Gorillaz

True to their name, Gorillaz were like the Monkees but bigger: a virtual band that took on a life of its own. The concept was hatched when Blur's frontman Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett, the comic-book artist best-known for Tank Girl, wound up sharing a flat when both became single in 1997. Frustrated after watching too much MTV, they set out to create something more interesting. Hewlett designed the characters for the animated band: The photogenic but addled frontman 2-D, perpetually angry guitarist Murdoc, beefy drummer/rapper Russel, and preteen Japanese bassist/martial arts prodigy Noodle. Hewlett largely took control of the multimedia elements that featured the cartoon band, while Albarn took a free hand in creating the music. One of the first songs Albarn wrote for Gorillaz wound up becoming a Blur track, "On Your Own." But he wound up giving Gorillaz a sound that was both more pop and more hip-hop influenced than his regular band. The first single "Clint Eastwood" was loaded with pop-culture references: The music echoed the Specials' UK hit "Ghost Town" while the video riffed on Michael Jackson's "Thriller." It was an instant hit when released in 2001, and prompted a heavier dose of hip-hop on the self-titled debut album, with production by Dan the Automator and a guest rap from Del the Funky Homosapien (voicing the Russel character). At the end of that year Gorillaz got serious on a rare topical single, "9-11"-which continued the "Ghost Town" connection by featuring Specials singer Terry Hall. That year also brought the first Gorillaz tour, where Albarn and a full live band played behind a screen while the animated Gorillaz characters performed upfront. The concepts and collaborations only got more ambitious from there. The second album Demon Days found Albarn working with everybody from Debbie Harry to actor Dennis Hopper to De La Soul, with remix specialist Danger Mouse coproducing. It topped the UK charts and went double platinum in America. The accompanying tour put the live band in full view, while the Jim Henson Creature Shop (known to the world for creating the Muppets) provided puppet versions of the four Gorillaz. The next album was first envisioned by Albarn and Hewlett as a cinematic pop opera called Carousel, they whittled it down somewhat and still wound up with an expansive concept album, Plastic Beach. Again featuring a roomful of guests-including R&B master Bobby Womack, whose part was entirely improvised-- the album spawned a band-centric tour where the visuals were only projected behind. Albarn also scored a coup by including two surviving members of the Clash, guitarist Mick Jones and bassist Paul Simonon, in the touring band. Never the closest of friends, Abarn and Hewlett fell out afterward and Gorillaz took a seven-year break, during which Albarn reformed Blur. Gorillaz returned on Humanz, another collaborative extravaganza. No fewer than five singles were released to tease the album's April 2017 release, including a collaboration with Noel Gallagher on "We Got the Power," something that would have been unthinkable in the days of the Blur/Oasis rivalry. A full Humanz tour, again with an expanded live band and screen projections, was set for 2017.