Gorillaz is a musical project created in 1998 by Damon Albarn of Britpop band Blur (Blur (band)) and British cartoonist Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the comic book Tank Girl. In the mainstream and commercial outlets it is known as a "virtual band" because for their image and promotion, instead of displaying the musicians of the band, it has used a group of comic book characters. The "virtual band" is composed of four animated members: 2D (2D (Gorillaz)) (lead vocalist, keyboard), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (Noodle (Gorillaz)) (guitar and occasional vocals) and Russel Hobbs (drums and percussion). The music is a collaboration between various musicians, Albarn being the only permanent musical contributor. Their style is a composition of multiple musical genres, with a large number of their influences including: dub (dub music), hip hop (hip-hop music), alternative rock, electronic (electronic music) and pop music.

The bands 2001 debut album Gorillaz (Gorillaz (album)) sold over seven million copies and earned them an entry in the Guinness Book of World Records as the Most Successful Virtual Band. It was nominated for the Mercury Prize 2001, but the nomination was later withdrawn at the bands request. Their second studio album, Demon Days, was released in 2005 and included the singles "Feel Good Inc.", "Dare (Dare (song))", "Dirty Harry (Dirty Harry (song))" and "Kids with Guns"/"El Ma�ana (El Ma�ana (song))". Demon Days went five times platinum in the UK, double platinum (Music recording sales certification) in the United States and earned five Grammy Award nominations for 2006 and won one of them in the Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals category. Gorillaz have also released two B-sides compilations and a remix album. The combined sales of Gorillaz and Demon Days had, by 2010, exceeded 20 million albums. The bands third studio album, titled Plastic Beach, was released in 2010. On 26 May 2010, it was announced that the band would replace U2 as Glastonbury Festival headliners.