Gorillaz Interview
Footloose, June 2001
We’ll start gently. How are you?
Murdoc: I’m a bit knackered actually, mind if I sit this one out a bit?
Will you grow old gracefully?
2D: I had a Tortoise when I was a kid called Ringo. My Uncle said that they could live longer than a human being but he died in hibernation, so that put me right off of harbouring any sort of ideas about life-preserving cryogenic sleep.
Murdoc: Why is any interview with you like a fly-on-the-wall docu-soap in Sigmund Freud’s office?
Pick five words to describe Hear’Say.
2D: Noel, Myleene, Kym, Danny, and Suzanne. Oh sorry, that’s six including the and, so I dunno.
Are you any relation to Badly Drawn Boy?
2D: We’re not even related to each other, so how could we all be related to him? And you call me stupid, Murdoc!
You met under bizarre circumstances. Please explain.
Murdoc: You mean the old ram raid, organ shop, community service, NYC, rapper, spirits, NME, Fed Ex, guitarist, Brownhouse, Camden, deal, and gold records chestnut?
Russel: That’s slightly reductive, Murdoc. I met Murdoc and 2D when I caught them trying to steal records from the bargain bin in the record store I was working in down in Soho. They have this whole ram raid and coma back story that you can never quite get to the bottom of, I think someone is lying to somebody, somewhere, but I can’t be bothered with it anymore! Then there’s Noodle, she just appeared on our doorstep in a FedEx crate all the way from Japan. Man, she can play a mean guitar, but that’s about as much as we know about her!
And why Gorillaz as a name?
Murdoc: We tried a few before we settled on this one. I dabbled with Satan’s Scrotum, Thor’s Roar, and my personal favourite was Number of the Beats.
Russel: Noodle saved us in the nick of time just before our first gig.
Noodle: Gorillaz!
You don’t appear to have much in common with one another.
Russel: We all love each other like brothers and sisters apart from Murdoc, who hates us and himself equally.
Murdoc: Sounds about right!
Does friction help the creative process?
Russel: We formed as a band in April 1998. It then took some time for our individual characters to gel together. It’s only after many punch-ups, screaming matches, and late-night colouring-in sessions that we have reached a point where we can get on stage, pull our pants up high under our armpits and shout “Hello Mr. President...”
You got your name because of a ram-raiding incident that left you with two dents in your head. Would you use a car next time? And did you get anything else from the ram raid?
2D: It wasn’t me doing the ram raid, I was working in Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium when this car came flying through the window and straight into my head.
Is rock'n’roll the new comedy? If not, what is?
2D: The question is, if rock'n’roll is the new comedy then what is the new rock'n’roll?
A bizarre political coup sees Westlife’s management running the country and you are forced to record a cover version. What would it be?
Russel: The most bizarre thing about this is that Westlife’s management does run the bloody country in coalition with TV commissioners, second-rate hacks, and advertising scumbags.
Murdoc: Alright, Citizen Hobbs! Power to the people and all that, but you could have just said “Ghost Town” by The Specials and made the same point.
Would you pose naked for a magazine? If so, how much would it cost? And do you have any say in how you’re drawn in that department?
Murdoc: Most porn is about £3.95 unless you’re going for that really mucky stuff from Soho.
Sex and drugs are inexorably linked to rock'n'roll. Being two-dimensional, how do you cope with the first two?
Russel: That’s never stopped anybody before.
Do you attract two-dimensional groupies? Indeed, are all groupies two-dimensional?
Russel: Now you’re catching my drift.
On the same sort of subject, do you have any fantasy cartoon shags?
2D: I used to fancy the blonde one in Captain Caveman when I was a kid, but I think it’s a bit weird to fancy drawings. I’ve just started seeing somebody new but I don’t want to tell anyone who it is yet because it might ruin things between us.
You have live dates coming up - what can we expect?
Russel: I’d like to take this opportunity to explain why we’re postponing our UK gigs. There’s been a scheduling mix-up between our live dates and US promotions. We’re really disappointed that you’ll all have to wait longer for these gigs. We promise our British fans that the wait will be worthwhile. Our shows work on a lot of levels, obviously, we aim to give a liver-quivering audio adventure but we don’t stop there. While we’re the live band at the heart of the show, the projections, rap, and DJs have their roots in a more club-orientated tradition. Keep it in your minds, and we’ll be back in September to destroy. Peace.
What made you pick “19-2000” as a single?
