- Murdoc Niccals
-
Murdoc Niccals Birth name Murdoc Alphonce Niccals Also known as Doc Nic, Alphonce Faust, Green Stroked Man Born 6 June 1966 Origin Stoke-on-Trent, England Genres Alternative rock Occupations Musician, entertainer, bassist Instruments Bass guitar, vocals, guitar, oud, harmonica, banjo, drum machine Years active 1994–present Labels Parlophone, Virgin Associated acts Gorillaz, Carbs Neuman Notable instruments Gibson Flying V Bass ('El Diablo')
Fender Precision BassThe fictional character Murdoc Faust Niccals (born 6 June 1966) is a musician, member of the virtual band Gorillaz. He provides bass, and is the self-proclaimed leader of the band.
Contents
Biography
Voice actor and bassist for the band Phil Cornwell voices him. In Rise of the Ogre it is revealed that Murdoc was dumped on his father's doorstep in infancy and went on to a very abusive childhood. It has been proposed that his many addictions and his sour attitude were due to his abusive and very bad childhood. Murdoc stated in Rise of the Ogre that everybody knew who his father was but nobody quite knew who his mother was and there are so many stories about who she is. Sebastian Jacob Niccals ("or Jacob Sebastian Niccals, depending on who's asking") was a spiteful drunk of a man who often verbally abused and exploited his sons. The local pub had a routine talent show that Murdoc was often forced to participate in so he could win his father drinking money (Murdoc once played Pinocchio, singing "I've Got No Strings"). Though he and his older sibling Hannibal never got along (he was responsible for two of the eight separate times Murdoc's nose was broken), it was through his older brother that Murdoc was introduced to his favourite bands, such as The Clash (though Murdoc found Black Sabbath on his own).
Murdoc played in a number of bands before Gorillaz; they never went anywhere. One of these was an unnamed metal band which consisted of six people, including Murdoc on bass. The names and instruments of the other members appear in the Gorillaz 2005 promotional booklet and are given as follows: Billy Boy (who is based on a character in A Clockwork Orange) and Tiny on guitars, Crunch on drums, Rocky on keyboards and Munch who appears to be listed as "Band Artist." Not much else is known about these characters including their personalities or current whereabouts, although they appear on a few pieces of official Gorillaz artwork, most notably in the previously mentioned booklet as well as in Kong Studios where an image of Crunch, Billy Boy and Tiny can be seen on the wall in the instrument room.
Eventually after recruiting 2D through a series of accidents and not-so-accidents and kidnapping Russel from Big Rick Black's Music Shack, he pieced together the band that would become Gorillaz. He purchased Kong Studios and was delivered a small Japanese girl who could play a wicked guitar solo; Noodle replaced Paula Cracker (presently an overmedicated psychopath with a personal vendetta against the thirteen-year-old who helped lead the band to success) as Gorillaz's axe bandier. Murdoc wrote the self-titled debut album with help from 2D and Russel. With the album's success, the band launched a disastrous world tour: While in the United States, Murdoc established a cult of personality with various seedy individuals, chief of which being Little Jimmy Manson, a psychopathic midget dangerously obsessed with either killing Murdoc, or falling in love with him. In a hotel room one night, Manson and his cronies summoned a black-skinned demon boy that has stalked the band ever since. After achieving fame, fortune, and several nasty hangovers, the alcoholic bassist relocated his band over to Los Angeles so they could begin production on a movie.
Unfortunately, this was never to be. They were conned by a movie director (who it turns out, was just an insane man) while Murdoc attempted starring in a television program (he was too old for the part), and they ventured unsuccessfully into scriptwriting. Murdoc took off to a Tijuana brothel after strangling 2D (who, like the rest of the band, went their separate ways) and was eventually thrown in prison with a 30-year sentence for giving counterfeit checks to the prostitutes. It was during this sentence that he was acquainted with his raven Cortez, the "jailbird with a chilling reputation". While serving his sentence Murdoc acquired some prison ink (in the form of the seven deadly sins tattooed across his back), and also took an open University course: "Amateur Administration of Pharmaceutical Medicines" and managed to pass a medical exam, earning the title 'Dr. Niccals'. He escaped with the help of two Mexican criminals, a paper-mache mannequin of himself and a taped loop of himself moaning.
After returning to the brothel to make a final point to the Mexican authorities, Murdoc loaded up on duty-free tequila and a few sombreros and made his way back to Kong, finding that Noodle had written the second album by herself (which he tried to take the credit for). The new album, Demon Days, made the band into even bigger superstars. After several number one videos, Noodle (close compadre to Murdoc) was apparently "killed" during the "El Mañana" video shoot (it can be noted that Murdoc came up with the idea of shooting down the floating island with Noodle inside, though to try and save her in the long run).
