Damon Albarn confronted chat show host Graham Norton during an uncomfortable moment on the BBC programme's most recent episode. The Blur frontman, 57, appeared on the celebrated sofa this weekend alongside actors Adrian Lester, Leo Woodall, Stephen Graham and Kaley Cuoco.
Damon joined the BBC show to promote his band Gorillaz's upcoming tour. However, Damon seized the opportunity to challenge host Graham for failing to invite him back to his renowned chat show, reports The Mirror. Whilst taking a sip of his beverage, Damon directly stated: "You haven't invited me back." Graham was having none of it and responded: "Well, you're here now."
Damon refused to drop the matter and continued: "I remember the last time I came back and told you in a nightclub... you remember?" "What? I was in a nightclub?" replied Graham. Damon reminded him: "Yeah, I was in a nightclub with you and I was like, 'Why am I never on your show?'" "I have no recollection of that. I must have been... quite drunk," maintained Graham. Damon shot back: "It must have been one of those nightclubs." "Yes it must have been. How funny. I may have blanked it from my mind out of awkwardness," said Graham.
The Blur musician also delivered a savage dig at Tottenham Hotspur during the conversation. After Graham mentioned the Gorillaz would be performing at the football club's ground, The Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, the singer point-blank refused to acknowledge its official name. Graham had characterised the venue as the band's "biggest ever gig", but devoted Chelsea supporter Damon instead described it as: "A large music venue in north London."
Last year during the massive Oasis reunion tour, Damon conceded the band had "won the battle" in their rivalry with Blur. He acknowledged in July that Oasis emerged as the ultimate victors of the enduring Britpop feud, suggesting their tour had decisively restored them to the pinnacle of the music industry. Reflecting on Oasis' remarkable return, Damon revisited the historic competition between Oasis and Blur that characterised 1990s British music. "Well, it was obvious, wasn't it?" he remarked. "I think we can officially say that Oasis won the battle, the war, the campaign, everything."
Now performing with Gorillaz, Damon is anticipating the upcoming performances. And before the tour begins, supporters are only just realising the wordplay in the group's name nearly three decades later. The animated band, which was formed by Damon and artist Jamie Hewlett, comprises four fictional characters 2-D, Murdoc Niccals, Russel Hobbs, and Noodle. One Reddit user recently observed: "The name of the band Gorillaz is a pun because a group of gorillas is called a band." However, another theorist suggested the name comes from a comment Liam Gallagher of Oasis made, comparing Blur to The Monkees.
