It was a clash of new and old as Gorillaz returned to Manchester for a huge gig at Co-op Live
10:05, 21 Mar 2026Updated 23:13, 21 Mar 2026
Luke Dyson
@lukedyson
www.lukedyson.com
Based on the queue lined up outside the Co-op Live, you would struggle to guess the band playing here tonight. There are young kids with their mums and dads; gaggles of teenagers trying it on with the bar staff; twenty-somethings like me; middle-aged bachelorettes; and pensioners.
There are shirt sleeves, sequins, Doc Martins and football tees.
It’s a testament to the enduring and widespread appeal of Gorillaz, the ‘virtual band’ Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett first thrust into the public 25 years ago.
Now performing to a sold-out show on the opening night of their The Mountain Tour, it’s clear that after a quarter of a century, they continue to draw in new crowds.
The show starts with the energetic and jangling beats of Omar Souleyman. Souleyman, a Syrian singer also featured on Gorillaz’s latest album, galvanizes the entire standing crowd into wild dancing and clapping – while he himself musters barely more than a sway in his trademark sunglasses.
Luke Dyson
@lukedyson
www.lukedyson.com(Image: Luke Dyson)
The excitement takes on new dimensions when a Gorillaz logo appears on screen. Damon Albarn and a 15-piece band meander onto the stage to the soothing Sitar strum of the opening track of The Mountain.
Animations from the short film The Mountain, the Moon Cave and the Sad God show a Mowgli-inspired Noodle (the Gorillaz’ two-dimensional guitarist) reuniting with the rest of the hand-illustrated band (2-D, Murdoc Niccals, and Russel Hobbs) in the midst of an India-inspired wilderness.
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But just two tracks into the album the tour is named after, the show veers suddenly through the ages, flitting through some of the band’s best known tracks from the past decades – from Tranz (2018) to Tomorrow Comes Today (2001). It’s a thrilling mix that keeps the audience guessing, and the energy levels HIGH.
It was perhaps an intentional contrast to the new release, which is in parts more slow-paced and reflective than some of the Gorillaz’ older albums. The new record is highly influenced by twin trips Albarn and Hewlett took to India before writing it.
Luke Dyson
@lukedyson
www.lukedyson.com(Image: Luke Dyson)
What was supposed to be a Beatles-style creativity reboot took a more solemn turn when in the space of ten days, both artists lost their dads.
The album had a lot of personal resonance for me, released six months after my own dad, who partly grew up in India, passed away quite suddenly. Despite being incredibly upbeat, inspired by Indian and Arabic dance music, much of the album is about dealing with grief and grappling with the legacies of loved ones.
So, in a way I was almost disappointed that the band didn’t linger a little longer on the new material.
But with bangers like El Manana, Up on Melancholy Hill, and Dirty Harry – featuring an energetic performance by Bootie Brown – I couldn’t stay disappointed for long.
Instead, Albarn threaded the songs from the album throughout the performance. A highlight was ‘Damascus’ at the halfway point of the show. Yasiin Bey, leapt into front-of-stage in a jewel-encrusted baseball cap riffing off the characteristically nonchalant Omar Souleyman in a hypnotic clash of synth-pop, hip hop, and Arabic Dabke dance music.
Luke Dyson
@lukedyson
www.lukedyson.com(Image: Luke Dyson)
It was during the encore that the eclectic mix seemed most to come together. The band performed ‘Hardest Thing’ and ‘Orange County’ with a live performance by the stunning singer and former poet Laureate Kara Jackson. These are the songs that most directly address death and loss, repeating the chorus ‘You know the hardest thing is to say goodbye – to someone you love’ to a confusingly cheerful tune, exactly capturing the sad joy of remembering someone you love who’s passed away. And I’d be lying if I didn’t say it brought a tear to my eye.
But we didn’t have long to feel melancholy as the tunes rounded off with belt-it-outers Feel Good Inc with Pos (Kelvin Mercer) and Clint Eastwood. Looking at the mixed crowd around me, and the jaunty clash of new and old songs, the huge array of collaborations and influences on show over the course of the performance, it almost felt like Albarn and Hewett were answering the question posed throughout The Mountain album.
How do you honour the legacy of the towering figures in your life after they are gone?
By putting on shows like these.
The Gorillaz will be playing Manchester again tonight, before embarking on the rest of their tour around the UK.
Here’s the full setlist:
The Mountain
The Happy Dictator
Tranz
Tomorrow Comes Today
19/2000
Rhinestone Eyes
The God of Lying
The Moon Cave
El Manana
On Melancholy Hill
The Empty Dream Machine
New Genious
Saturnz Barnz
Delirium
Andromeda
Stylo
Damascus
Dirty Harry
Casablanca
The Sad God
Encore:
The Hardest Thing
Orange County
Feel Good Inc
Clint Eastwood