Murdoc (Gorillaz)

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Murdoc Faust Niccals
Image:Murdoc-largeside3.jpg
Background information
Birth name	Murdoc Faust (Formerly Alphonce) Niccals
Born	June 6, 1966 in Stoke-on-Trent, England
Genre(s)	Alternative rock
Occupation(s)	Musician
Instrument(s)	Bass guitar
Label(s)	Parlophone Virgin Records
Associated acts	Gorillaz
Notable instrument(s)
Gibson Flying V ('El Diablo')

Murdoc Niccals (sometimes spelled Nicalls) (born June 6, 1966 in Stoke-on-Trent, England) is the fictional founding member of the virtual band Gorillaz. He provides bass for the band. He was created by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn.

[edit] Character Biography

Murdoc was dumped on his father's doorstep in infancy and went on to a very abusive childhood. It has been proposed that his many addictions have been caused by a bad influence from his abusive father, but Murdoc doesn't actually dwell on this and the addictions stem more probably from the hard rock lifestyle he lived during the seventies. Sebastian Jacob Niccals ("or Jacob Sebastian Niccals, depending on who's asking") was a spiteful drunk of a man who often verbally abused and exploited his sons. No one actually knew his mother was but most think he was born to a woman in a mental hospital for the terminally bored (though there are many other creative possibilities that contradict the theory). The local pub had a routine talent show that Murdoc was often forced to participate in so he could win his father drinking money (Murdoc once played Pinnochio, singing "I've Got No Strings"). Though he and his older sibling Hannibal never got along (he was responsible for two of the eight separate times Murdoc's nose was broken), it was through big brother that Murdoc was introduced to his favorite bands, such as the Clash (though Muds found Black Sabbath on his own). He used to be bullied by a very large boy, Tony Chopper, but eventually Murdoc began to fight back with words and from then on, he had no trouble. Tony Chopper now works at a grocery store and regrets being mean to Murdoc because of his present world-wide fame. Murdoc also states that he lost his virginity at age nine to a dinner lady.

Murdoc had a number of bands before Gorillaz; they never went anywhere. Eventually after recruiting 2-D through a series of accidents and not-so-accidents and kidnapping Russel from Big Rick Black's Music Shack, he pieced together the band that would become Gorillaz. He purchased Kong Studios and was delivered a small Japanese girl who could play a wicked guitar solo; Noodle replaced Paula Cracker (presently an overmedicated psychopath with a personal vendetta against the thirteen-year-old who helped lead the band to success) as Gorillaz's axe bandier. Murdoc wrote the self-titled debut album. After achieving fame, fortune, and several nasty hangovers, the alcoholic bassist relocated his band over to Los Angeles so they could begin production on a movie. Unfortunately, this was never to be. They were conned by a movie director (who it turns out, was just an insane man) while Murdoc attempted starring in a television programme (he was too old for the part), and they ventured unsuccessfully into scriptwriting. Murdoc took off to a Tijuana brothel after strangling 2-D (who, like the rest of the band, went their separate ways) and was eventually thrown in prison with a 30-year sentence for giving bad cheques to the prostitutes. He escaped with the help of two Mexican criminals and a paper mache mannequin of himself.

Murdoc wandered back to Kong, finding that Noodle had written the second album by herself (which he tried to take the credit for). The new album, Demon Days, made the band into even bigger superstars. After several number one videos, Noodle-close compadre to Murdoc- was apparently killed during the "El Mañana" video shoot.

On October 24, Gorillaz-Unofficial released an article containing the contents of the book Rise of the Ogre in which Murdoc finally revealed that the El Mañana video was indeed "staged" and that Noodle is still "alive" [2].

“

"I guess you've waited long enough. Noodle's safe, she was just acting as planned… Jamie Hewlett gave Noodle the command, and she parachuted safely off the island." —Murdoc Niccals on the video for El Mañana.

