Damon Albarn ( ALL-barn; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician. He is the main vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Blur and the co-creator and primary musical contributor of the virtual band Gorillaz. While attending the Stanway School, Albarn met Graham Coxon, with whom he formed Blur in 1988. They released their debut album, Leisure, in 1991. After spending long periods touring the US, Albarn's songwriting became increasingly influenced by British bands from the 1960s. The result was the Blur albums Modern Life Is Rubbish (1993), Parklife (1994) and The Great Escape (1995). All three received acclaim, while Blur gained mass popularity in the UK, aided by a Britpop chart rivalry with Oasis. Chart-topping albums such as Blur (1997), 13 (1999) and Think Tank (2003) incorporated influences from lo-fi, art rock, electronic and world music. These were followed by The Magic Whip (2015), Blur's first studio album in 12 years, and The Ballad of Darren in 2023. Albarn formed the virtual band Gorillaz in 1998 with the comic book artist Jamie Hewlett, drawing influences from electronic, hip-hop and world music, Gorillaz released their self-titled debut album in 2001 to worldwide success and have continued to release albums and tour. Albarn remains the group's only consistent musical contributor. His other projects include the supergroups the Good, the Bad & the Queen and Rocket Juice & the Moon. He co-founded the non-profit musical organisation Africa Express and has composed film soundtracks. Albarn also scored the stage productions Monkey: Journey to the West (2007), Dr Dee (2011) and Wonder.land (2015). His debut solo album, Everyday Robots, was released in 2014, followed by The Nearer the Fountain, More Pure the Stream Flows in 2021. Albarn is widely regarded as one of the most influential British musicians of his generation. He is known for his prolific output, musical experimentation, and collaborations with artists from diverse genres. He was appointed Officer of the Order of the British Empire in the 2016 New Year Honours for services to music.