Watch Damon Albarn Get Carried Off the Stage at 4am in Denmark

May 20, 2016

Damon Albarn and Gorillaz are supposedly back together making music, as the frontman revealed this past fall, when he said that their new record will have “quite a lot of energy.” Not a surprise from Albarn, whose performances are pure energy (plus a healthy amount of banter). As Consequence of Sound reminds us, this energy led the singer into a pretty hilarious finale to a festival performance last summer. 

Many of us have seen someone carried out of a concert venue. The classic image of a fan who’s having a little too much fun either smiling or screaming over the back of a security guard as their night of music is forcibly ended. One sight that’s a bit rarer than this, however, is the performer themselves being carried off in a similar fashion. Which is exactly what happened to Albarn at last year’s Roskilde Music Festival in Denmark.

At the end of his marathon set with Africa Express, a group featuring Albarn along with  Yeah Yeah Yeahs guitarist Nick Zinner, Seye Adeklan and Songhoy Blues, the singer wasn’t quite ready to call it a night— even at 4am, after five hours of playing. Even as he was being told to call it quits, Albarn put it up to the crowd, who responded with a resounding chant of “More, More, More.”

“Fuck what anyone says. If you want more, we’re gonna give you more,” Albarn declared. Unfortunately, it wasn’t up to him or the crowd, as his microphone was quickly turned off, presumably right before he uttered something to the tune of “If you want me off this stage you’re going to have to carry me off.” The security guard obliged.

Watch a video of the incident below, along with a clip of the group’s performance of The Clash’s “Should I Stay or Should I Go.”

“Should I Stay or Should I Go”