Jeffrey Wootton (born 12 May 1987) is an English musician, guitarist and songwriter from

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 ...

. He has been the lead guitarist in the

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 ...

live band since 2010. A long time collaborator with

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 ...

, he has also collaborated with

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, British artist

Damien Hirst Damien Steven Hirst (; né Brennan; born 7 June 1965) is an English artist and art collector. He was one of the Young British Artists (YBAs) who dominated the art scene in the UK during the 1990s. He is reportedly the United Kingdom's richest ...

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, MF DOOM,

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, and

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from Can.

Gorillaz

Wootton joined

as their lead guitarist in 2010 alongside Mick Jones and

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. Gorillaz kicked off their first ever world tour to rave reviews with performances including headlining

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and

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with guest performances by

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, Mick Jones,

, Snoop Dogg, De La Soul and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble. They were the first British band to play a gig in Damascus, Syria In July 2017, With the release of Humanz Gorillaz embarked upon the Humanz Tour, the band's second world tour and first since 2010. With 53 scheduled shows and lasting over 1 year, the tour was Gorillaz' longest tour in their history. The tour featured performances by Vince Staples, Pusha T,

, Kilo Kish and Kali Uchis. The tour continued with the release of The Now Now into 2018 and played a string of summer festivals that finished with US tour totalling 95 shows.

Other collaborations

At the age of 22, Wootton was recruited by Oasis (band), Oasis frontman

to perform in Beady Eye after the break-up of Oasis. He joined them on stage for the 2012 Summer Olympics closing ceremony, performing "Wonderwall (song), Wonderwall" with the band. In 2013 after a world tour and playing on their second album, he left to pursue his own musical project. In 2013 Wootton joined Damon Albarn, Brian Eno, Nick Zinner and several other musicians and producers on a trip to Mali, in West Africa to record an album as part of Africa Express (organization), Africa Express. On 24 November 2014, Wootton along with composer Andre de Ridder, Brian Eno and Damon Albarn released Africa Express Presents... Terry Riley's In C Mali, a 41-minute African version of Terry Riley's iconic 1964 minimalist piece "In C", with local Mali musicians through Transgressive Records. It was featured in Rolling Stone's '20 Best Avant Albums of 2014' They premiered it live at the Tate Modern in London. In 2014, he joined Damon Albarn in The Heavy Seas. On 15–16 November 2014, Damon Albarn & The Heavy Seas' performances at The Royal Albert Hall were recorded to be edited into a live album. The project was released as a two-disc album called ''Live at the De De De Der''. In 2015, he appeared in

's music video for "Ballad of the Mighty I" which was released on 12 January 2015, and joined him for a TV performance of the song "Riverman (Noel Gallagher song), Riverman" on the Channel 4 programme, ''Chatty Man''. In January 2016, he contributed guitars on

's ''Ritual Spirit'' album featuring Roots Manuva and Young Fathers. In mid May 2017, it was revealed that Wootton had formed a collective with ex-Klaxons member Jamie Reynolds, New York rapper Young Lazarus, drummer Jay Sharrock and DJ Twiggy Garcia called YOTA : Youth of the Apocalypse.

Solo career

''The Way the Light'' (2016)

''The Way the Light'' - a collaboration album with British artist

was announced in 2016. Hirst revealed he has created 10 pieces of original art for Wootton's album for a Limited Edition Vinyl. In June 2015, Wootton supported the British rock band Blur (band), Blur at three dates including Glasgow Barrowland's and Blackpool Empress Ballroom. In July 2015, he premiered his first track "The Eternal" through The FADER magazine, it became Q Magazine's Track of the Day and one of NME’S top 20 tracks you need to hear. Wootton's first single "The Eternal" was officially released on 6 November 2015. On 2 December 2015, Lauren Laverne from BBC Radio 6 Music premiered a new track entitled "The Eternal [Reconstruction]" featuring Nick Zinner from Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Bootie Brown of The Pharcyde. On 26 January 2016, ''Vice (magazine), Vice'' premiered a new track, "Sonik Drips". In March 2016, he supported The Last Shadow Puppets on Tour. He supported Kasabian for two nights at King Power Stadium following Leicester City's triumphant Premier League Football Championship. In September 2016, Wootton was chosen by

to be his support act for the end of his tour show at Brixton Academy. ''The Way the Light'' was released in Japan on 5 October for the only time on CD through Sympathy For Vinyl / Beatink Records. He started the website Sympathy For Vinyl as a platform to release his more experimental compositions and collaborations.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wootton, Jeff Living people Musicians from Manchester People educated at Bury Grammar School English rock guitarists 1987 births 21st-century English guitarists Gorillaz members