Damon Albarn formed Gorillaz because he was tired of being the frontman of Blur, Jamie Hewlett has revealed.

Hewlett, a visual artist and Albarn's Gorillaz collaborator, said the pair got the idea of making a fake band because of the state of the music industry.

"Me and Damon hated each other at first. Then in the late '90s I split up with Jane around the same time Damon broke up with Justine [Frischmann, former Elastica frontwoman] and for some reason we decided to get a flat together,” he told the Observer.

"We'd spend hours watching MTV and wondering why everything was so terrible.

"I think Damon was tired of being the frontman for Blur, and I was aghast at how boring most pop groups are when they’re interviewed.

"[We thought:] 'Look at them, on television, all sat on the couch with nothing to say'. So we said, 'Let's make up a fake band'."

Hewlett and Albarn are to continue their partnership on a new project entitled Carousel. The former Blur man is said to have so far written 70 songs for the film and stage concept.

(by Jason Gregory)