Damon Albarn has revealed that he’s been working on the new album from The Good, The Bad & The Queen with producer Tony Visconti, who worked with David Bowie from his second album in 1969 to his very last record ‘Blackstar’ in 2016.

The supergroup of Blur and Gorillaz frontman Albarn, The Clash’s Paul Simonon, The Verve’s Simon Tong, and Afrobeat drummer Tony Allen, released their acclaimed self-titled debut in 2007. They reformed after their ‘secret split’ for a Love Music Hate Racism gig, but haven’t haven’t played live together since 2011.

“I’ve been recording the Good, The Bad & The Queen album,” Albarn told Zane Lowe when unveiling Gorillaz’s new song with Lil Simz. “I’ve been working with Tony Visconti. He’s responsible for some of my favourite records, so that’s been really enlightening and inspirational.”


“It’s an ode to the North of England, bizarrely,” Albarn explained. “It’s sort of set in Blackpool, between Starr Gate and [historic pub] Uncle Tom’s Cabin, if you want to be geographically precise.”

“We’ve got pretty much all the songs and recorded all the backing tracks but I’m just emoting over it at the moment. I can hear what I’m saying kind of, a bit, but it’s still a bit unintelligible.”

Back in 2014, Albarn said that the record was “fully-written”. Then, earlier this year, he said the album was “inspired by Brexit”. “Brexit has obviously given us a wonderful starting point”, he told Q.

Gorillaz have a new song with British rapper Little Simz called ‘Garage Palace’. “I just was really struck by her kind of individualism,” frontman Damon Albarn told Lowe of Simz. “She’s just not part of a scene, which is great for her.”