Monkey

Not a band or group as much as a further side project for Blur and Gorillaz vocalist/songwriter Damon Albarn, Monkey: Journey to the West was a stage adaptation of a 16th century Chinese novel entitled Journey to the West. Joining Albarn in his endeavor were artist Jamie Hewlett — also part of the Gorillaz project — and opera director Chen Shi-Zheng. The show made its debut in Manchester in June of 2007. The resulting soundtrack was a hit in the U.K., hitting the Top Five in the album charts and occupying the top spot on the indie charts. ~ Chris True