Damon Albarn and Noel Gallagher have thrilled fans by performing their new track together at a Gorillaz gig.
Their bands Blur and Oasis were locked in a bitter Britpop rivalry during the 1990s, however, the musicians have since buried the hatchet and collaborated on the track We Got The Power for Gorillaz’s new album Humanz.
The band debuted their new album at a secret London show on Friday (24Mar17) during which Albarn called on Gallagher, the Savages singer Jehnny Beth, Danny Brown, De La Soul and Jean-Michel Jarre to perform with him during the gig.
Albarn and Gallagher teased they would team up in the studio, but fans were still surprised when the Gorillaz album was released on Thursday (23Mar17).
The secret show took place at the Printworks in south east London, and the band played Humanz in full. Talking to the crowd between songs, Albarn told the audience of a “crazy year” of preparation to produce the new record.
The 49-year-old praised his former rival in a recent interview, and said of Gallagher: “He’s fantastic in the studio. It’s nice when you see how someone goes about their business. He’s great.”
Talking to Radio X about the track We Got The Power, Albarn said he also enlisted the help of his former Blur bandmate Graham Coxon.
“At one point this song had Graham, Noel and me on it and it was sort of heading slightly in the wrong direction. It was becoming almost retro in its sort of spirit and way too rocky for this record so I kind of stripped it right back down again,” he recalled.
“We play it slightly different live than how it is on the record. It’s sort of the song that comes on during the final titles of a film. The climax.”