Damon Albarn - Early Life

Early Life

Damon Albarn was born on 23 March 1968 in Whitechapel in East London, to Keith and Hazel Albarn. Damon was the couple's first child. The couple had a second child, Jessica, who was born in 1971 and also went onto become an artist. Hazel Albarn, originally from Lincolnshire, was a theatrical set designer for Joan Littlewood's theatre company at the Theatre Royal Stratford East in London and was working on the satirical play, Mrs Wilson's Diary, just before Damon was born. Keith Albarn, originally from Nottinghamshire, was the manager of Soft Machine and presenter of the BBC's Late Night Line-Up. He was also the head of North Essex College of Art, which later became the Colchester Institute. Keith's father, Edward Albarn, was a conscientious objector during the Second World War and was involved in a farming community in Lincolnshire, becoming a peace activist. In 2002, he died after going on a hunger strike.

When Damon and Jessica were growing up, they originally lived in Leytonstone, East London with their parents, who had decided to move there when they had met each other, in order to experience London's wide cultural scene. Their household was described as "bohemian" and their upbringing as "liberal". Albarn often agreed with his parents' views, later claiming, "I always thought my parents were absolutely dead right. I went against the grain in a weird way – by continually following them." His parents primarily listened to blues, Indian ragas and African music. When Damon was 9, he moved to Turkey for three months before settling in Oldham, Essex, outside Colchester, in an area described by Albarn as "one of those burgeoning Thatcher experiments where they were building loads of small estates". The population of the area was predominantly white as opposed to the ethnically mixed part of London which he was used to, and he described himself as "not really fitting in with the politics of the place."

Albarn was interested in music from an early age, attending an Osmonds concert at the age of six. Albarn started playing guitar, piano and violin in his youth and was interested in composing music, one of his compositions winning a heat in the nationwide Young Composer of the Year competition. Commenting on his early musical abilities, Jessica stated, "we both had piano lessons, but I knew Damon had something special. Whereas I’d come home and practise my sheet music, he’d already be banging out his own stuff. He was always free like that, you couldn’t contain him, and he’s been like that ever since." Damon and Jessica both attended a primary school nearby which, according to Damon, was burnt down seven times in a time period of 18 months by one of the teachers. After both siblings failed their 11 plus exam, they started attending Stanway Comprehensive School, where Damon described himself as being "really unpopular" and " a lot of people". However, he developed an interest in Drama and started acting in various school productions. It was at Stanway where he would meet future Blur guitarist, Graham Coxon, who recalls seeing him act and feeling that he was a "confident performer" as well as a "show off". Albarn's first words directed at Coxon were "Your brogues are crap, mate. Look, mine are the proper sort" as he was showing off his leather shoes, fashionable footwear at the time influenced by the Mod Revival. Nevertheless, the pair went onto become good friends, due to their shared passion for music, particularly The Jam, The Human League, XTC and Madness.

He studied acting at the East 15 Acting School in Debden, but left after the first year. On leaving drama school he worked as a tea boy at the Beat Factory studio. His first band was the synth pop group, Two's a Crowd. Before Blur, he played with The Aftermath and Real Lives.