”

The entire El Mañana conspiracy was calculated specifically to get rid of an enemy of the band: Little Jimmy Manson, a psychotic hippie turned industry exec who was set on sabotaging Gorillaz for rejecting his "crappy" music. He co-conspired with Murdoc to kill off one of the band members so that 1) Gorillaz would end with a bang and 2) Jimmy could start a new band with Murdoc. Noodle was to do the El Mañana video with Manson stowed away on the island and then, while the windmill was crashing around them, Jimmy would shoot the guitarist whilst taking the parachuchute for himself. However, Murdoc turned the tables on Jimmy, by not only "forgetting" to leave the weapon aboard the island but by also locking him in the windmill; Jimmy supposedly died within the crash while Noodle parachuted to safety.

It was stated by Murdoc that Noodle had been planning to leave after Demon Days, although leaving what (the band or the country) was never really answered. Though it had been planned for months (the packing boxes had begun showing up in Kong Studios the previous February), she had neglected to tell anyone of her plans (though Murdoc said it was obvious what she was doing). Murdoc, in order to run with his plan to off Jimmy, made a deal with Noodle: she could disappear for some R & R with no fuss if she did the video. According to the bass slayer, Noodle is in the Maldives "chilling out".

“

"There's no way on earth I'm killing Noodle. Are you mad?" —Murdoc

”

While some may say this is one of the only occasions when it appears that Murdoc isn't as selfish as he appears, he later states that no one was going to ruin his band, obviously meaning he would not jeopordize his fame. It is after this interview that the message is received from the Brian room.

Murdoc is still living in Kong Studios, which is now mysteriously crumbling to the ground; the rest of the band is on break. Murdoc says he is almost broke, thanks to some legal fees and a golf club membership. He is planning a foray into politics, with a much more literal ambition for taking over the world. He also states that Gorillaz is actually in the middle of the biggest project the world has ever seen.

[edit] Personality

He is the self-proclaimed 'leader' of the band and often makes attempts to boss the other members into doing things his way. He is a sadist and a Satanist. He's addicted to sex, and as recorded in the Charts of Darkness documentary, he had several girlfriends whose purses he also stole. Despite these grave personality flaws, he also manages to be highly amusing through his use of creative insults and misanthropic rants. He is an alcoholic and a former speed addict, who also has problems with personal hygiene. His main influences are the likes of Black Sabbath, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, however, he is also fond of AC/DC and Syd Barrett. Murdoc was, for a time, idolized by his vocalist and keyboard player, 2-D; Murdoc very blatantly does not return the compliment and beats 2-D up whenever he gets the chance. Murdoc also seems to have a fascination with Nazi paraphernalia--in the video for Dirty Harry he is seen actually wearing a uniform very reminiscent of a Nazi's. He is quite vulgar, and can be seen performing pelvic thrusts in several of the Gorillaz videos, such as "Rock the House" (to knock away billiard balls) and Feel Good Inc (as a sort of dance). Recently, Murdoc was said to be "reborn" in the hellhole within the bunker in Kong Studios' basement, on June 6, 2006. One other thing should be mentioned, Murdoc seems to like all of 2-D's girlfriends (but this is redundant, considering he not only sleeps with 2-D's girlfriends, but most likely everyone else's as well due to his sex addiction. And, most of 2-D's girlfriends were nice-looking. Well, except for Paula Cracker.).[1]

Although resentful and "evil" (a self-proclaimed description), Murdoc can be very complimentary when the mood strikes him. This is demonstrated by inducing the stream of enthusiastic accolades about Russel's drumming skills in We Are the Dury and frequently praising Noodle's guitar skills, even pausing to note that 2-D does have an extraordinary talent with vocals and keyboards. Murdoc is not one to give credit where credit is due, taking responsibility for Gorillaz's second album, Demon Days (which is mostly Noodle's work), but was momentarily upset when 2-D said Gorillaz, the band's self-titled debut album, was his own work. During the MTV Choice Awards (after not winning best album), Murdoc shouted a rude word causing people to turn around in their seats (it was actually Damon Albarn who had been sitting in back with Jamie Hewlett; afterward they blamed it on the fictional Murdoc. According to Hewlett, they'd been drinking).

