"and that he would play songs from all of his other bands, including Blur and Gorillaz. Albarn collaboated 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, Albarn went to Kinshasa for one week to record an album, ""Kinshasa One Two"", released in 2011. All proceeds benefit Oxfam's work in the DRC. ""Maison Des Jeunes"", an album for Albarn's project Africa Express, was released in 2013. In 2014, Albarn appeared in the song ""Go Back"" in Tony Allen's"
"Damon Albarn. The band incorporated influences from traditional British guitar-pop groups such as the Kinks and the Small Faces, and the resulting sound was melodic and lushly produced, featuring brass, woodwind and backing vocalists. Albarn's lyrics on ""Modern Life Is Rubbish"" use ""poignant humour and Ray Davies characterisation to investigate the dreams, traditions and prejudices of suburban England"", according to writer David Cavanagh. ""Modern Life Is Rubbish"" was a moderate chart success in the UK; the album peaked at number 15, while the singles taken from the album charted in the Top 30. Applauded by the music press, the album's"
"hit number 25 and their second album ""The Greatest Line Dancing Party"" reached No. 48 in the UK. The Woolpackers The Woolpackers were an English country rock trio of the 1990s, consisting of Steve Halliwell, Billy Hartman and Alun Lewis, all three of whom were stars of the ITV-produced soap opera ""Emmerdale"", in an attempt to cash in on the popularity of line dancing at the time. Despite numerous criticisms of their style, the group achieved a hit single with ""Hillbilly Rock Hillbilly Roll"" in November 1996, reaching number 5 in the UK Singles chart. The parent album ""Emmer Dance"""
"the singer, songwriter and guitarist Dave Brock, who is the only remaining original member. They are best known for the song ""Silver Machine"", which became a number three UK hit single in 1972, but they scored further hit singles with ""Urban Guerrilla"" (another Top 40 hit) and ""Shot Down in the Night."" The band had a run of twenty-two of their albums charting in the UK from 1971 to 1993. Dave Brock and Mick Slattery had been in the London-based psychedelic band Famous Cure, and a meeting with bassist John Harrison revealed a mutual interest in electronic music which led"
"#50. The artwork for the single was created by the band's bassist Paul Simonon. ""Herculean"" entered the UK Singles Chart at #22 in its first week of physical release (2006-11-05). The next week it retained a spot in the Top 75, at #72, but dropped out entirely the following week. Herculean (song) ""Herculean"" is the first single (and first-ever release) by The Good, the Bad and the Queen, an alternative rock band fronted by Damon Albarn. Though Albarn later claimed that the band was unnamed, and that ""The Good, The Bad & The Queen"" was merely the name of band's"
"In 1999, they were ranked sixth in ""Forbes""' inaugural Celebrity 100 Power Ranking. They produced a total of nine number one singles in the UK—tied with ABBA behind Take That (eleven), The Shadows (twelve), Madonna (thirteen), Westlife (fourteen), Cliff Richard (fourteen), The Beatles (seventeen), and Elvis Presley (twenty-one). The group had three consecutive Christmas number-one singles in the UK (""2 Become 1"", 1996; ""Too Much"", 1997; ""Goodbye"", 1998); they only share this record with The Beatles. Their first single, ""Wannabe"", is the most successful song released by an all-female group. Debuting on the US ""Billboard"" Hot 100 chart at number"
"70 in the UK singles chart. Years later it was included in ""Mojo"" magazine’s list of the best punk rock singles of all time. A lack of further chart activity, and with only one UK Top 40 single to their credit, sees the Vibrators join the list of one-hit wonders; a list that includes other UK punk and new wave acts such as The Banned, The Flying Lizards, Jilted John, 999, the Radio Stars, and the Rich Kids. During the 1980s, John Ellis recorded with Peter Gabriel, as well as recording and touring frequently with Peter Hammill, then subsequently The"
"the Sundance Kids"", ""Jabberjaw"", and others. Virtual bands still appear in television: the Chipmunks appeared in their own television show for much of the 1990s, and the Adult Swim show ""Metalocalypse"" features the virtual melodic death metal band Dethklok. During the 1980s, Hasbro released ""Jem"", an animated TV series featuring two enemy bands with a new song video on each episode. Britain's Gorillaz was formed by Blur's Damon Albarn and ""Tank Girl""'s Jamie Hewlett in 1998 and produced by Deltron 3030's Dan the Automator. The group brought virtual bands to the musical fore again, with their scoring numerous Top 20"
