DAMON ALBARN once sang about living in a very big house in the country, but now he has upped sticks to reside in a very different location.
I’ve learned the rocker has been awarded citizenship of Iceland and is one of only 30 foreign citizens to make the cut.
He asked officials how he could join the country last March during a holiday there and finally had his wish granted on Thursday. The Blur and Gorillaz frontman has spent 25 years as a frequent visitor to the geyser-filled island, which is 1,200 miles from where he grew up in Essex. He has a home in a suburb of capital city Reykjavik.
A source said: “Damon is thrilled to now officially be a citizen of Iceland because he knows the country so well. “It has been a constant source of inspiration for him and it is a safe haven right now.
“Apart from anything else, Iceland has just a handful of Covid cases so being there is far better than staying in the UK where he would be stuck inside.” The ruling means he now has the right to live and work in Iceland permanently, without any immigration restrictions.
The star said he was first inspired to take a trip there in the mid-Nineties after learning the country had black sand.
Damon explained at the time: “I used to have a recurring dream, as a child, of a black sand beach. “And one hazy, lazy day, I was watching the TV and I saw a programme about Iceland, and they had black beaches.
“So I got on a plane. I was on my own — I didn’t know anybody. “I went into the street in Laugavegur, where the bars are, and that was it.”
Blur then recorded their self-titled 1997 album there, featuring hits Song 2, On Your Own and Beetlebum. In 2006 he described himself as “a frequent visitor, a sort of migratory bird” to the country. If I were him, I’d feather my nest and stay put there for now till things settle down.
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