Gorrillaz offer alternative Queen speech
Animated band Gorillaz have created their own version of the Queen’s speech.
Damon Albarn’s band will be screening the speech on Christmas Day on mobile phones.
Gorillaz character Murdoc dons a crown and perches on a throne to rant and rave about the political, social and artistic highs and lows of the past year.
The demise of the Routemaster bus, the rise of singer James Blunt and future scientific innovations all feature in his State of the Nation address.
Murdoc, created by Albarn and collaborator Jamie Hewlett, says: “We’ve all had so many ‘ups and down’ over the last year with toxic vapour clouds, earthquakes, face transplants, floods in Glastonbury and the end of the old Routemaster buses.
“But it’s not all good news. On the bad side, we’ve had new music from James Blunt – who needs Valium? – Westlife, and more films from Harry Potter.
“So it really does look like we’re just one step closer to the apocalypse, eh?”
Murdoc says the future is “a wonderful place full of exciting possibilities” adding “2006 really could be the year of the giant mental human mouse”.
The pair created Gorillaz as a humorous response to the increasing amount of manufactured pop music, “taking the phenomenon to its logical conclusion and creating an entirely manufactured band”.
But the project, which is the work of real musicians, has gone on to be a huge success.
The speech will be available to subscribers of Mobile Media Company 3 before going online on the Gorillaz website on January 1.
