The virtual band Gorillaz was created in 1998 by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. The term virtual band refers to the fact that members are not depicted as people but as fictional animated characters. These characters are so interesting and unique that people even started collecting gorillaz figures of 2D and all the other things related to the band.
In this article, we talk about gorillas and their beginnings, developments, and special traits. This will be useful for every fan out there who is getting to know them now and for all those who already know them and would like to learn more about their history and development.
The Origins of Gorillaz
You probably know Damon Albarn from his other band, Blur. He and Jamie Hewlett, the co-founders of Gorillaz, met back in the 90s during an interview. Legends tell us that the idea behind Gorillaz came to Albarn and Hewlett as they were watching MTV. The statement behind the creation of a virtual band came from the statement that MTV lacked any substantial material. A virtual band would be an almost satirical comment on that. As boy bands were manufactured day by day, the two co-creators of the band decided to actually manufacture a boyband as well, but make it totally virtual and fictional.
Interestingly, the band was initially named Gorilla, and their first-ever recorded song was Ghost Train, which was released as a B-side on their single “Rock the House”. One of the most striking aspects of this band is their visual style, and many fans wanted to know where it actually came from. Not everyone knows that their visual style evolved from The 16s, which was a rejected comic strip created by Hewlett while he was creating Tank Girl with Alan Martin.
These were the origins of Gorillaz, which are useful to understand the overall vibe and context in which the band was created. Now, we dive into the appeal of Gorillaz to find out more about why people like them so much, even after 25 years of career.
The Appeal of Gorillaz
Gorillaz has created several unforgettable singles, such as Feel Good Inc., Clint Eastwood, Rhinestone Eyes, On Melancholy Hill, and Dirty Harry, among many others. Gorillaz became very popular for that generation that is now approaching their thirties and forties, but what’s very interesting is that Gorillaz is also extremely popular with today’s teenagers.
The reason behind this evergreen popularity can be linked to many different reasons, but one of the most striking is definitely the fact that Gorillaz is a band that does not stick to one genre but actually implements aspects of many different genres all in one. With a foundation of rock, hip-hop, and electronic music, you can also find the influence of Latin music, as well as pop, punk, soul, funk, and gospel, among others. They are truly eclectic, and teenagers love that.
The visual appeal should also be taken into consideration, as the cartoon style of Gorillaz is pretty unique. There are four characters in the band which are Murdoc on the bass, Noodle on the guitar, and Russell on the drums.
People love these characters so much because, even though they are fictional and belong to a different visual dimension, they feel very real nonetheless. Every character has a very distinctive background and backstory, which makes them even more relatable than many contemporary celebrities. They were manufactured, yes, but in the matrix of these characters lie all the real factors that influence our lives.
From trauma to dreams and life mistakes to a sense of friendship between outcasts, Gorillaz speaks to all the people out there who grew up in a historical moment where fitting in was very seldom an option. Gorillaz is preaching loudly and effortlessly to all those kids and grown-ups, and it felt like the rest of the music industry was pandering to who young people should be instead of who they actually were. Gorillaz legitimizes the dark, acidic, and self-deprecative side of people who grew up during terrorist attacks, wars, the internet, and the recession.
In this article, we provided an overview of Gorillaz’s origins and then dove into the reasons why people still love them today, even after 25 years of career. We hope you found this article interesting and pleasant to read and that, thanks to it, you have gained some more knowledge on one of the most interesting bands of our century. Now, you only need to go listen to some tunes and dive into the world of Gorillaz through their unique visuals and gripping lyrics.