"as a result. Despite these concerns, ""Blur"" had become an unexpected success, particularly in America, where the album had been certified Gold. However, the band still wanted to innovate, so they decided to embrace a different sound. Bassist Alex James stated: ""I think you just have to keep changing. That sort of thinking was, sort of, key."" The band's leader Damon Albarn had been in a long-term relationship with Justine Frischmann, of the Britpop band Elastica. Their relationship was highly publicised, the couple being described by John Harris as ""proto-Posh and Becks for the indie-rock constituency."" However their relationship became"
"of Demon Strings. Demon Strings Demon Strings are a British stringed instrument group. They are best known for being the in-house string section for musician Damon Albarn, having recorded and performed live for several of his projects including The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Gorillaz, Blur and """". Formed in 2005 by cellist Isabelle Dunn (aka. Izzi Dunn) and manager Tee Bowry, Demon Strings is composed of some of the UK's finest string players specializing in live, television and recorded work. As Damon Albarn's ""in-house"" string section, Demon Strings worked closely with him on several of his projects. These"
"911 (English band) 911 (pronounced ""nine one one"") are an English pop group consisting of Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable and Simon ""Spike"" Dawbarn. They were formed in 1995 and released their debut single ""Night to Remember"" in May 1996. This was followed by their debut album ""The Journey"" in March 1997, which was certified Gold by the BPI in November 1997. 911 released two more Silver-certified albums, ""Moving On"", which featured the talents of guitarist Nick Cash (real name Keith Lucas) and ""There It Is"", in 1998 and 1999, respectively. ""There It Is"" also produced their only UK number-one single,"
"era also saw solo success for singer-songwriters, including David Gray, Dido, James Blunt, James Morrison, KT Tunstall and Amy Macdonald. The eponymous debut album of Gorillaz, created by Damon Albarn in 2001, sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the ""Guinness Book of World Records"" as the Most Successful Virtual Band. Grime, a distinctly British version of hip hop, became popular, with notable artists such as Dizzee Rascal and Tinchy Stryder achieving success. Girl groups Sugababes, Girls Aloud and t.A.T.u. spanned successful careers throughout most of the decade, while 1990s act Spice Girls announced their breakup"
"of grunge in the United Kingdom. In contrast to the dourness of grunge, Britpop was defined by ""youthful exuberance and desire for recognition"". The leading Britpop bands, ""Blur and Oasis[,] exist[ed] as reactionary forces to [grunge's] eternal downcast glare."" Britpop artists' new approach was inspired by Blur's tour of the United States in the spring of 1992. Justine Frischmann, formerly of Suede and leader of Elastica (and at the time in a relationship with Damon Albarn) explained, ""Damon and I felt like we were in the thick of it at that point ... it occurred to us that Nirvana were"
"Childhood friends Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon from Essex met Alex James when they began studying at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988. Albarn was in a group named Circus, who were joined by drummer Dave Rowntree that October. Circus requested the services of Coxon after the departure of their guitarist. That December, Circus fired two members and James joined as the group's bassist. This new group named themselves Seymour in December 1988, inspired by J. D. Salinger's """". The group performed live for the first time in summer 1989. In November, Food Records' A&R representative Andy Ross attended a Seymour"
"one of the most important British rock groups of the 1990s, finding success in the UK and abroad (even touring on the USA's famous Lollapalooza alternative rock festival). The band was formed when the members met at Winstanley College in 1989. From 1973 to 1981 Wigan Casino was the location for Wigan's weekly Northern Soul all-nighters. The venue began as a dance hall called Empress Ballroom. Wigan Casino rose to prominence in the 1970s, and in 1978 was named ""best disco in the world"" by ""Billboard"", an American music magazine. The building was gutted by fire in 1982 and demolished"
"of the band by UK chart compilers, and almost universally by record stores, music downloading services, concert promoters, fan sites and other media. Simon Tong and Paul Simonon both made appearances on Damon Albarn's next project, the third Gorillaz album ""Plastic Beach"" and Tony Allen collaborated with Albarn and Flea of Red Hot Chilli Peppers on the album, ""Rocket Juice & the Moon"" in 2012. In November 2011, the band played a show at London's Coronet Theatre marking the 40th anniversary of Greenpeace – the first time the band had played together in almost three years. Both Allen and Tong"
