Gorillaz release new single ‘Baby Queen’ about a stage diving Thai princess
Gorillaz have released a new single, ‘Baby Queen’, to tease their upcoming album Cracker Island. The cartoon band have released two other singles thus far, ‘Cracker Island’ featuring Thundercat and ‘New Gold’ featuring Tame Impala and Bootie Brown. The album is set for release on February 24th, 2023, and features other collaborations with artists such as Stevie Nicks and Bad Bunny.
However, the newest single, ‘Baby Queen’, has a fascinating and rather bizarre backstory inspired by a Blur gig that took place in 1997. The musician behind Gorillaz, Damon Albarn, recalled a show he performed with Blur in Thailand, where the 14-year-old crown princess came to watch.
He recalled, “due to the very specific role the royal family play in Thailand, they put a throne next to the mixing board for her to sit in, surrounded by I don’t know how many soldiers. ‘Song 2’ started, and she stood on her throne and stage-dived into the crowd.”
Albarn shared that a recent dream about the strange events inspired him to write ‘Baby Queen’. “I had a dream about this princess very recently; she’d grown up, and we spent time in my dream together, her as a woman. So there you go: 1997 was a long time ago, but at the moment it’s not.”
Discussing the new album, guitarist Noodle stated, “Cracker Island is the sound of change and the chorus of collectivity.” Drummer Russell chimed in, “When the reckoning comes, gotta be ready to step through the gateway. Cracker Island’s got the entry codes…”
Pre-order Cracker Island here and listen to the new track below:
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