Copper Box Arena Shows

Copper Box Arena Shows
Overview
Artist	Gorillaz
Associated Album	Gorillaz • G-Sides • Demon Days • D-Sides • Plastic Beach • The Fall
Location(s)	Copper Box Arena, London, England
Date	29 August — 3 September 2025
Start Date	29 August 2025
End Date	3 September 2025

The Copper Box Arena Shows was a series of live performances by Gorillaz, which took place at the Copper Box Arena^W in London between 29 August and 3 September 2025. Played in celebration of their 25th anniversary, the shows saw the band perform their first three albums in full for one night only. For each show, the band recreated the stage design of their respective eras, with the live band dressing up accordingly. The fourth show, billed as the "Mystery Show", was later revealed to be a full rendition of their upcoming album, The Mountain.

Information

The live shows were first announced on 21 May 2025, when the House of Kong exhibition was unveiled in full detail. Further details were revealed on 27 May. Those who purchased tickets for the House of Kong exhibition before 11 PM BST on 27 May received special priority access to the live show ticket presale, which started at 10 AM BST on 28 May. A second presale, made available exclusively to Gorillaz mailing list subscribers, started on the 29th. The general presale began on 10 AM BST on the 30th, with tickets selling out almost immediately.

Seye Adelekan, the Gorillaz live bassist, posted a video on Instagram, where guitarist Jeff Wootton could be heard playing Dracula.^{[citation needed]} On 17 July 2025, Seye made another post showcasing his gear. A commentator noted the acoustic guitar and ukulele, both of which had previously been used during performances of Hong Kong and Revolving Doors. Seye liked the comment.

In an interview with The Sun, Damon Albarn promised that the show would be a "generation-hopping thrill", leading many fans to believe that it would feature music from different eras of Gorillaz', though it did not. During an interview with Channel 4^W's Krishnan Guru-Murthy, Damon hesitated slightly when asked if the Mystery Show would feature any new music, replying: "Yes, there might be — I mean, yes, in that sense… yeah," as Jamie Hewlett jokingly pretended to cut his throat.

Personnel

Live band

• Damon Albarn — lead vocals, melodica, piano, guitar
• Mike Smith — musical director, keyboards, recorder, saxophone
• Ruth O'Mahony-Brady — keyboards
• Jeff Wootton — guitar
• Seye Adelekan — bass
• Karl Vanden Bossche — percussion
• Jaega McKenna-Gordon — drums
• Rebecca Freckleton — backing vocals, vocals (DARE)
• Michelle Ndegwa — backing vocals, vocals (Kids With Guns, DARE)
• Angel Silvera — backing vocals
• Jesse Appiah — backing vocals
• Demon Strings — strings (all shows, except Gorillaz Live)

Additional musicians

• Kid Koala — opening act, turntables (Gorillaz Live)
• Miho Hatori — vocals (Gorillaz Live: Re-Hash, 5/4, New Genious, Man Research, 19-2000)
• Chris Storr — brass (Gorillaz Live: Rock the House, Latin Simone; Mystery Show)
• James Copus — brass (Rock the House; Mystery Show)
• Sweetie Irie — vocals (Clint Eastwood - Ed Case Refix)
• Ben Castle — bass clarinet (Intro)
• Bootie Brown — rap (Dirty Harry)
• Lifted Up Community Choir Youth — choir (Dirty Harry)
• De La Soul — rap (Feel Good Inc., Superfast Jellyfish)
  • Maseo — opening act (all shows, except Gorillaz Live)
• Skye Edwards — vocals (All Alone)
• Shaun Ryder — vocals (DARE, playback)
• London Community Gospel Choir — choir (Demon Days)
• Qing Du — guzheng (Hong Kong)
• Hypnotic Brass Ensemble — brass (Plastic Beach Live: Orchestral Intro, Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach, Broken, Sweepstakes, Plastic Beach; Mystery Show: The Manifesto)
• Snoop Dogg — rap (Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach; playback)
• Yasiin Bey — rap (Plastic Beach Live: Stylo, Sweepstakes; Mystery Show: Damascus)
• Gruff Rhys — vocals (Plastic Beach Live: Superfast Jellyfish; Mystery Show: The Shadowy Light)
• Yukimi — vocals (Empire Ants, To Binge)
• Paul Simonon — additional guitar (Plastic Beach Live: Plastic Beach; Mystery Show: Casablanca)
• London Arab Orchestra — orchestration (Tahmila Hijaz, White Flag)
• Bashy — rap (White Flag)
• Lady Ruffelin — opening act (Mystery Show)
• Matthew Gunner — brass (Mystery Show)
• Anoushka Shankar
• Ajay Prasanna — bansuri
• Asha Puthli
• Black Thought — rap (The Moon Cave, The Empty Dream Machine, The Sad God)
• Sparks — vocals (The Happy Dictator)
• Kara Jackson — vocals (Orange County)
• Joe Talbot — vocals (The God of Lying)
• Johnny Marr — additional guitar (The Empty Dream Machine, The Plastic Guru, Casablanca, The Shadowy Light)
• Trueno — rap (The Manifesto)
• Omar Souleyman — vocals (Damascus)
• Asha Bhosle — vocals (The Shadowy Light; playback)

