''Rise of the Ogre'' is an

autobiography An autobiography, sometimes informally called an autobio, is a self-written account of one's own life, providing a personal narrative that reflects on the author's experiences, memories, and insights. This genre allows individuals to share thei ...

about the virtual band

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 ...

, ostensibly written by the four band-members in collaboration with (actual) Gorillaz musician and official scribe

Cass Browne Cass Browne (born 27 September 1971 in Wimbledon, Surrey) is an English musician and writer. He was a member of the band The Psychotics who became Senseless Things in 1986. Senseless Things made four studio albums, achieved two UK Top 20 hi ...

. It was released in the UK on 26 October 2006 by Michael Joseph Ltd. and in the US on 2 November 2006 by

Riverhead Books Riverhead Books is an imprint of Penguin Group (USA) founded in 1994 by Susan Petersen Kennedy. Writers published by Riverhead include Ali Sethi, Marlon James, Junot Díaz, George Saunders, Khaled Hosseini, Nick Hornby, Anne Lamott, Carl ...

. A

paperback A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, also known as wrappers, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, ...

edition of the book was released in the US on 6 November 2007. ''Rise of the Ogre'' has also been released as the world's first

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

singles. The four part audiobook was narrated by

Joss Ackland Sidney Edmond Jocelyn Ackland (29 February 1928 – 19 November 2023) was an English actor who appeared in more than 130 film, radio and television roles. He was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for portraying ...

. Initially an

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

exclusive, one part was released every week for four weeks beginning 4 December 2006. However, the audiobook on iTunes remains incomplete.

The book details the life-stories of the band-members:

Murdoc Niccals 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 (gu ...

2-D 2D or 2-D may refer to: Related to two dimensions * Two-dimensional space * Two-dimensional Euclidean space * 2D geometric model * 2D computer graphics * 2D animation, or traditional animation * Two-dimensional correlation analysis Other uses ...

Russel Hobbs 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 ...

, and

Noodle Noodles are a type of food made from unleavened dough which is either rolled flat and cut, stretched, or extruded, into long strips or strings. Noodles are a staple food in many cultures and made into a variety of shapes. The most common noo ...

. It covers the band from 2000 and their first EP, ''

Tomorrow Comes Today "Tomorrow Comes Today" is a song from British virtual band Gorillaz's self-titled debut album ''Gorillaz'' and was their first release when issued as an EP in November 2000. The first three songs from the EP ended up on their debut album, how ...

'' through their 2006 tour ending at the

Apollo Theater The Apollo Theater (formerly the Hurtig & Seamon's New Theatre; also Apollo Theatre or 125th Street Apollo Theatre) is a multi-use Theater (structure), theater at 253 125th Street (Manhattan), West 125th Street in the Harlem neighborhood of U ...

. It contains previously unknown secrets of the band, such as future plans of the movie, new and rare art by Gorillaz co-creator

Jamie Hewlett Jamie Christopher Hewlett (born 3 April 1968) is a British comic book artist and illustrator. He is the co-creator of the comic book ''Tank Girl'' with Alan Martin (writer), Alan Martin and the virtual band Gorillaz, alongside Blur (band), Blur ...

, the "low down" on

Kong Studios 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 ...

, their headquarters, and the story of the truth behind the " El Mañana" video. The book blends fact and fiction throughout, interspersing commentary from the band members with actual quotes from their creators, collaborators and critics. The front cover of the book, when flipped sideways, is a silhouette of

' pet raven 'Cortez'.

References

External links

''Rise of the Ogre'' preview trailer
{{Gorillaz Music autobiographies Fictional history Gorillaz Riverhead Books books

Contents

References

External links