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. Coxon knew of Hewlett's work drawing the Tank Girl comic strip in Deadline magazine. When Jamie first met the band's lead singer Damon Albarn, the two did not hit it off well. Hewlett initially thought Albarn was "arsey" and "a wanker," but the two remained acquainted and would eventually become roommates in 1997, living in London.
Both Jamie and Damon tell the story of Gorillaz came to be about the same way. 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. Previously the best-known '"cartoon bands" were animated versions of The Monkees and The Beatles that kids could watch on Saturday mornings. 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.
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. The band's 2001 debut album Gorillaz sold over seven million copies worldwide. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but the nomination was withdrawn at the band's request. 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. The band has won other awards, including one Grammy Award, two MTV Video Music Awards, an NME Award and three MTV Europe Music Awards.
The third Gorillaz studio album, Plastic Beach, was released in March 2010. The fourth, The Fall, was released in December 2010 as a free download for fan club members, then in April 2011 as a physical release. In 2017, after a five-year hiatus, Gorillaz announced their fifth studio album Humanz. Their sixth studio album, The Now Now, was released on 29 June 2018. Their seventh album, Song Machine, Season 1: Strange Timez, was released in 2020 through a series of episodical music videos. Cracker Island, the band's eighth album, was released on February 24, 2023. Gorillaz have been nominated for ten Brit Awards and won Best British Group at the 2018 Brit Awards.
The Gorillaz characters only appear in animated form and are not alter-egos of real people, as is often mistakenly assumed. There is an extensive fictional back-story behind these band members, written by Albarn and Hewlett. Their albums, several of their music videos, and their autobiographical book Rise Of The Ogre all tell the saga. Damon Albarn is the only permanent musical contributor to the band, which is also a collaboration between various musicians. Their style is broad with a large number of alternative influences including rock, hip-hop, and electronica.
They have released eight studio albums: Gorillaz (2001), Demon Days (2005), Plastic Beach (2010), The Fall (Also in 2010), Humanz (2017), The Now Now (2018), Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (2020), and Cracker Island (2023). Additionally, they have put out two B-side collections, G-Sides (2001) and D-Sides (2007), and a reggae remix of the Gorillaz album entitled Laika Come Home (2002). The band has also released three DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Takedown, Demon Days: Live at Manchester Opera House, and Phase Two: Slow Boat To Hades. At the end of 2010, Gorillaz released their next album, The Fall, which was recorded during their US 'Escape to Plastic Beach' tour. It is promoted as being the first album made entirely on iPad. The album is streamed on the Gorillaz website.
The band's first single, Clint Eastwood, was released on 5 March 2001. This single was the first of four from Gorillaz, which was released on 26 March 2001. The other three singles were released over the next year. These were: 19-2000, Rock the House, and Tomorrow Comes Today. The album sold over 7 million copies worldwide and has gone platinum twice in the United Kingdom earning them an entry in the Guinness Book of Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the band's request. Collaborators on the first album included Del tha Funkee Homosapien (often mistaken for a full-time band member), Miho Hatori (formerly of Cibo Matto), Tina Weymouth of Talking Heads.and Ibrahim Ferrer. The album was produced by Dan the Automator of Deltron 3030.
At the end of 2001 the band released another single, 911, which was a collaboration between Gorillaz and rap artists D12, Eminem and Terry Hall. The single would find its way onto the soundtrack to the 2002 action comedy Bad Company.
Their second studio album, Demon Days, was released on 11 May 2005 and included the hit singles Feel Good Inc., DARE, Dirty Harry and Kids With Guns / El Mañana. Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum in the United States, and earned five Grammy award nominations for 2006 and won one of them (Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals). Collaborators on this album – produced by Dj Danger Mouse – include De La Soul, Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde, Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays, Neneh Cherry, Ike Turner, MF Doom, Roots Manuva, and Martina Topley-Bird, among others. DARE – the first Gorillaz track featuring lead vocals by Noodle – reached #1 in the UK charts.
