Demon Days: Live at the Manchester Opera House is a live DVD by Gorillaz, released 27 March 2006 in the UK (see 2006 in British music). It compiles the live performances from 1 to 5 November 2005 at the Manchester Opera House that recreated the Demon Days studio album and was directed by David Barnard and Grant Gee.
Nearly all of the album's performers were available to participate in the event, including Neneh Cherry, Bootie Brown, Shaun Ryder and Ike Turner. MF Doom and Dennis Hopper appeared through video and audio narration, respectively. Local Manchester choirs were hired for the performances.
Included as an encore are "Hong Kong", a song written for the War Child album Help!: A Day in the Life, and "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)" from the Gorillaz album, as a tribute to the memory of Ibrahim Ferrer, who died before the event took place. Also included are the visuals seen on the large screen for all but three of the performances, as those songs featured single cover art for the duration of each respective song. The visuals for "Kids with Guns" are the contribution by the "Search for a Star" video winner "Carlos".
During the performance, 2-D and Murdoc appeared (as puppets) in a box and were motioning for the encore toward the end.
The live performances in Manchester were a pre-festival commission for the Manchester International Festival, which took place in 2007. The DVD peaked at number 3 on the UK DVD charts.
The film was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Music Film.
In 2011, an audio-only version of the show was released on Spotify.
Track listing
"Intro" – 1:11
"Last Living Souls" – 3:21
"Kids with Guns" (featuring Neneh Cherry) – 4:04
"O Green World" – 5:17
"Dirty Harry" (featuring Bootie Brown) – 4:00
"Feel Good Inc." (featuring De La Soul) – 3:56
"El Mañana" – 4:07
"Every Planet We Reach Is Dead" (featuring Ike Turner) – 5:30
"November Has Come" (featuring DOOM) (footage) – 2:58
"All Alone" (featuring Roots Manuva and Martina Topley-Bird) – 3:52
"White Light" – 2:26
"Dare" (featuring Roses Gabor and Shaun Ryder) – 4:38
"Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" – Read by Dennis Hopper – 3:32
"Don't Get Lost in Heaven" (featuring The London Community Gospel Choir) – 2:07
"Demon Days" (featuring The London Community Gospel Choir) – 4:52
"Hong Kong" (featuring Zeng Zhen) – 6:37
"Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)" (featuring Ibrahim Ferrer) (footage) – 3:53
Personnel
Vocals/piano/melodica – Damon Albarn
MD/keyboards – Mike Smith
Guitar – Simon Tong
Guitar – Simon Jones
Bass – Morgan Nicholls
Drums – Cass Browne
Percussion - Karl Vanden Bossche
Turntable – Darren Galea
Backing vocalists
Wayne Hernandez
Sharlene Hector
Rosie Wilson
Wendi Rose
Aaron Sokell
String section
Cello – Isabelle Dunn
Cello – Dan Keane
Bass – Emma Smith
Viola – Amanda Drummond
Viola – Nina Kapinsky
Violin – Antonia Pagulatos
Violin – Jennifer Berman
Violin – Kirsty Mangan
Viola – Gary Pomeroy
Cello – Deborah Chandler
Guests
Neneh Cherry – Guest vocals on "Kids with Guns" Bootie Brown – Guest rap on "Dirty Harry" De La Soul – Guest raps on "Feel Good Inc" Ike Turner – Guest piano on "Every Planet We Reach is Dead" MF Doom – Guest rap on "November Has Come" Roots Manuva – Guest rap on "All Alone" Martina Topley-Bird – Guest vocals on "All Alone" Rosie Wilson – Guest vocals on "Dare" Shaun Ryder – Guest vocals on "Dare" Dennis Hopper – Spoken word vocals on "Fire Coming Out of the Monkey's Head" The London Community Gospel Choir – Guest vocals on "Don't Get Lost in Heaven" and "Demon Days" Zeng Zhen – guest guzheng on "Hong Kong: Ibrahim Ferrer – Guest vocals on "Latin Simone (¿Qué Pasa Contigo?)"
Charts
Certifications
Release history
The DVD was released in various countries: