Raised in Leytonstone, East London, and around Colchester, Essex, Albarn attended the Stanway School, where he met the guitarist Graham Coxon, with whom he would later form Blur.

[16][17] In 1968, at the age of six months, Albarn was a "testing expert" for designs for educational aids and toys for children including fibreglass furniture and play-structures fancifully called "The Kissmequiosk".

"The Apollo Cumfycraft" and "The Tailendcharlie" produced by his father's company "Keith Albarn & Partners Ltd" under the trade-name of "Playlearn, Ltd."[18] When Damon and Jessica were growing up, their family moved to Leytonstone, East London.

After both siblings failed their Eleven-Plus exams, they started attending Stanway Comprehensive School, where Damon described himself as being "really unpopular" and "[irritating to] a lot of people".

[13] Albarn enrolled on a part-time music course at London's Goldsmiths College in 1988, claiming that his sole intention was to gain access to the student union bar.

[30] As a result of the single's success, Blur became pop stars and were accepted into a clique of bands who frequented the Syndrome club in London dubbed the "Scene That Celebrates Itself".

[35] Blur had undergone an ideological and image shift intended to celebrate their English heritage in contrast to the popularity of American grunge bands like Nirvana.

[37] The second Blur album, Modern Life Is Rubbish, was released in May 1993 and peaked at number 15 on the British charts,[38] but failed to break into the US Billboard 200, selling only 19,000 copies.

Parklife was released in 1994 and revived Blur's commercial fortunes, with the album's first single, the disco-influenced "Girls & Boys", achieving critical acclaim and chart success.

"[47] The release of the album's lead single "Country House" played a part in Blur's public rivalry with Manchester band Oasis termed the "Battle of Britpop".

Partly due to increasing antagonism between the groups, Blur and Oasis decided to release their new singles on the same day, an event the NME called the "British Heavyweight Championship".

BBC Music writer James McMahon recalled how the "critical euphoria" surrounding the album lasted "about as long as it took publishers to realise Oasis would probably shift more magazines for them".

"[51] Blur became perceived as an "inauthentic middle-class pop band" in comparison to "working-class heroes" Oasis, which Albarn said made him feel "stupid and confused".

"[52] In the New Statesman, Stuart Maconie noted "Albarn... was mocked as the posh boy of Britpop when in fact he’d gone to a comprehensive in Essex and his family was just mildly bohemian.

[53] An early 1996 Q interview reported that relations between Blur members had become strained; journalist Adrian Deevoy wrote that he found them "on the verge of a nervous breakup.

"[52] Coxon, in particular, began to resent his bandmates[52] and, in a rejection of the group's Britpop aesthetic, made a point of listening to noisy American alternative rock bands such as Pavement.

"I can sit at my piano and write brilliant observational pop songs all day long but you've got to move on," he said,[52] and decided to give Coxon more creative control over their new album.

Pointing out lyrics such as "Look inside America / She's alright", and noting Albarn's "obligatory nod to Beck, [and promotion of] the new Pavement album as if paid to do so", reviewers felt the band had come to accept American values during this time – an about-face of their attitude during the Britpop years.

Albarn's lyrics – more heartfelt, personal and intimate than on previous occasions – were reflective of his break-up with Elastica frontwoman Justine Frischmann, his partner of eight years.

[60] Think Tank, released in May 2003, was filled with atmospheric, brooding electronic sounds, featuring simpler guitar lines by Albarn, and largely relying on other instruments to replace Coxon.

[83] The second Gorillaz studio album, Demon Days, was released in 2005 and included the singles "Feel Good Inc.", "Dare", "Dirty Harry", "Kids with Guns" and "El Mañana".

[citation needed] In 2003, Albarn released an EP, Democrazy, a compilation of demos he recorded in various hotel rooms during the United States portion of Think Tank's tour.

[103] Albarn collaborated with producers Dan the Automator, XL Recordings, Richard Russell & Rodaidh McDonald, Jneiro Jarel, DJ Darren Cunningham aka Actress, Marc Antoine, Alwest, Remi Kabaka Jr., Totally Enormous Extinct Dinosaurs and Kwes as part of his week-long visit to Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo to record an album, Kinshasa One Two, released in 2011.

2 on the UK charts and produced five singles: "Everyday Robots", "Lonely Press Play", "Hollow Ponds", "Mr Tembo", and "Heavy Seas of Love".

On 27 April 2008, the Good, the Bad & the Queen headlined the Love Music Hate Racism Carnival in Victoria Park where they introduced on stage several guests including ex-Specials keyboard player Jerry Dammers.

[122] Rocket Juice & the Moon is the title of Albarn's side-project featuring Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea and afrobeat legend Tony Allen.

[129] Albarn has contributed backing vocals to the songs "FM" on Nathan Haines' Squire for Hire and "Small Time Shot Away" on Massive Attack's 100th Window, which were released in 2003, however, for both tracks, credit was given to Gorillaz frontman 2-D instead.

Albarn had previously collaborated with the group on Gorillaz' albums Demon Days, Plastic Beach, and Humanz on the songs "Feel Good Inc", "Superfast Jellyfish", and "Momentz", respectively.

[149]Albarn and Winstanley are speculated to have separated in 2023, with reviewers noting allusions to a breakup in the lyrics of Blur's ninth studio album The Ballad of Darren (2023).

[159][160][161] In 2005, Albarn, among others, criticised the London Live 8 concert for not featuring enough black artists; among the few included were Ms. Dynamite, Snoop Dogg, and Youssou N'Dour.