Gorillaz to play iconic albums in full at one-off London live shows
Gorillaz are set to play iconic albums in full at one-off live shows in London later this year. Find ticket details below.
The Damon Albarn-led band are set to take to the stage this summer for four limited-capacity live shows, which will see them revisit their early discography. The gigs will be held between August 29 and September 3 at the Copper Box Arena in London. It marks the closing week of their House of Kong exhibition at the venue.
The gigs will see Albarn joined on stage by the full Gorillaz live band and backed by visuals by Jamie Hewlett. They’ll also see the band revisit iconic live shows from their early days, performing each record in full, from beginning to end, in a limited-capacity setting.
August 29 will see the full performance of the self-titled 2001 debut album, and recreate the band’s iconic first live shows at London’s Scala and La Cigale Paris. These early shows first saw members Murdoc, Noodle, Russel and 2D front and centre via Hewlett’s visuals, while Albarn and the full live band appeared in silhouette behind a screen. The show on August 29 will recreate these early gigs.
The following night (August 30) will see the sophomore album ‘Demon Days’ played in full – something which hasn’t been done since the album’s release in 2005. Like the night prior, this gig will also see the band recreate the visuals and structure of the original shows as a one-off.
Tuesday September 2 will see the band play their 2010 third album ‘Plastic Beach’ in full. This will mark the first full live performance of the album since two shows at London’s Roundhouse 15 years ago, and recreate the visuals seen from the original gigs.
Finally, the fourth show will be held on September 3 and is described by the band as a ‘Mystery Show’. It isn’t yet clear if there will be any special guests joining Albarn, nor has it been shared which songs fans can expect.
Tickets go on sale at 10am BST on May 30, although earlier options will be offered to House of Kong exhibition ticket holders. You can buy an exhibition ticket here by 11pm BST tonight (May 27), to access the pre-sale. Visit here for tickets.
The House Of Kong exhibition began on August 8 and offers fans a look behind the curtain of the virtual band’s headquarters. When the exhibition was first announced, it was confirmed that the band would have some live performances during the final four days, although details about these have not been shared until today (May 27).
This year has also seen Albarn tease a new Gorillaz album, and suggest it will be arriving later in 2025. “I’m finishing a new Gorillaz album. One opera and one new Gorillaz album seems like enough for 2025,” he told French magazine Les Inrockuptibles. “Unless someone accuses me of taking my foot off the gas!”
Hewlett then added fuel to the fire, writing in an Instagram comment: “Yes, the new album is coming out this year.”
Gorillaz’s last album, 2023’s ‘Cracker Island’, was given a four-star review by NME and described as “a consistently enjoyable record that shows why they remain relevant so far into their career.”
“A band that was once considered mucking about on the periphery of pop are now very much defining the present and inspiring the future. You could be doing much worse for album eight, eh?” it read.
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Liberty Dunworth
NME