Voices from Elsewhere Ibrahim Ferrer — vocals (Latin Simone) MF DOOM — rap (November Has Come) Dennis Hopper — vocals (Fire Coming Out, The Mountain) Bobby Womack — vocals (Stylo, Cloud of Unknowing, The Moon Cave) Mark E. Smith — vocals (Glitter Freeze, Delirium) Lou Reed — vocals (Some Kind of Nature) Dave Jolicoeur — vocals (The Moon Cave) Tony Allen — vocals (The Hardest Thing) Proof — vocals (The Manifesto)

Setlist

• Gorillaz (29 August)
• Demon Days (30 August)
• Plastic Beach (2 September)
• Mystery Show (3 September)

1. M1 A1
2. Re-Hash
3. 5/4
4. Tomorrow Comes Today (song)
5. New Genious (Brother)
6. Clint Eastwood (with Del The Funky Homosapien via playback)
7. Man Research (Clapper)
8. Punk
9. Sound Check (Gravity)
10. Double Bass
11. Rock The House (with Del The Funky Homosapien via playback)
12. 19-2000
13. Latin Simone (Que Pasa Contigo) (with Ibrahim Ferrer via playback)
14. Starshine
15. Slow Country

Encore (Film Music played inbetween from tape)

1. Dracula
2. Ghost Train
3. Clint Eastwood (Ed Case Refix) (with Sweetie Irie)

Videos

Gorillaz - Gorillaz Live (Official Trailer)

Official Trailer

Gorillaz Live (YouTube Music Nights)

Full Performance

Gallery

Official Poster

Trivia

Fan art of 2-D by Glowrillaz, which is featured for a split second in the interlude.

• Hip Albatross was used as the walk-on track.
• Double Bass and Ghost Train both debuted live.
• Rock the House featured a brand new recording of Del's vocals, possibly made specifically for the show.
• 19-2000 was restarted by Damon right before the second verse.
• The first verse and chorus of Latin Simone were performed in English, with Ibrahim Ferrer's part being played for the remainder.
• Man Research (Clapper), Starshine and Slow Country were played for the first time since 2002.
• Re-Hash and Punk were played for the first time since 2018.
• Film Music featured a new synth part.
• In the interlude between Man Research (Clapper) and Punk in the YouTube release of this show, you can see fan art of 2-D by the artist Glowrillaz for a split second.

1. Intro (with Ben Castle)
2. Last Living Souls
3. Kids With Guns (with Michelle Ndegwa)
4. O Green World
5. Dirty Harry (with Bootie Brown and Lifted Up Community Choir)
6. Feel Good Inc. (with Pos and Maseo)
7. El Mañana
8. Every Planet We Reach Is Dead
9. November Has Come (with MF DOOM via playback)
10. All Alone (with Roots Manuva via playback and Skye Edwards)
11. White Light
12. DARE (with Shaun Ryder via playback, Michelle Ndegwa and Rebecca Freckleton)
13. Fire Coming Out Of The Monkey's Head (with Dennis Hopper via playback)
14. Don't Get Lost In Heaven
15. Demon Days (with the London Community Gospel Choir)

