When it dropped in 2001, Gorillaz’ self-titled debut album offered a fresh look at what a band could even be. The fiction itself sprung from the minds of a pair of nineties icons: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett. Hewlett, responsible for the visual aesthetic of the group, made his name with cult graphic novel character Tank Girl. Albarn, meanwhile, spent the decade fronting Blur. Stylistically, Gorillaz may not have represented such a leap for Hewlett, but for Albarn the narrative opened up a new vista of musical opportunity: the chance to move away from Britpop and its sonic limitations to explore an adventurous new palette of sounds.

The self-titled debut album was followed up in 2005 by Demon Days. A gloomy and compelling response to escalating tensions and ongoing conflicts, the album painted a grim picture of a depleted, hollow world, addressing the ongoing war in Iraq. The band’s world was expanded accordingly; having parted ways, Gorillaz reunited at their base, Kong Studios. After spending the hiatus uncovering her roots as a cybernetically-enhanced supersoldier, Noodle put her skills to good use clearing monsters out of the studio. 2D gave up a job at his old man’s funfair in Eastbourne, Russel returned from LA and Murdoc slunk back from a sordid sojourn in Mexico.

Demon Days was notable for the quality of special guests – spawning two monster hits in the form of the De La Soul collab Feel Good Inc. and DARE, which reinvigorated Happy Mondays frontman Shaun Ryder – and 2010’s Plastic Beach saw the potential of collaboration exploited even further, enlisting legends such as Mark E. Smith, Lou Reed, Snoop Dogg and Bobby Womack.

The band itself relocated from Kong Studios to the plastic beach of the album’s title. A lurid pink island, formed from accumulated waste brought together by the ocean’s currents and crowned with a deeply kitsch Thunderbirds-style hideout, the Plastic Beach provided a haven for the band – until it was shot to pieces by pirates, that is.