Gorillaz Send Bono Best Wishes

Damon Albarn has given his reaction to Gorillaz being drafted in to fill the gaping hole left by U2's withdrawal from Glastonbury's Friday night headline slot.

As Spinner reported on Wednesday, May 26, the festival's founder Michael Eavis summoned the cartoon band after the Irish rockers had to pull out in the wake of Bono's back injury.

Albarn is quoted at NME.com as being excited about the opportunity for his group. "It's a terrible thing for U2," he said. "Glastonbury is magical. Gorillaz will come to life on that stage, but we wish Bono all the best."

At the same time, the virtual group's co-founder Jamie Hewlett admitted he could only be confident of Gorillaz doing well in Somerset after their success at California's Coachella Festival.

"I wasn't sure how Gorillaz would work in a festival environment, but Coachella was amazing," he said. "I think Glastonbury will be an unbelievable experience for us." Albarn, of course, has recent experience of the UK event, as his other band Blur headlined the Pyramid Stage in an emotional comeback on the Sunday night last year.

One possible guest vocalist, Shaun Ryder, may have less fond memories of Glastonbury, as Happy Mondays' appearances there were notoriously shambolic.