"would again be working with Damon Albarn. NME reported that Albarn had foregone plans to record a solo album and instead formed a new unnamed group which featured Tong with Albarn, former Clash bassist Paul Simonon and drummer Tony Allen. The band released their first album ""The Good, the Bad & the Queen"" on 23 January 2007, with the single ""Herculean"" in October 2006. The album enjoyed very good reviews and a second single, ""Kingdom of Doom"", was also released in January 2007 as part of their pan European tour. The band was get involved again after a decade, and"
"cancer charity founded by Mike Peters of The Alarm, and has played concerts in aid of the organisation, including one at base camp, Mount Everest. He has four children. Glenn Tilbrook Glenn Martin Tilbrook (born 31 August 1957) is the lead singer and guitarist of the English band Squeeze, a band formed in the mid-1970s who broke through in the new wave era at the decade's end. He generally wrote the melody for Squeeze's songs, while his writing partner, Chris Difford, wrote the lyrics. In addition to his songwriting skills, Tilbrook is respected both as a singer and an accomplished"
"electronic sounds, featuring simpler guitar lines played by Albarn, and largely relying on other instruments to replace Coxon. The guitarist's absence also meant that ""Think Tank"" was almost entirely written by Albarn. Its sound was seen as a testament to Albarn's increasing interest in African and Middle Eastern music, and to his complete control over the group's creative direction. ""Think Tank"" was yet another UK number one and managed Blur's highest US position of number 56. It was also nominated for best album at the 2004 Brit Awards. The band did a successful tour in 2003, with former Verve guitarist"
"Spike Dawbarn Simon James ""Spike"" Dawbarn (born 5 August 1974 in Warrington, England) is an English singer and dancer. He is a member of the boy band 911, who were originally active between 1995 and 2000 and had ten consecutive top 10 hits before splitting up in 2000. In 2012, 911 reformed for the ITV2 documentary series ""The Big Reunion"", along with other bands from their time including Five, B*Witched and Atomic Kitten. Spike Dawbarn was born in Warrington, Cheshire to parents Mo and Mike Dawbarn. He also has two brothers. Although he attended some dance college afterwards, his secondary"
"that celebrates how the same sun cheers both Queen and crackheads - before building up to a psychotic guitar wig-out."" Damon Albarn told NME in January 2007 that the song ""had to be last"" referring to the position in the album because ""where do you go after that noisy bit at the end?"" Noel Gallagher, Albarn's old rival from the Britpop days of the 1990s said in a March 2007 interview, """"I love the bit at the end of their song 'The Good, The Bad and The Queen' when it goes crazy"". In May 2007, the band posted an official"
"they greatly detested, especially as the country was the home of grunge and audiences were not receptive to their music. After that tour lead singer Damon Albarn started to write songs with a very British feel. This was one such song, written on Christmas Day 1992 at the family piano in his parents' house. David Balfe, the head of the band's record company, commissioned this song as the original album did not have any hit singles. Like the rest of ""Modern Life Is Rubbish"", the song was produced by Stephen Street, although Jeff Lynne was also considered as a possible"
"911 spoke about their music comeback and also performed ""2 Hearts 1 Love"". On 20 March 2014, it was announced that 911 and the other boy bands from both the first and second series of ""The Big Reunion"", Five, Blue, 3T, A1, Damage and 5th Story, would go on a nationwide tour in October 2014. 911 (English band) 911 (pronounced ""nine one one"") are an English pop group consisting of Lee Brennan, Jimmy Constable and Simon ""Spike"" Dawbarn. They were formed in 1995 and released their debut single ""Night to Remember"" in May 1996. This was followed by their debut"
"The Jets, Debbie Gibson, Tiffany, Martika, New Kids on the Block and Kylie Minogue. In the early 1990s, teen pop dominated the charts until grunge and gangsta rap crossed over into the mainstream in North America by late 1991. Teen pop remained popular in the United Kingdom with the boy band Take That during this period, until the mid-1990s when Britpop became the next major wave in the UK, eclipsing the style similar to how grunge did in North America. In 1996 the girl group Spice Girls released their single ""Wannabe"", which made them major pop stars in the UK,"
"Cream (band) Cream were a British rock power trio formed in 1966 consisting of drummer Ginger Baker, guitarist/singer Eric Clapton and lead singer/bassist Jack Bruce. The group's third album, ""Wheels of Fire"" (1968), is the world's first platinum-selling double album. The band is widely regarded as the world's first successful supergroup. In their career, they sold more than 15 million records worldwide. Their music included songs based on traditional blues such as ""Crossroads"" and ""Spoonful"", and modern blues such as ""Born Under a Bad Sign"", as well as more current material such as ""Strange Brew"", ""Tales of Brave Ulysses"" and"