In late 2007, Albarn and Hewlett began working on Carousel, a new Gorillaz project which eventually evolved into the band's third studio album, Plastic Beach, which was released 9 March 2010. Albarn said, "I'm making this one the most pop record I've ever made in many ways, but with all my experience to try and at least present something that has got depth.” The album features guest performances by Snoop Dogg, Lou Reed, Mos Def, Bobby Womack, Gruff Rhys, Mark E. Smith, Mick Jones, Paul Simonon, Bashy, Kano, De La Soul, Little Dragon, Hypnotic Brass Ensemble, sinfonia ViVA, and The Lebanese National Orchestra for Oriental Arabic Music.
A 3D projection of the group was shown at the 2005 MTV Music Awards and the 2006 Grammys. They also performed at the Brits, in a different format, using screens rather than projections. Gorillaz have performed live in other occasions as well: in 2001 & 2002 they did tours where the musicians played behind screens, and in 2005 & 2006, Gorillaz had five nights in Manchester and New York respectively. This time the screens were behind the musicians, who were visible to the audience only as silhouettes (except for the guest-stars).
Since the band began to achieve mainstream success, there have been rumours of them working on a full-length movie. Some of these have been confirmed, but nothing has gotten beyond planning stages, mainly due to conflicts between the band and studios involved. In 2008, Hewlett said "Ultimately we didn't think that feel we're in a position to make the kind of movie we want to make with Gorillaz at the moment. [...] But I'd still like to make a full, lavishly-animated Gorillaz movie someday."
Albarn and Hewlett created a Pop Opera called Monkey: Journey to the West, which premiered in the summer of 2007 at the Manchester International Festival. A soundtrack album was recorded in the summer as well (initially only digitally available though a CD version was released in 2008). The production went on to show at the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris in September-October 2007, the Spoleto Festival in Charleston, SC, USA in May 2008, and the Royal Opera House in London in July 2008.
The duo behind the Pop Opera built on ideas from Monkey: Journey to the West to release a short film in the Summer of 2008 which accompanied the United Kingdom's coverage of the BBC Olympic Coverage in Beijing. It featured a basic outline of the main plot elements of the Opera, reworked into a "Journey to the East", with the characters finishing in the Beijing Olympic Stadium.
Gorillaz headlined the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury 2010, as an immediate replacement for U2, who dropped out of performing at the festival.
At the end of 2010 Gorillaz released their next album The Fall made in the hotel rooms during their US tour. It was, when released, the first album to be recorded entirely on an iPad. The album was made available for free to Gorillaz fan club members for a limited time as a digital download – and hard copies were released to worldwide markets in the following year.
In April 2012, Albarn told The Guardian that he and Hewlett had fallen out and that future Gorillaz projects were "unlikely". However, it was later announced by the duo that they had reconciled their difference – and that Noodle, Russel, Murdoc and 2-D would return with a new album in 2017. Featuring collaborations by artists such as album Grace Jones, Kali Uchis, Popcaan, Vince Staples, Mavis Staples, Peven Everett, Pusha T, Kelela, Jamie Principle, D.R.A.M. and Graham Coxon, Humanz was released to critical acclaim; the album would go on to win Gorillaz the 2018 Brit Award for Best British Group. Gorillaz would also collaborate with Carly Simon, Kilo Kish and Rag'n'Bone Man on the Deluxe edition of Humanz, while Little Simz would feature on the single Garage Palace. Another 2017 release was the single Sleeping Powder – supposedly written and recorded in a day. Meanwhile, a solar energy-themed collaboration with E.ON, released in 2017, would later win Gorillaz a Webby Award.
