I was pretty excited for this one, not only is it a band I never thought I’d actually see live – but it was my first time at Co-op Live – a venue I’d been wanting to go to for some time and what a bloody good venue it is (once I stopped being lost, it’s massive!)
I was on the first level balcony, which gave for a great view – especially for what was to come – it was a packed out show and after the performance I saw, it’s easy to see why.
If you don’t know Gorillaz (where have you been?!) then it’s a virtual band that was created in the late 90’s by Blur frontman Damon Albarn, with the artwork done by Jamie Hewlett.
To be completely honest, having grown up during the “Demon Days” album era, I was half expecting almost an ABBA-voyage-esque with the drawings coming to life (which that would have been cool and realistically – they did this way before ABBA Voyage anyway!) but I’d have been disappointed if the artwork wasn’t heavily featured – but thankfully, I wasn’t disappointed!
Jamie Hewletts famous illustrations as the stage backdrop – Co-op Live – March 2026 – Photo Credit: Luke Dyson
This has proved that the style that Albarn and Hewlett have created stands the test of time and can travel through even with the likes of AI and more overtaking many artforms – on this Hewlett and Albarn says:
“In a world where anything is possible AI-wise, we are going back to human-made. The purest form of his art. Deceptively simple line drawings, hand-drawn, hand-painted backgrounds. Delicate. Intentional. Considered.”
It is definitely that and he’s brought it to our time with the use of animation, CGI and 3D live action (to name a few) – one of the things that blew me away about the entire gig is how intricate and detail orientated the art was throughout.
Onto the music then, there were no chart-topping hits playing ahead of their set, just very Gorillaz-esque theme instrumental, quite animated (if you know, you know).
When the lights went down and the band came on in a very mellow and understated, classy way (whilst plenty of cheers and applause from the crowd) – they started off with “The Mountain” off their latest album of the same name.
Whilst all this was going on, there was a whole other show starting with the screen and lights, as it lit up with “Kong Studios Presents” soon followed by Jamie Hewlett’s illustrated video of a jungle and the Gorillaz that we know and love appeared one by one.
The stage and backdrop for Gorillaz at Co-op Live showing Jamie Hewletts famous illustrations – March 2026
Photo Credit: Luke Dyson
“The Mountain” certainly has an oriental feel to the track, alongside some nods in the opening video – but that’s one thing that I know that Albarn and Gorillaz are not ones to shy away from, their band are a very diverse set of people of all backgrounds and communities and that was very clearly celebrated and encouraged (rightly so too!) and you can see that has been a big influence in their music – giving a real place to explore, seek out new artists and the generally avoid settling into a specific genre – something that is very difficult to achieve I think, even more so to achieve well.
It was an incredibly powerful opening and with a lot going on, but it didn’t feel overwhelming – the entire band were clearly having the time of their lives from start to finish and pull their all in, all with smiles on their faces, which brought even more joy to the performance!
So from “The Mountain” we saw “The Happy Dictator” and “Tranz” follow before Damon Albarn addressed the crowd in full, but in doing so, he wished fans “Eid Muburak” to those celebrating – which further highlights his passion for peace and inclusion – I thought that was a very classy touch personally.
They went into their next track and a popular one at that, with “Tomorrow Comes Today” – which got a HUGE reaction from the crowd, as it’s one of the OG Gorillaz tunes – there were plenty of people dancing and waving their arms about on all levels of Co-op Live and this is when it started to settle for me – despite the many years – the vocals and all the elements really do not miss – sounds pretty much the same as it did all them years ago and when you listen – which I feel can be rare these days.
During “Tomorrow Comes Today” saw Damon Albarn head down the stairs to the barrier and interact with fans there whilst singing along, even signing a fans cap along the way!
Gorillaz frontman Damon Albarn at the barrier with fans at Co-op Live Night One – March 2026 – Photo Credit: Luke Dyson
It was after this we heard from Albarn again, and he stated how happy he was that Spring was finally here after a bleak winter – a sentiment that was clearly shared with the crowd.
One thing I rated about Albarn’s style is that I noticed for a lot of the set he did not use a traditional mic, but more like a walkie-talkie style and it worked so bloody well with the style and the whole theming – the details really had been thought about and despite so much going on – all of the band really did just let go and be themselves, it’s refreshing to see – they have a laugh, muck about and just have fun.
Now, naturally, a lot of this performance was heavily based on the new album “The Mountain”, which was released in late February 2026 – it was clear many had listened and got into a few of the tracks already and Albarn stated how “lucky we are to be able to come back here (Manchester) and play new music for you all” – a sentiment shared across the room.
Gorillaz new music is really easy to get into, even if you hadn’t heard it before, it has such a vast mix of styles and I can only describe it as both liberating and relaxing – a clash but that’s what it is!
Then came one of the biggest highlights of the night for me and a firm favourite for many years – “On Melancholy Hill”- a lot of the crowd came to life with this one and people were really taking it all in, gave us all a bit of nostalgia.
Having looked up the setlist from Bradford, it does appear there were a couple of changes to the setlist – but it absolutely worked! – One thing I was intrigued about mind was how they were going to make a lot of the collaborations work as they do have ALOT throughout their evergrowing catalogue.
That’s where the screens come in – they have thought of everything – a lot of them have recorded performances that could be intergrated into a live set perfectly – it was a genius way of doing so!
Another highlight for me was “Stylo” – a song I’d not heard for some time and admittedly forgot how good it was, also learnt that Bruce Willis is in the music video – you learn something new everyday!
Now, here is the one criticism I have – one of my favourite songs of Gorillaz is “Dare” off their “Demon Days” album and it wasn’t in the setlist! I was gutted (all is forgiven mind) – but given Shaun Ryder of Happy Monday’s fame collaborated and is from Manchester – I feel like that is a missed opportunity there – but they may have tried – who knows – but I was sad that it wasn’t included – maybe another time?
Before I knew it, the encore was already here, the stage went dark with blue lights, and of course ALOT of cheering for them to come back on which turned into clapping and the loudest Co-op live crowd had been all night (and that was hard to beat in all honesty) – they loved keeping us on edge.
Then one by one the band made their way back on and the crowd erupted again – they went straight into “The Hardest Thing” – which was a slower start but ramped right up and we just knew we were in for a big finish and that we were.
Damon Albarn brought on De La Soul who collaborated on “Feel Good Inc” and stated “There are many lords legends in Gorillaz but this is the living legend” and in they broke into the tune and what a fantastic track it is! It was even better to hear it live – the whole crowd joined in with the “HOO HOO”’s and clapped along – it was quite simply electric – so much so that Albarn went back to the barrier and sang with fans again during the tune.
And naturally, they had to finish on “Clint Eastwood” which they really teased into and kept us on edge, but it absolutely exploded, with the crowd taking over the initial verse and then the band giving it their all.
Gorillaz on stage at Co-op Live Night One – March 2026 – Photo Credit: Luke Dyson
It was perfect finale for an electric night and it was a bloody fantastic performance, I honestly did not know what to expect when I rocked up to Co-op Live – but it was a brilliant performance and one I think will be engrained for Gorillaz fans for a very long time – hopefully this isn’t the last we see of them, but what a fantastic show.
FIND ALL THINGS GORILLAZ HERE
FIND MORE LIVE REVIEWS ON RGM HERE