"Bonham (band) Bonham was a British rock band founded in 1989 by drummer Jason Bonham, the son of the late Led Zeppelin drummer John Bonham. The band's most successful line-up included singer Daniel MacMaster, bassist/keyboardist John Smithson and guitarist Ian Hatton. In 1990, their debut album ""The Disregard of Timekeeping"" topped the rock airplay charts on the success of the single ""Wait for You"" and helped Bonham garner a gold record from the RIAA in 1990. The band toured extensively for two years, but the impact of such early success on its young members caused a great deal of internal"
"""The Great Escape"" (1995) helped the band achieve mainstream popularity in Britain; every Blur studio album from ""Parklife"" onwards has topped the British charts. Blur discography The discography of English alternative rock band Blur consists of eight studio albums, five live albums, five compilation albums, one remix album, two video albums, four extended plays, twenty-nine singles, eight promotional singles and thirty music videos. Formed in London in 1988, the group consists of singer/keyboardist Damon Albarn, guitarist/singer Graham Coxon, bassist Alex James and drummer Dave Rowntree. Three years later, their debut release, the Madchester and shoegazing-tinged ""Leisure"" (1991), peaked at number"
"due to increasing antagonisms between the groups, Blur and Oasis ultimately 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 the ""News at Ten"". At the end of the week, ""Country House"" ultimately outsold Oasis' ""Roll With It"" by 274,000 copies to 216,000, becoming Blur's first number one single. ""The Great Escape"", which Albarn told the public was the last instalment in the band's Life Trilogy, was released in September 1995"
"Demon Strings Demon Strings are a British stringed instrument group. They are best known for being the in-house string section for musician Damon Albarn, having recorded and performed live for several of his projects including The Good, the Bad & the Queen, Gorillaz, Blur and """". Formed in 2005 by cellist Isabelle Dunn (aka. Izzi Dunn) and manager Tee Bowry, Demon Strings is composed of some of the UK's finest string players specializing in live, television and recorded work. As Damon Albarn's ""in-house"" string section, Demon Strings worked closely with him on several of his projects. These included the Gorillaz"
"and voice coaching is provided by Brennan. On 15 October 2009, Dawbarn appeared on ""Never Mind the Buzzcocks""s identity parade round, but Phill Jupitus's team failed to pick him out. Spike Dawbarn Simon James ""Spike"" Dawbarn (born 5 August 1974 in Warrington, England) is an English singer and dancer. He is a member of the boy band 911, who were originally active between 1995 and 2000 and had ten consecutive top 10 hits before splitting up in 2000. In 2012, 911 reformed for the ITV2 documentary series ""The Big Reunion"", along with other bands from their time including Five, B*Witched"
"EP, ""Hello Sunshine"". Their discography is made of at least six singles or EPs, and two albums. The Clique (UK band) The Clique was an English rock band, formed in the late 1980s by Jon Paul Harper, Paul Newman, Phillip Otto and Gilles B. Mery. This line-up played many gigs centred on the revived UK mod scene. After sporadic experiments with keyboard players, including James Taylor (see below), Dom Strickland became full-time Hammond player in late 1991, and also their main songwriter, and Trevor French became lead singer. Up to that point the Clique had been a covers band, making"
"UK Albums Chart. In 1981 the group also achieved their first UK number one with their first live album, ""No Sleep 'til Hammersmith"", which was supported by the release of a live recording of ""Motörhead"" which reached number six in the UK. The band also collaborated with Girlschool (as Headgirl) on the EP ""St. Valentine's Day Massacre"", which reached number 5 in the UK. Clarke left the band in 1982. Clarke was replaced by former Thin Lizzy guitarist Brian Robertson, who performed on the top-20 album ""Another Perfect Day"". In 1984 Robertson was replaced by Phil Campbell and Michael ""Würzel"""
"their 1988 breakthrough (with the ""You Made Me Realise"" single and album ""Isn't Anything""). ""The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock"" mentions that ""A.R. Kane, the London duo ... (who dubbed their music 'dreampop') exerted a profound sonic influence on the legion of trippy shoegazer guitar bands that would emerge a few years later in the UK"". Michael Azerrad's book ""Our Band Could Be Your Life"" cited an early 1990s Dinosaur Jr. tour of the United Kingdom as a key influence. Whereas contemporary alternative rock movements of the time period were extremely male-dominated (Britpop, grunge), My Bloody Valentine, Slowdive, Lush,"