Gorillaz to collaborate with The Beatles in a new single

Paul McCartney has hinted that he could be on the verge of collaborating with Gorillaz and may appear in the next Gorillaz single. 

The surprise move would see the former Beatle join the ranks of the likes of Snoop Dogg, Bobby Womack and Lou Reed, who have all appeared alongside Damon Albarn's animated band.

McCartney was speaking to TheQuietus.com as he releases reissues of his two solo albums 'McCartney' and 'McCartney II'. Paul is on the promotional trail for the re-release of his solo albums McCartney I and II - and revealed his admiration for the talents of Damon and his Gorillaz co-star, artist Jamie Hewlett


He said: "We have kind of talked - nothing serious but I like what they do. It's got near a couple of times but we never had the time."

Sources in both camps believe it is only a matter of time before they get together in the studio.

Macca was a huge admirer of the work Damon did on his opera Monkey: Journey To The West.

The former BEATLE is putting the finishing touches to his own score for the New York City Ballet - so they have a lot in common creatively.

Damon presented Macca with a Q Magazine Icon award a few years ago, at the same bash where he himself won an Inspiration gong - and the collaboration conversation has been rumbling on since.

A source said: "Damon originally brought up the idea of doing something with Gorillaz at the Q Awards and they have been trying to sort something since. It never worked out on the last album, Plastic Beach, but things are looking good for something together in the future."

Expanding upon the rumours, a ‘source’ told The Sun: "Damon originally brought up the idea of doing something with Gorillaz at the Q Awards [in 2007] and they have been trying to sort something since. It never worked out on the last album, 'Plastic Beach', but things are looking good for something in the future."

McCartney is currently putting the finishing touches to a score for the New York City Ballet. Similar to Damon and his opera , huh ?


If this is true, then it's about time Gorillaz get to the top of the charts again. Meanwhile, remember to subscribe and "LIKE" BlurBalls on Facebook, or email subscribe to receive the latest news on everything Blur, Gorillaz, Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon! 

Graham Coxon quashes Blur rumours - NO NEW SONGS

From this month's Q Magazine (May 2011 - credits to 2J from the forums):

Despite saying in February that they have been meeting up to "record a few things", Graham Coxon has told Q Magazine that Blur are not working on new songs. 

"There's no plans for anything at the moment. It's more like a coffee morning where we might get an instrument or two out. But as for formal recording, that hasn't really been happening." he says. "I think if we really wanted to get intense and start writing songs it would have to be something a little bit more committed. Maybe we all have our little percentages of doubt when it comes to Blur." 

Coxon himself, though has been no slouch as regards to recording, collaborating with Paloma Faith and ex- Coral guitarist Bill Ryder-Jones on the recent single Desire (commissioned by the Converse shoe company) and completing two solo albums. One - tentatively titled Accident & Emergency - is "like Van Der Graaf Generator meets Faust meets Syd Barrett" while the other is "more like mid-80s indie groups". 

Click to enlarge

So - this is not new news for the Blur fans... how many numerous times have Damon or Graham spoken to reporters and quashed the tiny glimmer of New-Blur-Material hope that we have been nurturing ? Before, Damon said there would never be Blur again, and that Blur would never reunite. Look what happened in Glastonbury 2009 (in case you don't know, Blur did end up reuniting and playing a one-off massive gig). How many times have we heard Alex James mention busting Dave Rowntree out of law school just so that Blur will get together again ? The answer: countless times.

Personally, I think that the boys just might have grown up a little from their Brit-pop glory days, and have now mellowed and settled into... Midlife (no pun intended), family life and really making music or doing things that they personally like. 

They could start up a new Blur album when all their own projects are done, like Damon with his new opera, and Graham with his solo albums. Speaking of Graham's solo albums, the new one's called Accident & Emergency, and it's probably going to be released sometime this year. I am looking forward to that very much, and hopefully it will spawn a few hit singles or two. 

Graham Coxon's Desire single is out NOW - check out the video I uploaded here and don't forget to subscribe to my youtube Blur channel. 

Don't forget to subscribe, via RSS or email, to this site to receive the latest, most up to date and exciting Blur, Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon and Gorillaz news! 

Damon Albarn's new opera 2011 - Doctor Dee

Damon Albarn has written and will star in a stage show about 16th Century alchemist, astrologer and spy John Dee.

A musical work based on Elizabeth I's medical and scientific adviser, Doctor Dee will have its premiere in July at the Manchester International Festival.

It will then be staged at the home of the English National Opera as part of London's Cultural Olympiad programme.

The Manchester festival will also feature the debut of Bjork's new show during a three-week residency.

Other original productions will be created for the event by immersive theatre company Punchdrunk, film-makers The Quay Brothers, comedian Victoria Wood and performance artist Marina Abramovic.

Manchester International Festival director Alex Poots said the event, which started in 2007 and takes place every two years, was "a home for major artists to realise their most ambitious projects".

Albarn's Chinese opera Monkey: Journey To The West was a highlight of the first Manchester International Festival four years ago and the Blur and Gorillaz singer will present his next production at the city's Palace Theatre.

Albarn did not appear in Monkey but will perform in Doctor Dee.

The show has been co-produced by the English National Opera and the London 2012 Festival and will be staged at the London Coliseum next year.

It will be directed by Rufus Norris, who staged Don Giovanni at the ENO last year and whose Broadway revival of Les Liaisons Dangereuses was nominated for five Tony Awards in 2008.

"It will be a big, spectacular show," Mr Poots said. "I know that Damon's passionate about it and he's already written some incredibly beautiful songs, some anthemic songs."

Bjork will launch the Manchester International Festival on 30 June with a show based on her new album Biophilia.

The project combines her interests in music, science and nature and is billed as a "multi-media project encompassing music, apps, internet, installations and live shows".

There will be an app for each song and the singer has invented a range of new instruments for the shows, including a 30-foot (nine-metre) pendulum that harnesses the earth's gravitational pull to create musical patterns.

She will perform six times over three weeks at the Campfield Market Hall.

Punchdrunk will return after creating the acclaimed theatrical experience It Felt Like A Kiss with Damon Albarn at the last festival. Their new show, The Crash of the Elysium, will be the company's first for children.

Elsewhere, the Quay Brothers, celebrated for their dark, disjointed films and animations, will team up with Russian-born violinist Alina Ibragimova to stage chamber music in a promenade setting.

Amadou & Mariam will play a show in total darkness

Amadou and Mariam, a blind musical duo from Mali, will attempt to stage the world's first concert in total darkness, while comedian Johnny Vegas will present a new theatre show.

Victoria Wood is writing and directing That Day We Sang, about the 1920s Manchester Children's Choir, which will open at the Manchester Opera House.

'Artistic powerhouse'

Hollywood actor Willem Dafoe is to star in The Life and Death of Marina Abramovic alongside the Serbian-born performance artist. The production will feature music written and performed by Antony Hegarty from the Mercury-prize winning Antony and The Johnsons.

The festival will also involve rapper Snoop Dogg, singer Sinead O'Connor, artist John Gerrard, the Halle Orchestra and French composer Mark Andre.

Manchester City Council's executive member for culture and leisure, Councillor Mike Amesbury, said the festival "makes a massive contribution to the cultural offering of our great city and has helped establish us on the world stage as a leading artistic powerhouse".