The Good, the Bad & the Queen - Biography
By Marcus Kagler
After riding the Blur wave into a prolonged hiatus then sketching a “band” of cartoon Gorrillaz into a pop culture phenomenon what is left for Damon Albarn to do? Naturally, he forms a supergroup. Granted, the high expectations of supergroups usually exceed the music they produce but Albarn has an uncanny way of defying expectations. The Good, the Bad, & The Queen began as an Albarn solo project but soon blossomed into a full time band after he and guitarist Simon Tong (formerly of The Verve and Gorrillaz) paid a visit to Nigeria to record some sessions with long time Fela Kuti drummer Tony Allen and his troop of African musicians. Once the initial Nigerian sessions were complete Albarn gave the tapes to producer/hip hop guru Danger Mouse to flesh out the songs. Although the project was conceived in Nigeria the thematic impetus for the album was to create a concept record about modern London life. In Allen and Tong the songwriter found willing and able collaborators but the fledgling band was still in need of a bass player who fit with the group’s loose aesthetic.
Although former Clash bassist Paul Simonon had retired from music to focus on a lucrative painting career over a decade earlier, a call from Albarn was all it took to convince him to join the ranks. Now a complete and official supergroup, the band quickly began recording their debut full length in earnest under the watchful eye of Danger Mouse. The band made their live debut on October 26, 2006 at the Roundhouse in Camden, England performing their debut album in its entirety three months before its release. The luridly macabre debut single, “Herculean” was auspiciously released on Halloween of 2006 with The Good, the Bad, & The Queen’s eponymous full length following in January the following year. The torpid and moody atmospherics of the album surprised many diehard Albarn and Simonon fans, who expected a more rock oriented affair but that didn’t stop The Good, The Bad, & The Queen (2007-Parlaphone/EMI/Virgin) from becoming a huge commercial success in Europe while receiving worldwide critical praise. The band spent the spring of 2007 making numerous festival appearances turning in a memorable performance at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in Indio, California. Albarn has recently stated the band is recording a follow up album, which he describes as more energetic and funky. The Good, The Bad, & the Queen’s second as of yet untitled album is slated for a fall 2008 release.
