I was born March 23, 1968 in Leytonstone, London, Im a English vocalist and keyboardist who initially gained fame as the lead singer of rock band Blur. Though Blur has not disbanded, of late I have been more active as a member of Gorillaz and as a solo artist.Early yearsMy early life was spent living in Leytonstone with my parents Hazel and Keith and my sister Jessica. My family then lived in Turkey for a few months. When I turned ten, my family moved to Colchester, Essex, England due to the needs of my father's teaching career. I then attended Stanway Comprehensive School there and was often referred to as "weird" or gay by my peers( Not really Nice). I met future Blur guitarist Graham Coxon at school and found we both liked similar bands, such as the Jam, the Kinks, and the Human League.After finishing comprehensive school, I moved to London to attend drama school, losing contact with Coxon. I concluded after one year's stay that I am a terrible actor and instead took up writing and performing music =). Some of the songs I wrote in my early recording days later became Blur songs, such as "Birthday" on their debut album, Leisure. At the age of fifteen, I won an award for "Young Composer of the Year".Solo careerI released Mali Music in 2002. As the name suggests, the album's recording sessions were done in Mali, a trip I made to support Oxfam in 2000. I had also visited Nigeria to record music with African drummer Tony Allen. I think we should like to produce a Blur album in Baghdad as I "likes the Iraqi style of music".I also released Democrazy in 2003, a collection of demos I recorded while staying in hotel rooms on the U.S. portion of Blur's tour for Think Tank.I also appeared on other unrelated works. My song "Closet Romantic" appeared on the soundtrack for Trainspotting alongside an early Blur recording, "Sing". Fatboy Slim's 2004 release Palookaville featured My vocals on the song "Put It Back Together". I provided the voiceover intro and backing vocals for the rap concept album "Deltron 3030". The album was produced by Dan the Automator, who also produced the Gorillaz debut album.I also composed the score with collaboration by Michael Nyman for the 1999 movie "Ravenous" with Guy Pearce and Robert Carlyle. It is described as "an eerie mix of symphonic orchestrations and clunky ragtime" which went arguably well with the movie's cannibalistic themes.Personal lifeI had a long-standing relationship with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann. My involvement with her profoundly influenced my songwriting in Blur in the late 1990s. "Beetlebum," opening track and chart-topping hit single from Blur. 13, Blur's sixth album, presents strong overtones brought about by our break-up. I currently live in Notting Hill, London, England with artist Suzi Winstanley. Our daughter, Missy, was born in 1999.
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