After the El Mañana conspiracy, 2D and Russel were frantic about Noodle's supposed death. But it turned out to be a hoax. Murdoc revealed the truth about the El Mañana video in the Gorillaz official autobiography book, Rise of the Ogre. Gorillaz-Unofficial released an article containing the contents of the book.
“ I guess you've waited long enough. Noodle's safe, she was just acting as planned… Jamie Hewlett gave Noodle the command, and she parachuted safely off the island.
—Murdoc Niccals on the video for El Mañana” It turns out that the entire El Mañana conspiracy was calculated specifically to get rid of an enemy of the band: Little Jimmy Manson, a psychotic hippie turned industry executive who was set on sabotaging Gorillaz. The reason was that Jimmy auditioned for Gorillaz a few years back, but was turned down after Noodle got the job. He has had a grudge with Gorillaz ever since. Murdoc saw Jimmy's plan and decided to get rid of Jimmy before it was too late. Murdoc told Jimmy that he had a plan to "help him" to kill off one of the band members so that 1) Gorillaz would end with a bang and 2) Jimmy could start a new band with Murdoc. Noodle was to do the El Mañana video with Manson stowed away on the island and then, while the windmill was crashing around them, Jimmy would shoot the guitarist whilst taking the parachute for himself. However, Murdoc turned the tables on Jimmy by not only "forgetting" to leave the weapon aboard the island but by also locking him in the windmill; Jimmy supposedly died within the crash while Noodle parachuted to safety. His statement has followed:
“ There's no way on earth I'm killing Noodle. Are you mad? She's Noodle. We're Gorillaz! The greatest band on earth. I'm arrogant, ruthless even, but I'm not stupid. I'm not having some two-bit mouldy despot record company nut killing off my band. No way, José. That clown got what he deserved. . . He set himself up and burned all the evidence in the process. Instant Karma for Mr. Jimmy Manson.
—Murdoc Niccals, Rise of the Ogre” It was stated by Murdoc that Noodle had been planning to leave after Demon Days, although leaving what, the band or the country, was never answered. Though it had been planned for months, she had neglected to tell anyone of her plans (although Murdoc stated it was obvious what she was doing). Murdoc, in order to run with his plan to off Jimmy, made a deal with Noodle: she could disappear for some R&R with no fuss if she did the video.
While some may say this is one of the only occasions when it appears that Murdoc isn't as selfish as he appears, he later states that no one was going to ruin his band, obviously meaning he would not jeopardise his fame.
However on 8 November 2007, the day of the live chat on fellow bandmate Murdoc's Facebook page, Murdoc revealed that Noodle has actually been taken in place of Russel Hobbs, to Hell by the demons invading the Kong Studios building. Murdoc is currently attempting to rescue her.
“ Noodle has been dragged to Hell. She can look after her self, but this one's too big for her on her own. I'm helping her out of there. In fact I only stopped by here to pick up a can of mace, when I noticed that someone had left the door open and let you gonks in....
—Murdoc Niccals on a live Facebook chat” He later explained:
“ Well... It’s funny. After the first album Russel had this big mad breakdown. He had the spirit of Del exorcised out of him by the Grim Reaper. Which kind of sent him mental. He tried to record a solo album but then he was saying that all these demons were flying out the speakers trying to eat him. Everyone thought he’d just gone loopy. “Living in a basement with Ike Turner”. Turns out though he was right. The Demons were real! You couldn’t really make it up. So next thing we know is after Noodle disappeared after The El Manana video incident, we hear this voice coming out of the basin basement room of Kong. Out of a radio. Turns out that when these demons couldn’t get hold of Russ, they grabbed Noodle instead. Dragged her downstairs, to Hades! So of course it fell to muggings here, (that’s me), to go on some epic Odysseus type journey into The Underworld to try and rescue her. It’s all tied up with contract I signed with Beelzebub that shoe-horned Gorillaz up the charts in the first place. He was cocked off about some late payment of my eternal soul, or something stupid. He as well as anyone should know that these type of payments take time to come through. I mean, well, everyone’s got their demons to battle. It's just that mine take on a more physical form and have names like “Alichino”, “Lilith”, “Baphomet” “Sidragasum”, “Xitragupten” and so on... I guess that’s what you get if you’re born in a mental asylum named after a demon called Belphegor. Still I was never bored as a child. Yup... never bored.
