BBC Learning English The Music Show Damon Albarn

MUSIC: SONG 2

Callum: Hello, I'm Callum Robertson and you're listening to the music show on BBC Learning English dot com.

In the programme today as his latest project rides high in the UK album charts we focus on Damon Albarn, the driving force behind such bands as Blur, Gorillaz and now, The Good, the Bad and the Queen.

MUSIC: THE KINGDOM OF DOOM

Callum: Damon was born and brought up in London and while at college he started starting playing music with a group who were later to become Blur. Their first big commercial success was in 1994 with this track, Park Life.

MUSIC: PARK LIFE

Callum: Albarn become one of the musicians most associated with the mid-nineties music scene known as Brit Pop. Brit Pop was the revival of guitar-based rock pop and for a few years there was fierce competition between Blur and fellow Brit Pop act Oasis. Oasis were the rough working class rockers and Blur were seen as the intellectual art school band.

At that time the media made much of the rivalry between the two bands which at times seemed quite nasty and unpleasant. A lot of this was undoubtedly media hype but in one famous instance Blur changed the release date of one of their

The Music Show © BBC Learning English Page 1 of 3 bbclearningenglish.com

tracks Country House, to coincide with the release of the Oasis track Roll With It. The battle of the Brit Pop bands was on and the number one spot was taken by … Blur.

MUSIC: COUNTRY HOUSE

Callum: Blur have continued to release albums regularly since the mid-nineties but members have also branched out with their own individual projects. Damon Albarn's next commercial venture was the cartoon pop group Gorillaz. Gorillaz was an opportunity for Albarn to work with many different musicians. The band members were represented by four cartoon characters who all had their own distinctive characters and life stories which were described on the band's website.

Their first single reached no 3 in the UK charts and is this track called Clint Eastwood

MUSIC: CLINT EASTWOOD

Callum: Clint Eastwood by Gorillaz. Clint Eastwood is the name of a famous actor and director. There was also a connection between him and one of Gorillaz later hits, the 2005 release Dirty Harry, the name of a character played by Clint Eastwood in a number of films.

MUSIC: DIRTY HARRY

Callum: In 2006 Albarn formed the band The Good The Bad and The Queen, a name very similar to the title of a film, The Good the Bad and The Ugly which, yes, you've guessed it, also starred Clint Eastwood. The Good the Bad and The Queen released their first single in October last year. The track was Herculean

MUSIC: HERCULEAN

The Music Show © BBC Learning English Page 2 of 3 bbclearningenglish.com

Callum: The group's debut album was released last month and recently Albarn was asked what his favourite track was.

Damon Albarn My favourite track, or song is Northern Whale. It took us about, well virtually the whole time of making this record to get that anywhere near right.

Callum: The track Northern Whale was his favourite and it was one which he said took a long time to get right. But why does he like it so much. He compares it to an earlier Blur track; This is A Low, saying it's like a continuation of the feeling behind that song. Both songs use lyrics and images of the sea around Britain and Albarn jokes that maybe he was a stickleback, a kind of fish, in an earlier life.

Damon Albarn I mean it's continuing a kind of dialogue, you know, it's a song I wrote with Blur many years ago called This A Low on Park Life and it's the two, I don't know it's, I love closing my eyes and travelling around the coast, maybe I was a, you know, stickleback, in a previous life, I don't know but I find there's a lot of music in that sort of atmosphere, there's just endless music, you know. And that really is what being a musician is about, it's like, it's like keeping hold of those atmospheres you've had since a child.

Callum: Albarn says that being a musician is all about keeping hold of the atmospheres you've has since childhood.

That's all from this edition of the music show. To end here is some more of The Northern Whale from The Good The Bad and The Queen.

MUSIC: NORTHERN WHALE

The Music Show © BBC Learning English Page 3 of 3 bbclearningenglish.com