“I nearly made a record with Ray Davies and David Bowie back in the late '90s”: Damon Albarn on the dream collab that got away

As one half of Gorillaz, Damon Albarn has collaborated with several football teams' worth of famous names down the years. Now, in a new interview on Radio X, he and Jamie Hewlett have been talking about the ones that got away.

Most significant of those was David Bowie whom Albarn “nearly” made a record with in the 1990s. When asked by presenter Dan O’Connell who he would have liked to have worked with pre-Gorillaz, the singer said: “I mean, someone like David Bowie who… I nearly made a record with Ray Davies and David Bowie back in the late 90s. That didn’t happen.”

Gorillaz: Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett talk collabs and inspirations - YouTube

Watch On

Albarn has previously spoken about this, telling The Herald in 2021 that “It was actually a serious thing we were going to do. He summoned me when he was playing in Switzerland into the labyrinth of his backstage and I went to see him and he said, ‘Well, we’re going to do this, but if this tour keeps doing as well as it is, then I’m going to carry on touring.’“

But Bowie kept touring and the chance came and went, much to Albarn’s frustration: “I regret that one. I just imagine what that might have sounded like.”

Still, the pair of them did once share a stage. This was in 2003 on the French TV programme Traffic.musique, which featured Bowie and a visibly nervous Albarn duetting on a rather splendid version of Fashion

The other one that got away in terms of Gorillaz was Dionne Warwick, who came close to guesting on the group’s 2005 album, Demon Days. Jamie Hewlett recalled: “She was in the studio on the piano with Damon saying, ‘I’m not sure about the name of this album. ‘Demon Days’. Why have you called it ‘Demon Days’?’”

“I think she just found some of the lyrics and sort of some of the ideas a bit problematic,” Albarn added. “But an amazing, amazing person nonetheless.”

The release of the next Gorillaz record, The Mountain, has been brought forward to March 2026. The album is to feature a number of posthumous appearances by past collaborators, including Dennis Hopper, Tony Allen, Mark E Smith, Bobby Womack and Dave Jolicoeur from De La Soul. Other guests include Sparks, Johnny Marr and Asha Bhosle, the 92-year-old grand dame of Indian music.