Encore (68 State played inbetween from tape)

1. We Are Happy Landfill
2. Rockit
3. Hong Kong (with Qing Du)

Trailer

Gorillaz - Demon Days Live at Copper Box Arena (Official Trailer)

Official Trailer

Gallery

Official Poster

Merchandise range

Trivia

• Intro was performed live for the very first time, instead of being played from tape.
• November Has Come and All Alone were played for the first time since 2010 and 2006 respectively.
• The music videos for Dirty Harry and DARE were played in full, with their intros and outros included.
• Don't Get Lost in Heaven was restarted after Damon missed his queue.
• We Are Happy Landfill debuted live.
• Hong Kong was played in a different key.
• The commemorative shirts for the show displayed the incorrect date (2 September) and were quickly removed from sale.

1. Orchestral Intro (with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
2. Welcome To The World Of The Plastic Beach (with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble and Snoop Dogg via playback)
3. Rhinestone Eyes
4. Stylo (with Yasiin Bey and Bobby Womack via playback)
5. Superfast Jellyfish (with Pos and Gruff Rhys)
6. Empire Ants (with Yukimi)
7. Glitter Freeze (with Mark E. Smith via playback)
8. Some Kind of Nature (with Lou Reed via playback)
9. On Melancholy Hill
10. Broken (with Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
11. Sweepstakes (with Yasiin Bey and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
12. Plastic Beach (with Paul Simonon and Hypnotic Brass Ensemble)
13. To Binge (with Yukimi)
14. Cloud Of Unknowing (with Bobby Womack via playback)
15. Pirate Jet
16. Tahmila Hijaz (with the London Arab Orchestra)
17. White Flag (with Bashy and the London Arab Orchestra)

Encore (Three Hearts, Seven Seas, Twelve Moons played inbetween from tape)

1. Phoner To Arizona
2. Revolving Doors
3. California And The Slipping Of The Sun

Trailer

Gorillaz - Plastic Beach Live at Copper Box Arena (Official Trailer)

Official Trailer

Gallery

Official Poster

Trivia

• Orchestral Intro, Welcome to the World of the Plastic Beach and White Flag were played for the first time since 2010.
• Some Kind of Nature and To Binge were played for the first time since 2017 and 2018 respectively.
• Plastic Beach was restarted after the live band played the post-dramatic intro section a bar late, causing Damon to start the song again after the first chorus.
• As per Damon's request, the lyrics to Pirate Jet were changed from "For a hundred years" to "For a thousand years".
• For this show, the National Arab Orchestra performed Michael Ibrahim^W's song Tahmila Hijaz as an intro for White Flag.
• Revolving Doors was played for the first time since 2017.
• Phoner to Arizona and California and the Slipping of the Sun debuted live.
• The show ended with a tease of the mountain graphic seen on the poster of the Mystery Show and chanting of "the mountain", hinting at the next album.

1. The Mountain (with Anoushka Shankar, Ajay Prasanna and Dennis Hopper via playback)
2. The Moon Cave (with Black Thought, Asha Puthli and Dave Jolicoeur via playback)
3. The Happy Dictator (with Sparks)
4. The Hardest Thing (with Tony Allen via playback)
5. Orange County (with Kara Jackson and Bizarrap via playback)
6. The God of Lying (with Joe Talbot)
7. The Empty Dream Machine (with Black Thought, Anoushka Shankar and Johnny Marr)
8. The Manifesto (with Trueno and Proof via playback)
9. The Plastic Guru (with Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
10. Delirium (with Mark E. Smith via playback)
11. Damascus (with Omar Souleyman and Yasiin Bey)
12. The Shadowy Light (with Ajay Prasanna, Gruff Rhys and Asha Bhosle via playback)
13. Casablanca (with Paul Simonon and Johnny Marr)
14. The Sweet Prince (with Ajay Prasanna, Johnny Marr and Anoushka Shankar)
15. The Sad God (with Ajay Prasanna, Anoushka Shankar and Black Thought)

Gallery

Official Poster

Trivia

• Select songs from this performance were originally set to feature on the bonus disc of the deluxe CD edition of The Mountain, however these were switched for original bonus tracks instead.