Damon Albarn in 2016 and the 1990s

Here's what the Blur frontman looks like in 2016, compared to his 1990s years. Is he at his prime right now? We can't judge, because he definitely evolved and changed a lot. Damon Albarn has matured in every way possible, including his music endeavours, attitudes and charitable inclination. Hope you enjoy this little recollection.

Now here's the frontman in the 1990s, looking very, very different. But definitely not a charmless man.

Damon Albarn- Wonder.land - Full Album available

Listen to the whole of Damon Albarn's new album Wonder.land below.

Noel Gallagher wants to work on Gorillaz

2 pieces of news: an exhibition's been launched aimed at giving an insight into Birmingham's alternative music scene in the 1980s.

At Birmingham City University's Parkside Gallery, the Is There Anyone Out There? collection features photographs, posters and recordings.

They were collected by Dave Travis when he was a promoter for The Click Club at Burberries, on Broad Street, between 1986 and 1990. He was able to photograph acts including Blur, Primal Scream, Edwyn Collins and The Wonder Stuff.

Secondly, Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher has undoubtedly grown closer in the last few years. With the new Gorillaz album going to be released in 2016/ 2017 the pair has gotten even more intimate.

Noel Gallagher says he is interested in appearing on the new Gorillaz album if Damon Albarn calls him and asks. The former Oasis and Blur enemies have grown closer in the past decade and rumours about a joint project have been floated in the past.

 Albarn is currently working on the next Gorillaz record, the animated band's first project since 'The Fall' in 2011.

Gallagher, in a new interview, said he was aware of this fact and is open to recording for it if he's wanted: “He’s making a new Gorillaz album and he’s got my number, so he’s only got to ask. There is talk of doing something but I’m not sure what it is.”

He told the Daily Star newspaper, however, that their busy schedules may mean this collaboration never gets past the ideas stage: “You can bet your life the minute I finish this tour he’ll go out on his," he said. "I mean trying to get the two of us in the same room would be a fucking miracle. But I’m certainly open to the idea, for sure."

We wonder if he will be on the next Gorillaz album?

New Footage of Gorillaz Album in the Making

We're very excited to hear that Gorillaz is going to be back this year. Jamie Hewlett has recently posted some new footages of Gorillaz behind-the-scenes on his official Instagram account. Take a look below!

The new album is scheduled to be released in late 2016 or early 2017. Hopefully more will come soon. Stay tuned!

For more, follow Jamie on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/hewll/

💣

A video posted by hewll (@hewll) on Apr 11, 2016 at 6:37am PDT

A video posted by hewll (@hewll) on Apr 11, 2016 at 7:07am PDT

Albarn's Wonderland Musical Soundtrack released

Damon Albarn's new Wonder.land musical will be released on April 22nd on Parlophone. The album is titled songs from wonder.land and includes thirteen tracks performed by the cast. These are: 

01. Entre Act
02. wonder.land
03. Fabulous
04. Me
05. Secrets
06. In Clover
07. Avatars Holding Page
08. Who Are You
09. I'm Right
10. Everyone Loves Charlie
11. Japanese Duchess
12. Man Of Broken Glass
13. Alice Saw

David Bowie- tribute from Blur and Damon Albarn

David Bowie has passed away at age 69 today. David Bowie was one of Damon Albarn's idols throughout his musical career. Influencing both Blur and Gorillaz, Damon Albarn once said that he thought about recording an album with David Bowie and Ray Davies.

Asked how much he enjoyed collaborating with other musicians, Albarn said: "I do genuinely like working with people but at the same time I don’t expect it to work, and there have been a lot of people who a lot of things don't happen. I mean, for about 24 hours, many years ago, I was making a record with David Bowie and Ray Davies. But that only lasted 24 hours."

Blur's song M.O.R was also borrowed from David Bowie's "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage". On the album Lodger Bowie and collaborator Brian Eno carried out a musical experiment in which multiple songs were written with the same chord progression, of which "Boys Keep Swinging" and "Fantastic Voyage" were the two that surfaced. M.O.R is both a continuation of, and tribute to that experiment, as its chorus also lifts the melody and call-and-response vocals from Boys Keep Swinging.

There were also rumours that the Gorillaz albums would feature David Bowie. It seems that this is not going to happen anymore. Farewell David Bowie. 

WS DEAR giveaway

Win a free dress from WS Dear! They're a great shop and they have agreed to sponsor us for a giveaway of any piece of clothing under $10. They sell a lot of cheap clothing which fits everyone of different ages.

I've chosen some of my favourite tops from their site and made them into a collage. They also have a $9.99 free shipping section which makes it even better, because I personally hate paying for shipping especially when some of the things you buy are almost as expensive as the shipping! Their shop is great.

Nice black dress- http://www.wsdear.com/women-s-slim-striped-shirt-stitching-dress.html
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Steps to enter the giveaway (open worldwide): 

1. LIKE WS dear on facebook - HERE.

2. Comment on your favourite item in comments below, such as, "I hope to win and my favorite item is http://www.wsdear.com/sexy-fringed-printed-chiffon-jumpsuits-with-open-back-exposed-navel-clothes-shorts.html." 

Ending in 3 weeks! 

Good luck!  

Damon Albarn awarded OBE by the Queen of England

Here's excellent Blur news just before New Years- Damon Albarn has been awarded an Order of the British Empire (OBE) for his contributions to the British music scene for over 20 years. The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is the "order of chivalry of British constitutional monarchy, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations and public service outside the Civil Service.

The singer, composer and songwriter for Blur, Gorillaz and various other musical successes joins ranks of Goldie and actors James Nesbitt, Idris Elba, David Oyelowo, Barbara Windsor and Imelda Staunton among the celebrities saluted by Queen Elizabeth II as part of her annual Honours List.

In December Albarn, who was was born in London and raised in Essex, opened his musical, wonder.land, at the National Theatre in London - reworking Lewis Carroll's Alice's Adventures In Wonderland into a story about the digital age.

Damon Albarn has also been working on the fifth Gorillaz album, which is expected in 2016. In an interview with Rolling Stone in October, he said: "So far, it's really fast, and it's got quite a lot of energy. I've been stuck on piano, somewhere off Broadway, for years now. I want to go somewhere completely opposite of that."

For a full list of awards, please visit https://www.gov.uk/government/news/new-years-honours-2016.

Damon Albarn announces New album

Supergroup The Good, The Bad & The Queen may have already produced their second record, with Damon Albarn revealing that he has "got" the record. Albarn's band – which also features The Clash bassist Paul Simonon, The Verve guitarist Simon Tong and drummer Tony Allen – were last seen performing two gigs in London in November 2011.

The group's self-titled debut album was released in 2007. In an interview with The Sun yesterday (December 18), however, Albarn said that as well at a new Gorillaz record, "I’ve also got a Good, the Bad and the Queen record. It will either be Gorillaz or that [that comes next] and then I might be allowed to go back into my own solo world or another musical."

As early as July, Albarn had said that he could record a new Gorillaz album "next week," while in October he described the animated act's new material as "really fast" with "quite a lot of energy."

On the new Gorillaz album, Albarn said: "I'm in the very early days on a new Gorillaz record. So far, it's really fast, and it's got quite a lot of energy. I've been stuck on piano, somewhere off Broadway, for years now. I want to go somewhere completely opposite of that." Over a year ago, in October 2014, Albarn told the Sydney Morning Herald a new album by The Good, The Bad & The Queen is fully written.

Albarn reinvented Alice in Wonderland for Manchester International Festival earlier this year, and had to be carried off set at Danish Festival Roskilde after refusing to stop his show after five and a half hours.