It was my brother Hannibal who got me into the Clash. Gorillaz were always influenced by the Clash. And for them, let's be honest! How did this come about? Well, I had commandeered Paul Simonon from The Good, the Bad & the Queen. M It was a very, very special moment for me. You got half of the Clash together for the first time in years. Good enough, in fact, I even let him play the bass on "Plastic Beach", the title track from our new LP. Is Paul Simonon a better bass player than you are? And I loved Lou's solo stuff, Magic and Loss and The Blue Mask and Transformer of course. Well, not grew up, because that still hasn't happened, but I did listen to them a lot when I was younger than I am now. M Yeah, he told us this great one about Liz Taylor, a dwarf, three dozen litres of green paint and a plate of some pharmaceutical substance, but I couldn't possibly repeat it. Lou Reed: did he tell you any stories about the good old days at Andy Warhol's Factory? Sometimes the greatest moments are those little mistakes that you catch in the mix. but we still used his question as a little intro.
I pointed south west, but he went with it anyway. 'Which way's north from here?' I guess that's his Mecca. He's on this track called "Glitter Freeze". Does this rag smell of chloroform to you?' 'Er. Some of the collaborators I just kidnapped. sometimes I just get bored of asking people. M More like battle of the brigands! I'm really glad we managed to get Mark E. Smith: was it a clash of the titans, you and him together?
But no, I party MUCH harder than Snoop – what's he been saying? When he's got green skin and can smoke 120 Lucky Lungs a day then he can claim that title. along with De La Soul, who did the same kind of crossover with Three Feet High and Rising. M Snoop's the granddaddy, isn't he? Doggystyle was for many people the record that really made the leap for them, got them into rap and G-funk. Is it true that Snoop Dogg parties harder than you? It's a day off, they can get to take part in this surreal little ghostly theme park that seems to sail round the world with me, Murdoc Niccals, at the helm. For many people a Gorillaz collaboration is like a ticket to Disneyland. You've got to remember that the Gorillaz name goes a long way now, and some people will just agree on the back of that. One way is you can phone them up and ask them. You've got a lot of guests on 'Plastic Beach'. So I needed somewhere, SOMETHING, unique. Shooting out my windows, chucking mustard gas into my hotel room.
They must have got their hands on a new batch because the next thing I know is that they've tracked me down. They were cheesed off about some slightly faulty weapons I may have sold them. The Black Clouds, those helicopters from the "El Manana" video, were on my tail. I'd created a trail of destruction, a huge mess. What I was really inspired by was a need to get away very far and very fast. So, what d'you reckon then, sonny? I think the answer's 'No' to that one then. I can pick and choose who I work with, round the globe, and my band smash through all genres and boundaries, innovating then discarding new technologies in my wake. I get to slay dragons, sail the seven seas and conquer whole continents with only bottles of rum and the midnight stars as my guide. Y'know? I mean, cheese and politics are alright for farmers and politicians but it's not rock'n'roll. Would I rather be Murdoc Niccals, master of all I survey with a fantastic record in the can and an island empire to rule, or an ex-member of Oasis, crying myself to sleep every night amid the ashes of my once mighty rock band?Īnd that Blur band: they were alright, but were a bit, y'know. Do you ever wish you were more of a real rock'n'roll band like, say, Oasis or Blur?