The band has won other awards, including one Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, an NME Award and three MTV Europe Music Awards.

Their second studio album, Demon Days (2005), went six times platinum in the UK and double platinum in the US, and has sold over eight million copies worldwide. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but the nomination was withdrawn at the band's request. The band's 2001 debut album Gorillaz sold over seven million copies worldwide. With Gorillaz, Albarn departed from the distinct Britpop of Blur and explored influences including hip hop, electronic music, and world music through an 'eccentrically postmodern' approach. But Gorillaz (initially called just 'Gorilla') was to be an ambitious musical project with eclectic, genre-bending tunes, unique visuals, and a detailed backstory for how the virtual band came to be.

Previously the best-known ''cartoon bands' were animated versions of The Monkees and The Beatles that kids could watch on Saturday mornings. They were in their flat watching TV, specifically MTV, and came up with the idea of a 'virtual band' as commentary on the vapidity of popular music at the turn of the millennium. Hewlett initially thought Albarn was 'arsey' and 'a wanker,' but the two remained acquainted and would eventually become roommates in 1997, living in London.Д«oth Jamie and Damon tell the story of Gorillaz came to be about the same way. When Jamie first met the band's lead singer Damon Albarn, the two did not hit it off well. Coxon knew of Hewlett's work drawing the Tank Girl comic strip in Deadline magazine. The roots of Gorillaz can be traced back to 1990, when guitarist Graham Coxon asked cartoonist Jamie Hewlett to interview his newly formed band, Blur. In reality, Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor, and often collaborates with other musicians. Their fictional universe is explored through animated music videos, interviews, and animated shorts. The band currently consists of four animated members: 2-D (lead vocals, keyboards), Noodle (guitar, vocals), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). Canonically speaking, Murdoc Niccals formed the band. Gorillaz is a British virtual band created in 1998 by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett. No, Gorillaz were always designed as a collective, featuring many contributors and producers, all shepherded by Albarn, the songwriter, mastermind, and ringleader.

This isn't quite similar to Blur, a genuine band that faltered after Graham Coxon decided he had enough, leaving Damon behind to construct the muddled Think Tank largely on his own. Hewlett still provides new animation for Gorillaz - although the proposed feature-length film has long disappeared - but Dan the Automator is gone, leaving Albarn as the unquestioned leader of the group. 2018 Repress - Double Gatefold With Printed Cardboard Inner Sleeves - Hip Hop / Rap/ Rock / Downtempo ElectronicaДamon Albarn went to great pains to explain that the first Gorillaz album was a collaboration between him, cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, and producer Dan the Automator, but any sort of pretense to having the virtual pop group seem like a genuine collaborative band was thrown out the window for the group's long-awaited 2005 sequel, Demon Days.

Gorillaz demon days live 2017