Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House is a live DVD by Gorillaz, released 27 March 2006 in the UK (see 2006 in British music). It compiles the live performances from 1 to 5 November 2005 at the Manchester Opera House that recreated the Demon Days studio album and was directed by David Barnard and Grant Gee.
Nearly all of the album's performers were available to participate in the event, including Neneh Cherry, Bootie Brown, Shaun Ryder and Ike Turner. MF Doom and Dennis Hopper appeared through video and audio narration, respectively. Local Manchester choirs were hired for the performances.
Included as an encore are "Hong Kong", a song written for the War Child album Help!: A Day in the Life, and "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)" from the Gorillaz album, as a tribute to the memory of Ibrahim Ferrer, who died before the event took place. Also included are the visuals seen on the large screen for all but three of the performances, as those songs featured single cover art for the duration of each respective song. The visuals for "Kids with Guns" are the contribution by the "Search for a Star" video winner "Carlos".
During the performance, 2-D and Murdoc appeared (as puppets) in a box and were motioning for the encore toward the end.
The live performances in Manchester were a pre-festival commission for the Manchester International Festival, which took place in 2007.News – Gorillaz to take family on tour – from NME.com The DVD peaked at number 3 on the UK DVD charts.
The film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
In 2011, an audio-only version of the show was released on Spotify.
Track listing "Intro" – 1:11 "Last Living Souls" – 3:21 "Kids with Guns" (featuring Neneh Cherry) – 4:04 "O Green World" – 5:17 "Dirty Harry" (featuring Bootie Brown) – 4:00 "Feel Good Inc." (featuring De La Soul) – 3:56 "El Mañana" – 4:07 "Every Planet We Reach Is Dead" (featuring Ike Turner) – 5:30 "November Has Come" (featuring Doom) (footage) – 2:58 "All Alone" (featuring Roots Manuva and Martina Topley-Bird) – 3:52 "White Light" – 2:26 "Dare" (featuring Roses Gabor and Shaun Ryder) – 4:38 "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" – Read by Dennis Hopper – 3:32 "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (featuring The London Community Gospel Choir) – 2:07 "Demon Days" (featuring The London Community Gospel Choir) – 4:52 "Hong Kong" (featuring Zeng Zhen) – 6:37 "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)" (featuring Ibrahim Ferrer) (footage) – 3:53
Personnel Vocals/piano/melodica – Damon Albarn MD/keyboards – Mike Smith Guitar – Simon Tong Guitar – Simon Jones Bass – Morgan Nicholls Drums – Cass Browne Percussion - Karl Vanden Bossche Turntable – Darren Galea
Backing vocalists Wayne Hernandez Sharlene Hector Rosie Wilson Wendi Rose Aaron Sokell
String section Cello – Isabelle Dunn Cello – Dan Keane Bass – Emma Smith Viola – Amanda Drummond Viola – Nina Kapinsky Violin – Antonia Pagulatos Violin – Jennifer Berman Violin – Kirsty Mangan Viola – Gary Pomeroy Cello – Deborah Chandler
Guests Neneh Cherry – Guest vocals on "Kids with Guns" Bootie Brown – Guest rap on "Dirty Harry" De La Soul – Guest raps on "Feel Good Inc" Ike Turner – Guest piano on "Every Planet We Reach is Dead" MF Doom – Guest rap on "November Has Come" Roots Manuva – Guest rap on "All Alone" Martina Topley-Bird – Guest vocals on "All Alone" Rosie Wilson – Guest vocals on "Dare" Shaun Ryder – Guest vocals on "Dare" Dennis Hopper – Spoken word vocals on "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" The London Community Gospel Choir – Guest vocals on "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" and "Demon Days" Zeng Zhen – Guest guzheng on "Hong Kong" Ibrahim Ferrer – Guest vocals on "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)"
Charts Chart (2006)PeakpositionDanish Music DVD (Hitlisten)3Greek Music DVD (IFPI)4Japanese Music DVD (Oricon)143New Zealand Music DVD (RMNZ)2Portuguese Music DVD (AFP)3US Music Videos (Billboard)11
Certifications
Release history The DVD was released in various countries. Country Date Label Format Catalog United Kingdom 27 March 2006 Parlophone DVD 0946 3 59355 9 2 Australia 27 March 2006 Capitol DVD 356 2449 DVD: Deluxe Edition 359 3559 Canada 28 March 2006 Parlophone DVD 0946 3 59354 9 3 Japan 29 March 2006 Toshiba-EMI DVD TOBW3294 United States 4 April 2006 Parlophone, Virgin DVD 0946 3 56243 9 7
References
External links Gorillaz-Unofficial DVD webpage