Update: Read the whole interview from the Sydney Morning Herald here.
We hope you had the chance to catch Gorillaz on the Plastic Beach tour. Because if you didn’t — what were you thinking? — it might have been your last chance. According to W.E.N.N (via Jam! Showbiz), Damon Albarn is pondering hanging it up after finishing the world tour around Christmas in New Zealand.
Albarn said, “It’s been an unqualified success — bizarrely… But… we always think that when we get to a point where we’ve achieved something that it’s time to stop, don’t we?… We’ll see how we feel in January (after the tour). A period of reflection and sobriety… I couldn’t keep going at this size and pace.”
Illustrator and co-founder Jamie Hewlett agrees, saying, “This would be a wonderful point to leave Gorillaz; at the end of this tour, I think… This tour, with these people, is a one-off. It’s a once-in-a-lifetime experience. We’ll never repeat this.”
Now, the W.E.N.N story appears to have been taken down from the site, but if this is true, the timing is a little bizarre. Albarn is right that he’s achieved something with Gorillaz that was almost unimaginable back in 2000 — he’s turned these cartoons into an arena rock band much more successful in America than Blur was. Gorillaz have headlined festivals across the globe and were just nominated for two Grammys. However, what about the Advent Calendar and the new album that’s supposed to be out for Christmas? And the fact that Gorillaz have recorded enough material for another album after that one?
The quotes do seem to refer specifically to touring, so perhaps Albarn and Hewlett are signifying a halt to the live shows as opposed to shelving Gorillaz creatively. It might be a good time to finally make that trip to Australia you’ve always wanted to take.
Gorillaz 2010 Tour Dates:
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
