Gareth Daley (), known mononymously as Daley, is a British singer-songwriter and creative artist from Manchester, known for his collaborations with

Gorillaz Gorillaz are an English virtual band created by musician Damon Albarn and artist Jamie Hewlett in London, England in 1998. The band primarily consists of four fictional members: (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass guitar), Noodle (gui ...

, Jill Scott,

Pharrell Williams Pharrell Lanscilo Williams (; born April 5, 1973), also known mononymously as Pharrell, is an American musician, singer, songwriter, rapper, record producer, and fashion designer. He first became known as one half of the music production duo ...

, Marsha Ambrosius and Jessie J. After signing with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum ...

, Daley achieved ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...

'' chart success with the singles "Alone Together" with Marsha Ambrosius (of Floetry), the

-produced "Look Up" and "Until the Pain Is Gone" featuring Jill Scott.

Early life

Daley was born and brought up in the suburbs of South

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in the North-West of England. Before pursuing music professionally, a passion for the creative visual arts led him to study Design & Art Direction at Manchester Metropolitan University, and work as a Graphic Designer, video editor and animator. He lived in Manchester until age 21, before making the decision to quit his day job and relocate to

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

to focus solely on making music.

Career

2010: Breakthrough

With some early demos, Daley took to the UK live scene, performing at open-mic nights, jam sessions and new talent stages including 'Troy Bar' in Hoxton, ' iluvlive' in Camden and widely respected music industry showcase 'Wired' at Shoreditch House. He would often find himself on stages with fellow emerging artists

Ed Sheeran Edward Christopher Sheeran ( ; born 17 February 1991) is an English singer-songwriter. Born in Halifax, West Yorkshire, and raised in Framlingham, Suffolk, he began writing songs around the age of eleven. In early 2011, Sheeran independently r ...

, Jessie J, Emeli Sande and Maverick Sabre - many of whom he has since collaborated or toured with. Steadily making a name for himself, Daley caught the attention of

co-creator

Damon Albarn Damon Albarn (, ; born 23 March 1968) is an English musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is best known as the frontman, main vocalist, and lyricist of the rock band Blur (band), Blur and the co-creator and primary musical con ...

, who invited him to meet and work on new material for the animated band's ''Plastic Beach'' album, resulting in their 2011 single " Doncamatic", which Daley co-wrote and fronted as lead vocalist. He subsequently joined the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour, along with Little Dragon, De La Soul,

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician and songwriter. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. Althoug ...

and

Snoop Dogg Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. ( ; born October 20, 1971), better known by his stage name Snoop Dogg (previously Snoop Doggy Dogg), is an American rapper, record producer, and actor. Rooted in West Coast hip-hop, he is widely regarded as one of t ...

. The collaboration enhanced Daley's visibility within the music industry, and early radio airplay started largely at BBC Radio 1Xtra, whose DJs Twin B, Ras Kwame, MistaJam and Ronnie Herel all championed the singer. This eventually lead to him taking part in emerging artist discovery platform BBC Introducing, where he was invited to record three of his songs at the world-famous

Maida Vale Studios Maida Vale Studios is a complex of seven BBC sound studios, of which five are in regular use, in Delaware Road, Maida Vale, west London. It has been used to record thousands of classical music, popular music and drama sessions for BBC Radio 1, ...

in London, and began to attract the attention of record labels.

2011: ''Those Who Wait''

Daley's first solo offering was the ''Those Who Wait'' mixtape in late 2011, an independently released free download that was distributed through his official websit
Daley.TV
The mixtape achieved 50,000 downloads in its first month, increasing to 150,000 downloads over the months that followed and garnered Daley support from UK media including

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

's ' Sound of...' poll and online buzz from bloggers and fans alike. It consisted of ten songs, and showcased an alternative R&B sound. Stand out tracks included "Those Who Wait", "Game Over", "Smoking Gun", and an acoustic cover of '

Maxwell Maxwell may refer to: People * Maxwell (surname), including a list of people and fictional characters with the name ** James Clerk Maxwell, mathematician and physicist * Justice Maxwell (disambiguation) * Maxwell baronets, in the Baronetage of N ...

's "Pretty Wings", which became a viral favourite.

2014: ''Days + Nights''

Released on 11 February 2014 by Polydor Records in the United Kingdom and Republic Records in the United States - the critically acclaimed Days + Nights was Daley's official debut studio album. Featuring stand out songs 'Look Up', 'Broken', 'Time Travel' and 'Blame The World', the album featured collaborations with

, Illangelo, Bernard Butler and Shea Taylor.

2017: ''The Spectrum''

On 14 July 2017, after a two-year hiatus, Daley's sophomore studio album The Spectrum was released via BMG Rights Management. The album featured lead single "Until The Pain Is Gone" a duet with three time Grammy winner Jill Scott). and the Prince-inspired funk jam "Sympathy" with UK producer/DJ Swindle, "Selfish" produced by Montreal producer 'xSdtrk' and

UK Garage UK garage, abbreviated as UKG, is a genre of electronic dance music which originated in England in the early to mid-1990s. The genre was most clearly inspired by garage house and jungle production methods, but also incorporates elements from ...

inspired "Careless"

Discography

Albums

EPs

Singles

Appearances

Touring and live performances

Daley has embarked on several sold-out headline tours around the U.S. and Europe, notably playing London's KOKO, to the Apollo Theatre and Highline Ballroom in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, El Rey Theatre in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

, 9:30 Club in Washington, D.C., and the Buckhead Theatre in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

. Other artists he has performed and toured with include

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris (; Judkins; born May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American and Ghanaian singer-songwriter, musician, and record producer. He is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th c ...

, Miguel, Jessie J, Emeli Sande,

, Jill Scott, Maverick Sabre, Kelly Rowland,

Earth, Wind & Fire Earth, Wind & Fire (abbreviated as EW&F or EWF) is an American band formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1969. Their music spans multiple genres, including jazz, R&B, soul, funk, disco, pop, Latin and Afro-pop. They are among the best-selling ba ...

, and

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (March 14, 1933 – November 3, 2024) was an American record producer, composer, arranger, conductor, trumpeter, and bandleader. Over the course of his seven-decade career, he received List of awards and nominations re ...

. Headline tours * Days & Nights Tour (2014) Headline US Tour (30 dates) * Daley, Unplugged Tour (2014) Headline US Tour (15 dates) * Look Up Tour (2013) Headline US Tour (18 dates) * Those Who Wait Tour (2012) Headline European Tour (15 dates) * 2016 tour (2016) Headline USA (18 dates) * Daley, The Spectrum Tour (2017) Headline US & Europe Tour (25 dates) * The Spectrum Unplugged Tour (2018) Headline US Tour (18 dates) * Daley x JMSN (2019) Co-Headline US Tour (18 dates) Support tours *

Summer Solstice Tour (opening act) * Miguel UK Tour (opening act) * Emeli Sande UK Tour (opening act) * Maverick Sabre UK Tour (opening act) *

Plastic Beach World Tour (featured artist)

References

External links

www.daley.tv Official websiteDaley
on

Facebook Facebook is a social media and social networking service owned by the American technology conglomerate Meta Platforms, Meta. Created in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with four other Harvard College students and roommates, Eduardo Saverin, Andre ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Daley Year of birth unknown Living people English pop singers English male singer-songwriters English singer-songwriters Musicians from Manchester English contemporary R&B singers English soul musicians 21st-century English singers 21st-century British male singers Year of birth missing (living people) Republic Records artists Polydor Records artists