The musicians behind Gorillaz' first incarnation included Albarn, Del the Funky Homosapien, Dan the Automator and Kid Koala, who had previously worked together on the track 'Time Keeps on Slipping' for Deltron 3030's eponymous debut album. So we got this idea for a cartoon band, something that would be a comment on that.' The band originally identified themselves as 'Gorilla' and the first song they recorded was 'Ghost Train' which was later released as a B-side on their single ' Rock the House' and the B-side compilation G-Sides. Hewlett said, 'If you watch MTV for too long, it's a bit like hell – there's nothing of substance there. The idea to create Gorillaz came about when Albarn and Hewlett were watching MTV. Hewlett had recently broken up with Olliver and Albarn was at the end of his highly publicised relationship with Justine Frischmann of Elastica. Despite this, Albarn and Hewlett started sharing a flat on Westbourne Grove in London in 1997. Hewlett initially thought Albarn was 'arsey, a wanker' despite becoming acquaintances with the band, they often did not get on, especially after Hewlett began seeing Coxon's ex-girlfriend Jane Olliver. The interview was published in Deadline magazine, home of Hewlett's comic strip, Tank Girl.

Musician Damon Albarn and comic book creator Jamie Hewlett met in 1990 when guitarist Graham Coxon, a fan of Hewlett's work, asked him to interview Blur, a band Albarn and Coxon had recently formed.

Every gorillaz album