A new album, The Now Now, would follow in 2018. Written by Albarn whilst touring Humanz – and featuring two collaborations, including the return of Snoop Dogg and Jamie Principle as well as George Benson and Graham Coxon – The Now Now spawned six singles, including Humility, Tranz, and Lake Zürich. Murdoc was unable to enjoy the band's success for the time being as he was undergoing a stint in jail for an undisclosed malefaction; he was replaced on bass for Ace Copular – who most famously played Ace of the Gangreen Gang in the Powerpuff Girls TV series – for the recording of The Now Now; however, Murdoc would later break his way out of prison. Gorillaz saw the year out by securing another Brits nomination for Best British Group as well as winning a second consecutive Webby Award; this time, for the FreeMurdoc chatbot, which provided a way for Gorillaz fans to interact with Murdoc Niccals during his incarceration.
Submission
Gorillaz Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know you've been on
Though I'm keepin' come, I'm not on
Go away my love
Thought I could change our fate
I tried again, but there's delay
It's more than I can take
When you state your love
And you walk away
What could you be on?
Now you're not around
But I hope you see
I will be full-on
If it's up to me
That's all I got-
Feels so good doin' me
If you take a look at the time you took and move on
But don't go too far, my love
We could try harder, baby
There's gotta be a better way
So much that we could make it
And you got to me
When you state your love
But you run away
What could you be on?
Now you're not around
But I hope you see
Gotta be full-on
It is up to me
That's all I got
That's all I got (that's all I got, that's all I got)
Wish I could think of better ways
'Cause I lost my patience yesterday
If you could see inside of me
There'd be no heart on my X-ray
Opponents tryna checkmate
But I don't see no escape
Just tryna keep my head straight
On thin ice with the ice skates
At times I feel like giving up
'Cause it feels like I've had enough
Felt like my soul in handcuffs
Got questions with no answers
Can't help me out, I need a friend
I'm losing faith in this world of sin
Tryna make ends meet with a week, no sleep
It's like a cycle that never ends
I can't pretend with no handling
I can't take care of no grown man
All by myself, crying out for help
But won't get saved by no Superman
All comes down to the mighty dollar
Greed and lust, abusing power
Clock is ticking, hour after hour
Maybe when I throw my hands, I'll holla
(And it got to me)
When you state your love
But you run away
What could you be on?
Now you're not around
But I hope you see
Gotta be full-on
It is up to me
The lyrics of Gorillaz's song "Submission" touch upon themes of love, relationships, and the struggles of trying to make a connection work. The first verse finds the singer admitting that they know their partner has been distant, even though they've been trying to stay connected. Despite their best efforts, the singer is facing delays and frustration, to the point where they can't take it anymore. The chorus expresses the difficulty of feeling abandoned by someone who stated their love before running away, but still holding out hope for a future together if they stick to their commitment to being "full-on."
The second verse sees the singer acknowledging the time that's been lost, but still wanting to make it work by finding a better way. They express their frustration with feeling trapped and like they're playing a game of chess with no way out. The bridge reflects the singer's feeling of being overwhelmed by the challenges of life, whether it's financially or emotionally, and feeling like they have no one to turn to for help. The song ends with a final repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the idea that the singer is committed to giving their all to the relationship, even if it's not reciprocated.
Line by Line Meaning
Don't try to hide away
Don't try to avoid the truth
You know you've been on
You know you have been present in my life
Though I'm keepin' come, I'm not on
Even though I am trying to come close, I am not there yet
Go away my love
Leave me alone, my love
Thought I could change our fate
I believed I could change the destiny of our relationship
I tried again, but there's delay
I tried again, but it's taking longer than expected
It's more than I can take
It's too much for me to handle
And it got to me
It affected me deeply
When you state your love
When you express your feelings of love
And you walk away
And you leave without resolving anything
What could you be on?
What could be the reason for your behavior?