—Murdoc Niccals on a live Facebook chat” But on 13 September 2008, on the Gorillaz official fansite, Murdoc gave the fans his personal review of Monkey: Journey to the West. During the beginning of his review he stated that he went to Hades and successfully rescued Noodle from the demons. However, Murdoc's epic story to hades was unknown. Although Noodle still hasn't returned to her room in Kong (Gorillaz website) it was also said that Kong was burnt down. No one knows for sure.
“ I've only just got back from this whole 'tracking Noodle down in the Underworld, and rescuing her from an eternal existence in the jaws of a 50ft soul-eating demon from Hades' epic-type-jaunt, as what was posted in my last Bookface geek-fest thing... That was pretty hairy, but it's all safe now, all good. I'd love to tell you lot about it but, as usual I've got myself all tangled up with some turgid movie dudes who say, “Y'know keep schtum, we'll sell the whole story to Schpeilburg”. Probably all rubbish again but let's see.
—Murdoc Niccals on the Gorillaz Official fansite” Murdoc has since revealed various disturbing truths about Gorillaz' history, via his "Pirate Radio" broadcasts on Gorillaz.com. Among them include the revelation that Noodle was never rescued; upon entering hell and searching wildly for her, he discovered that she was not there and had disappeared on her own. Returning to Earth, he created a clone-cyborg version of her from DNA that he collected around the wreckage on the site of El Mañana, and used the new Noodle as his bodyguard against the Black Cloud, pirates and mercenaries that Murdoc had been selling bad weapons to since at least his time in Mexico. At a recent radio interview, Murdoc confirmed that he burned down Kong Studios and used the insurance money in order to create his hideaway/recording studio on a tiny island called Point Nemo. Also known as "Plastic Beach", it is an island made entirely of social and cultural garbage. He is presently located on Plastic Beach, where he's kidnapped 2D and began production of the Gorillaz album Plastic Beach. During the interview, Murdoc also hinted at a possible fourth album for Gorillaz.
Murdoc has most recently been trying and failing to appear at live shows around the world such as Coachella and the roundhouse but many things have stopped him such as being deported from America. He said in an iTunes interview that he "Wasn't 100% sure he really exists..." and that Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett have been trying and failing to stick him back on a piece of paper. The ever-so pesky "Gorillaz Tribute Band" has been blocking his way and preventing him from taking the stage (See the Murdoc Dressing Room video shorts where, when preparing for a concert, Murdoc, 2D, and Cyborg Noodle get trapped inside.).
It appears from the music videos of Stylo and On Melancholy Hill, an evil force known as the Boogieman is chasing Murdoc, and is after him to claim his soul. The Boogieman also appears in several other pieces of Gorillaz artwork and is also seen in the 2D ident, though the motives of the character are still unknown. On the Gorillaz website however, it was noted that the Boogieman is a physical manifestation of Murdoc's evil side, the Evangelist being a lighter side, though all we know of the Evangelist is that it was created for the sole purpose of saving Murdoc from himself.
Murdoc got together a group of collaborators in 2010 and went out to look for Noodle, although they still haven't found her, she is now confirmed to be alive after the "El Mañana" incident, as she appears in the On Melancholy Hill video, which relates to Murdoc and the collaborators looking for Noodle, as they are in submarines in the ocean at the same time as Noodle, although the video also shows the arrival of the gang to the island of Plastic Beach.
On December 25, 2010 to cap off the end of 2010, the Gorillaz unveiled (via the Gorillaz Advent Calendar) their newest album, The Fall. It was made on the Escape to Plastic Beach World Tour using Damon Albarn's iPad.
There is another character called "The Evangelist" that's now being mentioned, and apparently he or she is either to save Murdoc from himself or is the remaining good of his damaged psyche made into flesh. The Gorillaz website is holding a competition for people to draw what they think this mysterious person looks like and on 6 January 2011 the winner of the competition will have his or her drawing redone by Jamie Hewlett and be revealed on the website. According to some eye witnesses who have actually seen the Evangelist, they say he/she is dressed in white leather covered in rhinestones and rides a white unicorn. Others say he/she is a knackered cowboy/girl. Nobody knows for sure. It was announced on January 6, 2011 that the winner was a gorillaz user named jirouta designed the Evangelist. It looks like a thin, tall girl(or boy)with bleeding limbs, denim shorts, a shirt with the letter E on it, A fishbowl with an octopus with eyes and teeth, and 2 octopuses on its arms. After completeing Mission 2 on the Plastic Beach game, Murdoc is seemingly kidnapped and replaced by "imposter Murdoc"...
