Backstage at Gorillaz' epic, one-off stadium show: 'The vibe is ridiculous'

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Backstage at Gorillaz' epic, one-off stadium show: 'The vibe is ridiculous'15 minutes ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleMark SavageMusic correspondentLuke DysonGorillaz played a career-spanning two-and-a-half hour set as they marked their 29th anniversaryDamon Albarn has forgotten himself. It's Friday night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, and he's in the middle of rehearsals for Gorillaz' first ever stadium show - a multicultural, multimedia pop extravaganza, with more guests than a double-booked Airbnb. As the band launches into Dirty Harry, the long, pitch-side LED screens light up with a cartoon choir, singing the song's refrain, "all I do is dance".

Apparently taken by surprise, Albarn jumps off the stage to watch, with a broad, toothy grin spreading across his face. Then he spots Argentine rapper Trueno striding across the stadium floor, and rushes over for a hug. The band play on without their leader - and it takes almost 10 minutes for Albarn to realise he might be needed on stage.

The Details

"I'm the worst frontman," he confessed to me, just an hour earlier. I have a very relaxed approach to showmanship. "Blair BrownGorillaz co-creators Damon Albarn (right) and Jamie Hewlett put the finishing touches to the band's first ever stadium show in Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.

Quite the opposite: Albarn's laid-back vibes set the tone for the whole entourage. Backstage at Tottenham, there are more than 30 musicians from 15 different countries, and not a scintilla of ego between them. "The vibe is ridiculous," says South African singer Moonchild Sanelly.

"Damon is open, he's cool, he has the humility. "Everybody whose art he admires, he brings them along for the ride. Even when he's zenned out, I'll go sit next to him, just so we can breathe each other's air.

What Experts Say

""It's an eclectic family for sure," says Kara Jackson, a folk singer and poet who's been a regular guest at Gorillaz' recent shows. "It's kind of like coming from the South, where I'm from in the States. You have cousins, but they're not really your blood cousins - you've just been calling your mum's best friend your aunt for all these years.

"'An unusual group'Behind the scenes, it's like a United Nations of music. Malian singer Fatoumata Diawara is chatting away in traditional Wassoulou clothes, while Johnny Marr ambles past in an equally traditional Mancunian parka. American alt-pop heroes Sparks pull up in a black BMW just after 17:00 BST, and pop open the boot to retrieve their stage costumes (Russell has a pink polka-dot suit, Ron is in funeral clothes).

Twenty minutes later, they are on stage rehearsing The Happy Dictator; followed by Shaun Ryder, hamming up his part on the 2005 classic Dare! "We're an unusual group, aren't we? "I don't think there's anything quite like it.

The story has become one of the most prominent items on the global agenda.