[Spare Oom and War Drobe]

Damon Albarn is making a musical and maybe more music.
From pitchfork and the londonist:

Matt Amis reports:
Guys, if Rosie O'Donnell can do it, you better well fucking believe Damon Albarn is more than capable. No, the Blur/Gorillaz frontman isn't adopting a bunch of kids and developing a massive boner for Tom Cruise (that we know of). Rather, just like Rosie, he is bringing his love of theater to life. BBC News reported last week that Albarn is collaborating on a stage musical based on the London neighborhood of Notting Hill.

Hey, remember that Julia Roberts/Hugh Grant movie Notting Hill? OK, let's forget it.

According to the BBC, Albarn is working alongside award-winning British playwright Roy Williams on the musical, which is set to open at the National Theatre in 2007. The show will purportedly focus on the area's diversity and multiculturalism.

"It will allow Damon to develop his passionate interest in the many musical styles that have emerged from Notting Hill over the past four decades," National Theatre director Nicholas Hytner told the BBC. "Damon is one of the most unique and inventive musicians of the moment," he added.

As for Albarn's blurry (AHH!) plans with Blur, the band is marching forward begrudgingly without guitar hero Graham Coxon in tow. Albarn told NME late last year that the next Blur album, the follow-up to 2003's Think Tank, will be recorded without an additional guitarist. Speaking to NME, he said, "The reason why it's so basic is we decided that if we're going to make another record it's just got to be the three of us and I've got to play guitar. And because I'm such a rudimentary guitarist it has to be really stupid and basic punk rock."

Albarn is also still hard at work on his first proper solo album, which, much like Think Tank and his Mali Music side project, will have a world-beat tinge to it. "I'm halfway through a record that I started in Nigeria last year," he said.

Gorillaz were last seen being really boring at the Grammys. C'mon, even Jem had more exciting holograms than that.

Damon "Blur / Gorrillaz / "I've worked with musicians in Africa" Albarn is to use his musical genius in creating a new stage musical. Londonist loves musicals (when they're not by Mick Hucknall) so we welcome this new venture from Albarn who can be relied upon to take this opportunity to not simply re-issue old hits with new dance routines, but instead actually come up with interesting and exciting new work. It helps that the musical is part of the National Theatre’s programme, as announced by director Nicholas Hytner, and not part of the tourist fodder in the West End.

The musical won’t be appearing until next year but with nine months worth of meetings with playwright Roy Williams already completed, hopes are high for the as yet unnamed show. So far, the piece is said to focus on two families in Ladbroke Grove, home of the Notting Hill Carnival, and their lives over four decades. Albarn is said to be passionate about the many musical styles that came from this part of London from the 1960s onwards and will use the changing sounds and styles of West London over forty years to tell the story.

This collaboration (which was initiated four years ago when Albarn contacted the National Theatre about possibly working for the institution – this won’t be a hastily put-together tribute show, no sir) is hoped to be the first of many similar pairings between theatre and non-theatre artists. Imagine: architects, fashion designers, campaigners, even bloggers could one day have a place on the National’s stage. Watch this space…