Character personality
He is the self-proclaimed 'leader' of the band and often makes attempts to bully the other members into doing things his way, especially 2D. He's also something of a womaniser. Despite these grave personality flaws, he also manages to be highly amusing through his use of creative insults and misanthropic rants. He is an alcoholic and a former speed addict, who also has problems with personal hygiene.
His main influences are the likes of Black Sabbath, The Clash, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones; however, he is also fond of AC/DC, Syd Barrett and The Ramones. Other influences for Murdoc, as well as the other characters of the band, are stated in the Charts of Darkness mockumentary about Gorillaz, which can be found on the Phase 1 DVD. In Phase 3, his personality appears to be much more sinister and evil than in other phases (Kidnapping and somewhat mentally abusing 2-D and kidnapping contributors to the Phase 3 album as examples.) As mentioned on Gorillaz World Tour Diary 4 in his profile page, he has a severe case of Anablephobia, a fear of looking up. However, it is not known where he got this fear from. Murdoc is a Satanist and sometimes says, "Hail, Satan!" He can also be seen periodically wearing an inverted cross necklace.
Character appearance
Murdoc can often be seen with his shirt off, at times even appearing in nothing but his underwear (usually briefs but sometimes a thong). During the period of the first Gorillaz album, he was generally seen wearing a grey sweater and jeans, although in the music video for "Rock the House" he wore briefs and what appeared to be the protective padding used in cricket. The electric bass which he is seen playing the most is a rare red 1981 Gibson Flying V bass, which he calls "El Diablo". It is one of only 375 ever made, and in reality is actually owned by Albarn himself. A large feature of him is his 6" long tongue. Murdoc has stated that his height is 5'10".
During the Demon Days era, his wardrobe seemed to grow much more diverse, appearing in a variety of different outfits. For example, in the music video for "Dirty Harry", he wore a military uniform reminiscent of a Nazi outfit.[1] He had also acquired a so-called 'designer label' cape with a skull woggle, seen in much of the album art for Demon Days, and seemed to wear it more often than his inverted cross. He also seems to have a pair of mismatched eyes, having his right eye colour being black, and his left eye being of a salmon colour. His nose is permanently crooked as a result of it being broken 8 times. His tongue is abnormally long, which may be a reference to Gene Simmons's famously long tongue (although Murdoc maintains that his tongue is longer than Mr Simmons'). Murdoc sports a number of tattoos, including a black inverted cross on his right upper arm, an Iron Cross on his upper left arm, a black skull and crossed roses bearing the inscription "Born to Die", the word "Helios" tattooed in black on his lower back with an arrow pointed downwards, and a red octopus on the inside of his right forearm. During his stint in a Mexican prison during the band's hiatus,[2] Murdoc was said to have gotten some more ink in the form of the seven deadly sins emblazoned across his back (he maintains that "Lust", "Pride" and "Gluttony" are his favourites). During interviews, he has been 'voice-coached' by Phil Cornwell. Murdoc's hair, originally completely black changed to a shade of dark grey, possibly a sign of ageing. As well as the darker hair Murdoc also has wrinkles under his eyes, whether a sign of ageing or lack of sleep is unknown. He says they're laughter lines though. His skin has also turned to a shade of green, According to Murdoc, he tans green. He is also seen in some videos with one pinkie nail a bright red, possibly a reference to the character "Jesus" in the Coen Brothers' film The Big Lebowski who sports the same.
His current appearance is different. In the 'On Melancholy Hill' music video, he is wearing black jeans, a white turtleneck sweater, a captain's hat that has a skull and crossbones, boots, and he was also smoking a pipe. In the 'STYLO' music video, he was wearing all black with a red bandana tied around his neck. His eyes aren't mismatched any more and seem to be either brown as seen in 'Stylo' or a gold/hazel color as seen in the 'Dressing Room' clips that have been shown during the Gorillaz Escape to Plastic Beach Tour. Murdoc's skin has changed as well. In the 'On Melancholy Hill' music video, when Murdoc emerges from the submarine, his skin is green.
References
- ^ [1][dead link]
- ^ "Gorillaz: Murdoc Ident". YouTube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zb_hbQOdmrA. Retrieved 2011-07-18.
External links
- Murdoc's biography on Gorillaz' official fansite
- Gorillaz official site
- Gorillaz official Plastic Beach adventure
- Gorillaz unofficial biography
Categories:- Animated characters
- Gorillaz members
- Fictional rock musicians
- Fictional doctors
- Fictional criminals
- Fictional English people
- Gorillaz
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.