Russel: It’s a difficult thing choosing singles, everybody from the record company to Radio One have an opinion about what you should do next, and not just with releases. In the end though, it’s the same thing that made us pick Clint, and before that, Tomorrow Comes Today. It ain’t no big secret or crazy story, we all just agreed that it was dope.
Live or studio - which is best?
2D: I like the time in between the two when you can pull on your recourses and come up with some new angles on your music.
Murdoc: That’s not all you pull on up in your bunk on the tour bus, you filthy little monkey.
Marmite – Manna from Heaven or Satan’s own sandwich spread?
Murdoc: Yeast is something you go to the doctors about, not spread on sandwiches.
2D: No, Murdoc, they put yeast in bread too.
What’s next for the Gorillaz?
Murdoc: Another interview I should imagine!
Russel: No need to be facetious, Murdoc! We’re releasing 19-2000 on the same day as Hear’Say releases their new dirge, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens after the initial slew of nine-year-olds have bought their copy of whatever pap it is they’re knocking out next.
2D: Yeah, he who laughs last laughs last.
Anyone you’d like to work with?
Murdoc: Aerosmith.
Russel: Run DMC.
2D: Scott Walker.
Noodle: Gorillaz, Scott Walker this way!
What’s the greatest single of all time?
2D: The greatest single what?
What does fame cost?
Murdoc: About £3.95 unless you’re going for that really mucky stuff from Soho.
Murdoc, have you got the Winnebago back?
Murdoc: I got it back. The police just gave me a call and asked me to pick it up, no questions asked. I think they’d had it all along and were just trying to use it to finger me in some Mick Jagger Mars Bar bullshit. But, as you know, we truck drivers use Yorkie as our confection of choice.
And finally, what advice would you give to anyone - real or drawn - who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Russel: I’ve found that the best way to avoid athletes' foot in the long trudge to pop superstardom is to wash your feet and dry them well, take your hair dryer, and turn it on. Hold the hair dryer near the foot that is affected and spread your toes apart to let the warm air into the affected area. Do this for several minutes and do this several times a week and you will feel relief. The hot air from the hair dryer will kill that fungus, as that fungus loves warm, dark, moist places and it cannot survive the dry hot air applied. Also with your hair dryer, blow the hot air into your shoes, boots, sneakers, etc, as that's where it tries to survive.
Murdoc: I’m a bit knackered actually, mind if I sit this one out a bit?
Will you grow old gracefully?
2D: I had a Tortoise when I was a kid called Ringo. My Uncle said that they could live longer than a human being but he died in hibernation, so that put me right off of harbouring any sort of ideas about life-preserving cryogenic sleep.
Murdoc: Why is any interview with you like a fly-on-the-wall docu-soap in Sigmund Freud’s office?
Pick five words to describe Hear’Say.
2D: Noel, Myleene, Kym, Danny, and Suzanne. Oh sorry, that’s six including the and, so I dunno.
Are you any relation to Badly Drawn Boy?
2D: We’re not even related to each other, so how could we all be related to him? And you call me stupid, Murdoc!
You met under bizarre circumstances. Please explain.
Murdoc: You mean the old ram raid, organ shop, community service, NYC, rapper, spirits, NME, Fed Ex, guitarist, Brownhouse, Camden, deal, and gold records chestnut?
Russel: That’s slightly reductive, Murdoc. I met Murdoc and 2D when I caught them trying to steal records from the bargain bin in the record store I was working in down in Soho. They have this whole ram raid and coma back story that you can never quite get to the bottom of, I think someone is lying to somebody, somewhere, but I can’t be bothered with it anymore! Then there’s Noodle, she just appeared on our doorstep in a FedEx crate all the way from Japan. Man, she can play a mean guitar, but that’s about as much as we know about her!
And why Gorillaz as a name?
Murdoc: We tried a few before we settled on this one. I dabbled with Satan’s Scrotum, Thor’s Roar, and my personal favourite was Number of the Beats.
Russel: Noodle saved us in the nick of time just before our first gig.
Noodle: Gorillaz!
You don’t appear to have much in common with one another.
Russel: We all love each other like brothers and sisters apart from Murdoc, who hates us and himself equally.
Murdoc: Sounds about right!
Does friction help the creative process?
Russel: We formed as a band in April 1998. It then took some time for our individual characters to gel together. It’s only after many punch-ups, screaming matches, and late-night colouring-in sessions that we have reached a point where we can get on stage, pull our pants up high under our armpits and shout “Hello Mr. President...”