Now you're not around
Now that you're gone
But I hope you see
But I hope you realize
I will be full-on
I will be fully committed
If it's up to me
If the decision is mine
Feels so good doin' me
I feel great just being myself
If you take a look at the time you took and move on
If you reflect on the time you spent and move forward
But don't go too far, my love
But don't go too far away from me, my love
We could try harder, baby
We could make more of an effort, darling
There's gotta be a better way
There must be a better solution
So much that we could make it
There's so much we could do to salvage our relationship
Wish I could think of better ways
I wish I could find better solutions
'Cause I lost my patience yesterday
Because I became impatient yesterday
If you could see inside of me
If you could understand my perspective
There'd be no heart on my X-ray
You wouldn't see any love in my heart
Opponents tryna checkmate
My enemies are trying to defeat me
But I don't see no escape
But I don't see a way out
Just tryna keep my head straight
Just trying to stay focused
On thin ice with the ice skates
In a precarious situation
At times I feel like giving up
Sometimes I feel like quitting
'Cause it feels like I've had enough
Because it feels like I've reached my limit
Felt like my soul in handcuffs
Felt like my soul is trapped
Got questions with no answers
Have concerns that are unanswered
Can't help me out, I need a friend
Can't do this alone, I need a friend
I'm losing faith in this world of sin
I'm losing my belief in this sinful world
Tryna make ends meet with a week, no sleep
Trying to survive with very little time and no rest
It's like a cycle that never ends
It's a never-ending cycle
I can't pretend with no handling
I can't fake it without any support
I can't take care of no grown man
I can't take care of anyone who is not willing to grow and change
All by myself, crying out for help
I'm alone and asking for help
But won't get saved by no Superman
But I won't be saved by anyone
All comes down to the mighty dollar
It all revolves around money
Greed and lust, abusing power
Greed and desire for power have led to abuse
Clock is ticking, hour after hour
Time is running out
Maybe when I throw my hands, I'll holla
Maybe when I give up, I'll shout out
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, WARP MUSIC LIMITED, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ANTHONY KAHN, DAMON ALBARN, DANNY BROWN, JAMIE PRINCIPLE, KELELA MIZANEKRISTOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
GGG slat
on Feel Good Inc.
Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
(Change) sha, sha (change) ba-da (change), sha-ba-da-ca, (change) feel good ty
(Change) sha, sha (change) ba-da (change), sha-ba-da-ca, (change) feel good
City's breaking down on a camel's back
They just have to go 'cause they don't know whack
So while you fill the streets, it's appealing to see
You won't get undercounted 'cause you're damned and free
You got a new horizon, it's ephemeral style
A melancholy town where we never smile
And all I wanna hear is the message beep
My dreams, they got her kissing, 'cause I don't get sleep, no
Windmill, windmill for the land
Turn forever hand in hand
Take it all in on your stride
It is ticking, falling down
Love forever, love is free
Let's turn forever you and me
Windmill, windmill for the land
Is everybody in?
Laughin' gas these hazmats, fast cats
Linin' 'em up like ass cracks
Play these ponies at the track
It's my chocolate attack
Shit, I'm steppin' in the heart of this here (yeah)
Care Bear rappin' in harder this year (yeah)
Watch me as I gravitate, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha!
Yo, we gon' ghost town this Motown
With yo' sound, you in the blink
Gon' bite the dust, can't fight with us
With yo' sound, you kill the Inc.
So don't stop, get it, get it (get it)
Until you're cheddar headed
And watch the way I navigate, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha (ha, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha-ha)
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Windmill, windmill for the land
Turn forever hand in hand
Take it all in on your stride
It is ticking, falling down
Love forever, love is free
Let's turn forever you and me
Windmill, windmill for the land
Is everybody in?
Don't stop, get it, get it
Peep how your captain's in it (feel good)
Steady, watch me navigate, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! (Feel good)
Don't stop, get it, get it
Peep how your captain's in it (feel good)
Steady, watch me navigate, ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! (Feel good)
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good
Sha, sha-ba-da, sha-ba-da-ca, feel good