Murdoc doesn't dislike his bandmates so much as he doesn't care. He has no problems offending them (nor does he care if he physically hurts them). When asked in the epilogue of Rise of the Ogre what 2-D was doing during the band's second hiatus, he genuinely didn't know the singer's whereabouts. Murdoc seems to have actually formed a sort of friendship with Russel, however, calming him down during a panic attack in We Are the Dury and actually keeping track of his activities post-Demon Days. Like the other members, he holds a soft spot for Noodle, often addressing her "darlin'", "doll", or "luv". He is the only member of Gorillaz to address her affectionately; 2-D never has and Russel has only ever called her "sista'", e.g. "What the sista' is tryin' to tell you..." (although it is a misconception with fans that he calls Noodle "baby girl").

Although Murdoc is very self-involved and immodest, it has been stated by the rest of Gorillaz that he is in fact the driving force behind their band, going as far to say leader and possibly the frontman (though 2-D objects to this notion).

[edit] Appearance

Murdoc, unlike most animated characters, is actually shown to change his outfit, much like a "real" person, though he is almost always wearing his inverted cross as a symbol of his devout Satanism. He can often be seen with his shirt off, at times even appearing in nothing but his underwear. During the period of the first Gorillaz album, he was generally seen wearing a grey sweater and jeans, although in the music video for "Rock the House" he wore underwear and what appeared to be the protective padding used in cricket.

During the Demon Days era, his wardrobe seemed to grow much more diverse, appearing in a variety of different outfits. For example, in the music video for Dirty Harry, he wore a military uniform reminiscent of a Nazi outfit. He had also acquired a so-called 'designer label' cape with a skull woggle, seen in much of the album art for Demon Days, and seemed to wear it more often than his inverted cross.

His face can be thought of as fairly "ugly," with a misshapen nose (the result of having it broken 8 times: the first instance by a bully, the following two by his brother and the last 5 by bandmate Russel) and an odd set of mismatched eyes: During Phase One, he had one normal black pupil, the other bright red. During Phase Two, his eyes are yellow, and the red pupil is now either white or normal black.. He has also been described several times as "being trapped in a 90 year old body", a side-effect of the systematic abuse he applies to himself with alcohol and various drugs. Murdoc also has an abnormally long tongue.

Murdoc speaks in a very deep, scratchy voice provided by character actor Phil Cornwell. His chuckles and grunts in Phase One music videos were quite different; they were higher-pitched and somewhat effervescent.

Contrary to popular belief, Murdoc did not provide the vocals for the track White Light. In We are the Dury, 2D said that it was "some drunk tramp" instead; Murdoc then spoke up and said, "Did you just call me a drunk tramp?" Many fans took this to mean Murdoc did the vocals for White Light, but this was intended to be a joke.

Gorillaz
2D | Murdoc Niccals | Noodle | Russel Hobbs
Gorillaz discography
Albums and EPs: Tomorrow Comes Today | Gorillaz | G-Sides | Laika Come Home | Demon Days
DVDs: Phase One: Celebrity Take Down | Demon Days Live | Phase Two: Slowboat to Hades
Singles: "Clint Eastwood" | "19-2000" | "Rock the House" | "911" | "Tomorrow Comes Today" | "Lil' Dub Chefin'" | "Feel Good Inc." | "DARE" | "Dirty Harry" | "Kids With Guns" / "El Mañana"
Related articles
Britpop | Blur | The Good, the Bad and the Queen | Damon Albarn | Jamie Hewlett | Dan the Automator | Danger Mouse | Del tha Funkee Homosapien | Nelson De Freitas | Phil Cornwell | Haruka Kuroda | Remi Kabaka | Zombie Flesh Eaters | Passion Pictures | Gorillaz movie | Rise of the Ogre
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