You got your name because of a ram-raiding incident that left you with two dents in your head. Would you use a car next time? And did you get anything else from the ram raid?
2D: It wasn’t me doing the ram raid, I was working in Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium when this car came flying through the window and straight into my head.
Is rock'n’roll the new comedy? If not, what is?
2D: The question is, if rock'n’roll is the new comedy then what is the new rock'n’roll?
A bizarre political coup sees Westlife’s management running the country and you are forced to record a cover version. What would it be?
Russel: The most bizarre thing about this is that Westlife’s management does run the bloody country in coalition with TV commissioners, second-rate hacks, and advertising scumbags.
Murdoc: Alright, Citizen Hobbs! Power to the people and all that, but you could have just said “Ghost Town” by The Specials and made the same point.
Would you pose naked for a magazine? If so, how much would it cost? And do you have any say in how you’re drawn in that department?
Murdoc: Most porn is about £3.95 unless you’re going for that really mucky stuff from Soho.
Sex and drugs are inexorably linked to rock'n'roll. Being two-dimensional, how do you cope with the first two?
Russel: That’s never stopped anybody before.
Do you attract two-dimensional groupies? Indeed, are all groupies two-dimensional?
Russel: Now you’re catching my drift.
On the same sort of subject, do you have any fantasy cartoon shags?
2D: I used to fancy the blonde one in Captain Caveman when I was a kid, but I think it’s a bit weird to fancy drawings. I’ve just started seeing somebody new but I don’t want to tell anyone who it is yet because it might ruin things between us.
You have live dates coming up - what can we expect?
Russel: I’d like to take this opportunity to explain why we’re postponing our UK gigs. There’s been a scheduling mix-up between our live dates and US promotions. We’re really disappointed that you’ll all have to wait longer for these gigs. We promise our British fans that the wait will be worthwhile. Our shows work on a lot of levels, obviously, we aim to give a liver-quivering audio adventure but we don’t stop there. While we’re the live band at the heart of the show, the projections, rap, and DJs have their roots in a more club-orientated tradition. Keep it in your minds, and we’ll be back in September to destroy. Peace.
What made you pick “19-2000” as a single?
Russel: It’s a difficult thing choosing singles, everybody from the record company to Radio One have an opinion about what you should do next, and not just with releases. In the end though, it’s the same thing that made us pick Clint, and before that, Tomorrow Comes Today. It ain’t no big secret or crazy story, we all just agreed that it was dope.
Live or studio - which is best?
2D: I like the time in between the two when you can pull on your recourses and come up with some new angles on your music.
Murdoc: That’s not all you pull on up in your bunk on the tour bus, you filthy little monkey.
Marmite – Manna from Heaven or Satan’s own sandwich spread?
Murdoc: Yeast is something you go to the doctors about, not spread on sandwiches.
2D: No, Murdoc, they put yeast in bread too.
What’s next for the Gorillaz?
Murdoc: Another interview I should imagine!
Russel: No need to be facetious, Murdoc! We’re releasing 19-2000 on the same day as Hear’Say releases their new dirge, so it’ll be interesting to see what happens after the initial slew of nine-year-olds have bought their copy of whatever pap it is they’re knocking out next.
2D: Yeah, he who laughs last laughs last.
Anyone you’d like to work with?
Murdoc: Aerosmith.
Russel: Run DMC.
2D: Scott Walker.
Noodle: Gorillaz, Scott Walker this way!
What’s the greatest single of all time?
2D: The greatest single what?
What does fame cost?
Murdoc: About £3.95 unless you’re going for that really mucky stuff from Soho.
Murdoc, have you got the Winnebago back?
Murdoc: I got it back. The police just gave me a call and asked me to pick it up, no questions asked. I think they’d had it all along and were just trying to use it to finger me in some Mick Jagger Mars Bar bullshit. But, as you know, we truck drivers use Yorkie as our confection of choice.
And finally, what advice would you give to anyone - real or drawn - who wants to follow in your footsteps?
Russel: I’ve found that the best way to avoid athletes' foot in the long trudge to pop superstardom is to wash your feet and dry them well, take your hair dryer, and turn it on. Hold the hair dryer near the foot that is affected and spread your toes apart to let the warm air into the affected area. Do this for several minutes and do this several times a week and you will feel relief. The hot air from the hair dryer will kill that fungus, as that fungus loves warm, dark, moist places and it cannot survive the dry hot air applied. Also with your hair dryer, blow the hot air into your shoes, boots, sneakers, etc, as that's where it tries to survive.