What is Damon Albarn’s net worth?
Damon Albarn is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who has a net worth of $45 million. Damon Albarn is best known as the lead singer of the rock band Blur and lead vocalist of the virtual band Gorillaz. He has also performed with Super Good, The Bad and the Queen, and Rocket Juice and the Moon, and has released albums as a solo artist. Among his other musical pursuits, Albarn has composed and staged dozens of films.
Early life and education
Damon Albarn was born on March 23, 1968 in London, England to Hazel, a theater set designer, and Keith, an artist who headed the Colchester School of Art. He has a younger sister named Jessica. Children were raised in the Quaker faith. When Albarn was nine years old, he moved with his family to Aldham in Essex. After failing the exam over eleven years old, he went to Stanway School, where he developed his growing interest in drama through acting in school plays. At Stanway, Albarn met and befriended fellow Blore bandmate Graham Cookson. Albarn later studied acting at East 15 Acting School, but left after a year.
blur
In 1988, Albarn enrolled in a music course at Goldsmiths College so that he could gain entry into the student union. At the time, he was in a band called The Circus with Graham Cookson and Dave Rowntree. Soon, Goldsmiths student Alex James joined the group. The Circus continued to change its name to Seymour, and finally to Blore. The band signed with Food Records in 1990 and released their first single, She’s So High. The follow-up song “There’s No Other Way” became a commercial success. Both singles were later included on Blur’s debut studio album, “Leisure”, which was released in 1991. The following year, the group embarked on a US tour to make up about £60,000 in losses. During the tour, Albarn and his other teammates grew homesick. To get around this, they began creating songs that glorified their English identity. This resulted in the 1993 album Modern Life is Rubbish, which ran into commercial difficulties. The most successful was the 1994 movie “Parklife”, which debuted at number one on the British charts and released the hit single “Girls & Boys”.
Blur released her fourth studio album, “The Great Escape” in 1995. Another success, it reached the top of the British charts and spawned a string of singles, including “Country House”, “The Universal” and “Charmless Man”. In 1997, Blur went in a different direction with his fifth self-titled album, which was influenced by American indie rock. Despite many doubts, the album debuted at number one on the British charts and released the songs “Song 2” and “Beetlebum”. Blur then released the album “13” in 1999, followed by “Think Tank” in 2003; Both debuted at the top of the British charts. The band soon broke up due to strained relations, but reunited in 2009 for a concert in Hyde Park in London. In 2015, Blur released her first album in 12 years, “The Magic Whip”.
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gorillas
Albarn’s other major band is the virtual group Gorillaz, which he started with comic book artist Jamie Hewlett in 1998. An animated band meant to ridicule the lack of substance found in much modern music, Gorillaz consists of a collaboration of several musicians, with Albarn . The only permanent contributor as lead singer, instrumentalist and primary songwriter. The band’s self-titled debut album, released in 2001, was a huge success, spawning the songs “Clint Eastwood” and “19-2000”. The most successful was Gorillas’ second album, “Days of the Devil” of 2005, which released the singles “Feel Good Inc.” and “Dare” and “Dirty Harry”. The album went on to win five Grammy Award nominations, and won one. Gorillas subsequently released the albums “Plastic Beach” and “Fall”. After a seven-year hiatus, the band released their fifth album “Humanz” in 2017. This was followed by the album “The Now Now” and “Song Machine, Season 1: Strange Timez”, the first part in the “Song Machine” series.
solo career
In 2014, Albarn released his first solo album “Everyday Robots”. Positively received, it debuted at number two in the UK. Albarn did not release another solo album until late 2021, with “The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows.”
Other Music Projects
Albarn has participated in a number of other music projects outside of Blur and Gorillaz. He has played and recorded with the super rock band The Good, the Bad & the Queen, who released their debut album in 2007. Notable singles of the band include “Herculean”, “Kingdom of Doom” and “Green Fields”. Albarn has also sung with super band Rocket Juice and the Moon, which includes Nigerian musician Tony Allen and Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Flea. Among his other projects, Albarn has collaborated with a number of record producers and musicians on the African charity albums Kinshasa One Two and Maison de Jeon.
Albarn has also written for film and theater. In 1999, he and Michael Neiman composed the score for “Ravenous”. Later, in 2011, Albarn and Rufus Norris created the opera “Doctor D”. Four years later, Albarn composed the music for the theatrical production “Wonderland”.
Personal life and philanthropy
In the 1990s, Albarn was in a long-term relationship with musician Justin Frischman. After the separation, he began dating artist Susie Winstanley, with whom he had a daughter named Missy. The family lives in Notting Hill, London. Albarn also owns a home in Reykjavik, Iceland, where he was granted citizenship in 2020.
Albarn is heavily involved in philanthropy, and is particularly committed to philanthropy in West Africa. After angering the charity Live 8 concert that includes only one African artist in its lineup, Albarn has partnered with journalist Ian Birrell to found the non-profit organization Africa Express, which promotes collaborations between musicians across Africa, the Middle East and the West.
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