Twenty years ago, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett came together and created Gorillaz, the world’s favorite inter-dimensional animated band. Now, the self-titled debut that launched Gorillaz to international fame will be celebrated by an anniversary re-issue and a one-night-only, global cinematic event.
The 20th-anniversary reissue of Gorillaz, initially released March 26th, 2001, will arrive as a hefty boxset including an eight-disc vinyl collection, a 27-page “Department of Music Correction” dossier of leaked documents, memos, faxes, and some early Hewlett drawings.
This special birthday feast comprises over four hours of music including the never-before-released Demoz, favorites G-Sides, Laika Come Home (for the first time on vinyl), the never-released Live At The Forum, 2001 and, of course, Gorillaz, which contains some of the band’s most famous songs—”Clint Eastwood”, featuring Del the Funky Homosapien, “19-2000”, and “Tomorrow Comes Today”. Gorillaz will release a limited run First Edition on December 10th, with a wider drop coming in fall 2022.
“Whistles have been blown. Truths have come to light. What started out as a trip down memory lane took a damn sideways turn into the heart of darkness,” said drummer Russel Hobbs in a press release. “They say the past is another country. Turns out, it’s a whole other dimension.”
Alongside this special anniversary announcement, Gorillaz also shared the news that its Song Machine Live From Kong show will arrive on the big screen in cinemas across the globe on December 8th.
The band’s glorious Song Machine Live show, captured at the band’s Kong Studios HQ in London in December 2020, will come to theaters globally via Trafalgar Releasing for one night only. The showing will also include a cinema-exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette, Live Inside From Kong, with unseen interview footage and commentary from Albarn and Hewlett.
Head here to pre-order the Gorillaz 20th-anniversary boxset and here for more information regarding the cinema showings of Gorillaz Present: Song Machine Live From Kong. You can also listen to the original studio version of Gorillaz below and scroll down for a complete tracklist of the 20th-anniversary reissue box set.
Gorillaz – Gorillaz