Over the course of his 35-year career, Damon Albarn has reached international fame with two very different bands. In 1988, Damon created the rock band Blur with three friends in his native London. Blur started out as what Damon calls a “classic art school band.” They quickly moved to the forefront of the ‘90s Britpop explosion along with their formal rivals, Oasis.

After a series of successful albums with Blur, Damon started Gorillaz in 1998 with cartoonist Jamie Hewlett. Dubbed as the world’s first virtual band, the Gorillaz rotating lineup includes collaborations with De La Soul, Stevie Nicks, Bobby Womack and Lou Reed. The band pulls influence from electronic music, hip-hop and world music, and over the last 25 years, Gorillaz has been wildly successful—selling over 30 million albums worldwide.

Despite having found such success, Damon has never stopped exploring his artistic potential. He’s written an opera, released solo and side projects, and recently, he reunited with Blur to release the band’s latest album called The Ballad Of Darren.

On today’s episode Leah Rose talks to Damon Albarn about what it’s like for Blur to headline international music festivals in 2023. Damon also reveals how Gorillaz are about to undergo a major paradigm shift. And he explains how, according to family lore, John Lennon and Yoko Ono first met at his dad’s counterculture art gallery in London.

You can hear a playlist of some of our favorite Damon Albarn songs HERE.

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