at the 2006 Grammys, the band “appeared” as animated holograms.
From “Clint Eastwood” to “Feel Good Inc.”
The debut album Gorillaz arrived in March 2001, carried by the single “Clint Eastwood.” It sold more than 7 million copies worldwide. The follow-up, Demon Days (2005), went even bigger. It topped the UK chart, and its lead single “Feel Good Inc.” spent eight straight weeks at No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative Songs chart. “Dare,” “Dirty Harry” and “El Mañana” came from the same record.
Since then Gorillaz have become a revolving door of guest stars. Over the years the list has included De La Soul, Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mavis Staples, Grace Jones, Robert Smith, Elton John, Stevie Nicks and Bad Bunny. Plastic Beach (2010) and Humanz (2017) both reached No. 2 in the UK and the US. The Fall (2010) was famously recorded on tour on Albarn’s iPad.
Still Restless in 2026
Gorillaz won Best British Group at the 2018 Brit Awards and kept experimenting: Song Machine (2020) came out as a web series, one episode at a time. Cracker Island followed in 2023.
Their ninth album, The Mountain, came out in February 2026. It was recorded mainly in London and Devon and in several places in India, including Mumbai, New Delhi, Rajasthan and Varanasi. Guests range from Johnny Marr and Gruff Rhys to Yasiin Bey and Omar Souleyman, plus posthumous contributions from Bobby Womack, Tony Allen and Mark E. Smith. A world tour to go with it includes the band’s first shows in India.
More than 25 years in, the cartoons haven’t aged a day, which was always the point.