Damon Albarn

Damon Albarn (born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and record producer. He is the frontman of the Britpop/alternative rock band Blur as well as co-founder, vocalist and principal songwriter of virtual band Gorillaz. Raised in Leytonstone, East London and around Colchester, Essex, Albarn attended Stanway Comprehensive School, where he met Graham Coxon and eventually formed Blur whose debut album, Leisure, was released in 1991 to mixed reviews. After spending long periods of time touring the United States, Albarn's songwriting became increasingly influenced by British bands from the 1960s. The result of these influences came in the form of Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). All three albums received widespread critical acclaim while Blur gained mass popularity in the UK, aided by a rivalry shared with Oasis. (read more on wikipedia)

Links To Peel
Peel wasn't much of a fan of Blur until the late 90's, when the band moved into a lo-fi American sound with their self titled album in 1997. However when the band first initially split up in 2002, he took interest in what musicial pursuits former members of the group did. However Peel wasn't that keen on Damon Albarn's Gorillaz project, but did take interest in Albarn's 2003 demo EP called Democrazy, which was a compilation of Damon Albarn's 14 original solo demos (recorded in hotel rooms during a tour with Blur), which got airplay on Peel's show. The track "I Need A Gun" from the Democrazy EP later became "Dirty Harry" by the Gorillaz. After Peel's death, Albarn paid tribute on John Peel's Record Box, broadcast on Channel 4 in 2005.

Shows Played
2003 2004
 * 03 December 2003: I Need A Gun (LP - Democrazy) Honest Jon's
 * 16 December 2003: 'Reedz (LP- DemoCrazy)' (Honest Jon's)
 * 24 December 2003: 'Half A Song (10 inch LP-Democrazy)' (Honest Jon's)
 * 28 January 2004: A Rappy Song (Album: Democrazy) Honest Jon's Records
 * 16 December 2004: Behind The Sun / Strange News From Another Star