If you’ve been a Gorillaz fan since the beginning, there is one thing that is sure to irk you about the cartoon band’s recent live performances — the lack of songs from the self-titled debut. Plastic Beach and Demon Days get their due, but the album that spawned hits “Clint Eastwood” and “19-2000” is ignored, save for a version of the former that usually features prerecorded rap vocals.
Del the Funky Homosapien, who wrote the lyrics and recorded the original vocals for the track, has never performed it live with Gorillaz (although the song is a staple of his solo shows), but has revealed he is fully open to doing so given the opportunity. In fact, according to Gorillaz-Unofficial, Del was set to join Gorillaz for the upcoming fall tour but was cut.
Del himself weighed in on the matter in a post on his Facebook page, even encouraging fans to guilt-trip Gorillaz into keeping him on:
i been getting a lot of hits about me and the up coming us and uk Gorillaz tours. as of right now we are no longer going to be on the tour due to budget issues. it is out of our control at this point so if you really want to see Del on tour with them, hit them directly and let them know YOU WANT DEL! 🙂 thanks for all the support! i got the best fans around no doubt
How does Damon Albarn resist that?
Evidently, Del has provoked a response, because someone from Gorillaz-Unofficial created a Facebook group (Del is an honorary admin) Monday petitioning Gorillaz to take him on tour.
Furthermore, fans have created a group for Miho Hatori, ex-Cibo Matto vocalist and original voice for Noodle. Hatori contributed vocals to the aforementioned “19-2000”, along with “5/4” and “Re-Hash” on the debut album. According to Gorillaz-Unofficial, Hatori told a user, “Yeah, I am willing to do that. I love those songs very much. But it really depends on Damon’s decision… Maybe if Gorillaz fans make some noise, he might consider…”.
When other guests are absent from the Gorillaz tour, you expect it to be because they are busy or in another country — not because Albarn can’t be bothered to amend the setlist.
Still, even if Del and Miho can’t be a part of the tour, fans hope for at least some one-offs. The Hatori group pleads for Gorillaz to “at least” have her at the October 8th show in her hometown of New York, while Del hints at a possible appearance in his hometown of Oakland on the 30th.
Gorillaz 2010 Tour Dates:
10/03 – Montreal, QC @ Bell Centre
10/05 – Wallingford, CT @ Oakdale Theatre
10/06 – Boston, MA @ Agganis Arena
10/08 – New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
10/10 – Camden, NJ @ Susquehanna Bank Center
10/11 – Fairfax, VA @ Patriot Center
10/13 – Detroit, MI @ Fox Theatre
10/14 – Toronto, ON @ Air Canada Centre
10/16 – Chicago, IL @ UIC Pavilion
10/17 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
10/19 – Houston, TX @ Toyota Center
10/20 – Dallas, TX @ Verizon Theatre
10/22 – Austin, TX @ Frank Erwin Center
10/24 – Denver, CO @ Wells Fargo Theatre
10/26 – Phoenix, AZ @ Dodge Theatre
10/27 – Los Angeles, CA @ Gibson Amphitheatre
10/30 – Oakland, CA @ Oracle Arena
11/02 – Seattle, WA @ Key Arena
11/03 – Vancouver, BC @ Rogers Arena
11/11 – Dublin, IE @ O2 Arena
11/12 – Manchester, UK @ Evening News Arena
11/14 – London, UK @ O2 Arena
11/15 – Amsterdam, NL @ Heineken Music Hall
11/17 – Birmingham, UK @ NIA
11/18 – Brighton, UK @ Centre
11/21 – Berlin, DE @ Velodrom
11/22 – Antwerp, BE @ Lotto
11/23 – Paris, FR @ Zenith
12/06 – Perth, AU @ Burswood Dome
12/08 – Adelaide, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/11 – Melbourne, AU @ Rod Laver
12/16 – Sydney, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/19 – Brisbane, AU @ Entertainment Centre
12/21 – Auckland, NZ @ Vector Arena
