Sydney, AU (EMI MUSIC AUSTRALIA) -
Gorillaz have picked up 2 prestigious awards in London recently. The Design Museum's Designer Of The Year Award and the Ivor Novello award for Songwriter Of The Year.
The winner of the Design Museum's �25,000 Designer of the Year award is Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the band Gorillaz, for conceiving the graphics, website, animations and groundbreaking 'live' performances of the world's most successful virtual band.
Jamie Hewlett was named as Designer of the Year - the UK's most prestigious design prize - at the Design Museum on the evening of 22 May by this year's chair of the jury Christopher Frayling, rector and professor of cultural history of the Royal College of Art and chairman of Arts Council England. Christopher Frayling said "Jamie Hewlett has not only created a personal mythology with the virtual band Gorillaz, he has also created designs for the direction in which technology and culture are going - the shape of things to come."
In accepting his award Hewlett said "its great to win this award it really is... but I can't take responsibility for Gorillaz on my own, there's a huge team of people who put this together".
On behalf of Gorillaz, guitarist Noodle had this to say, 'I'd like to congratulate our friend and collaborator Jamie Hewlett for his win as the Designer of the Year. He's brought a fantastic amount of colour, style and imagination to our band Gorillaz, and I think it would be fair to say Gorillaz wouldn't be half the band they are without him. Magnificent work'
Designer of the Year is the annual award for the UK designer or design team whose work made the biggest contribution to design in the past year. Four designers were nominated for this year's prize. Alongside Jamie Hewlett were Tom Dixon, selected for his furniture and lighting design; The Guardian design team for the radical redesign of the newspaper; and Cameron Sinclair for his work with the humanitarian design group Architecture for Humanity. Their work has been on display in an exhibition at the Design Museum since March, which will continue until 18 June 2006.
Hewlett designed the comic book anti-heroine Tank Girl before creating Gorillaz with musician Damon Albarn. The band members - 2D, Murdoc, Russel and Noodle - are brought to life in artwork, promos, Gorillaz website and animated performances conceived and designed by Jamie Hewlett. Hewlett works from his West London-based design company Zombie Flesh Eaters.
Tens of thousands of members of the public voted for their favourite nominee to win the �25,000 prize at the Designer of the Year exhibition and online on the Design Museum website. The outcome of the public vote counted towards the choice of the winner together with the votes of the four jurors: public sector design reformer and last year's winner of Designer of the Year Hilary Cottam; head of design and architecture at the British Council Emily Campbell; fashion designer Christopher Bailey; and Kevin McCloud, lighting and furniture designer and television presenter.
Gorillaz have also picked up the Ivor Novello award for Songwriter Of The Year. Damon Albarn collected the award at a ceremony in London last Thursday.
Presented by the legendary Terry Hall from The Specials, the award highlighted the unique appeal of the Gorillaz, recognising an exceptional year for the band, both in the UK and internationally.
In accepting Damon said "Gorillaz is not one person, or two people, or even twenty. It's probably about three hundred people, and as a collaboration between all these people, I accept this award and I thank you very much."
Gorillaz also congratulated the win, guitarist Noodle, "Success for anyone associated with Gorillaz is a success for all Gorillaz. Well done to you." Although Murdoc is still confused as to why he wasn't nominated, "Thanks for picking up my trophy, sonny, you can drop it round later'
Gorillaz have also recently been nominated for four Creative and Design Awards(CAD).
But this year has seen Gorillaz receive a number of awards. Gorillaz received a total of 5 Grammy nominations, including one for Record of the Year, and took home the Grammy for Best Pop Collaboration, they took 5 European MTV Award nominations, winning Best Band, a Q award for Best Producer, and the Webby Award for Artist of The Year, not to mention band favourite, The Jim Henson Award for Inspiration.
A great finish to a year that has seen Gorillaz second album Demon Days clocking up worldwide sales of 6 million albums.
The special edition of 'DEMON DAYS' album is instore now
The single 'EL MANANA/KIDS WITH GUNS' is instore now
The DVD 'GORILLAZ – DEMON DAYS LIVE' is instore now
