Rise Of The Ogre
by Gorillaz

So what do we call this, then?

Not quite a biography, clearly not an autobiography. True to Gorillaz’s form, they’ve again come up with something that doesn’t have a name. Essentially, it’s a 295-page interview conducted by Cass Browne, with biographical/day-by-day details filling out the rest. And there you have it: the full story of Gorillaz. While there are the usual track-by-track guides, a discography and all manner of talk about groundbreaking live appearances, there’s also Gorillaz’s appropriation of the biography form. You sometimes feel that creating a back story for a group that ‘doesn’t exist’ could be the arch step too far that we feared. Having said that, however, you can’t help but laugh at details the likes of no one knowing who Murdoc Niccals’ mother is. Even more enjoyable is spot-the-source, as real life events in Rolling Stones, Beatles (of course, it even takes the Anthology format) and even Blur careers are mutated to fit a simian bent. Ultimately, it shows how well Gorillaz have had the media sewn up from the beginning. And it’s worth it for Jamie Hewlett’s illustrations alone: most ‘art’ books cost you more, and give you less. And like the live shows, it ends on a note that leaves you wanting more.

ISBN 0718150007

Reviewed by Jason Draper
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