Jamie Hewlett, co-creator of the animated band Gorillaz, has been nominated for the £25,000 Designer of the Year prize.

He is one of four nominees up for the award organised annually by the Design Museum.

The cartoonist created Gorillaz with former Blur star Damon Albarn as a swipe against the growing number of manufactured pop bands.

Hewlett, 37, created the Gorillaz animations following success with his comic book heroine Tank Girl.

The other nominees are the humanitarian designer Cameron Sinclair, furniture designer Tom Dixon, and the design team behind The Guardian newspaper.

London-born Sinclair, 32, is on the shortlist for his work with the humanitarian group Architecture for Humanity.

It has been constructing schools, medical clinics and community centres in the aftermath of the Tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and the Pakistan earthquake.

The Guardian’s design team, led by creative director Mark Porter, is nominated for the redesign of the newspaper in its new Berliner format.

Dixon, 46, who taught himself how to weld metal furniture after quitting art school, was selected for his new furniture and lighting designs.

The shortlisted work will go on display at the Design Museum from March 4 to June 18.

Dotmusic

Gorillaz have been nominated for an outstanding five awards at next year’s Grammys: Record of the Year – Feel Good Inc.; Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals – Feel Good Inc. (with De La Soul); Best Urban Alternative Performance – Dirty Harry; Producer of the Year – Danger Mouse; Best Short Form Music Video – Feel Good Inc. Winners will be announced at the ceremony on 8th February in Los Angeles.

Reached for comment at Kong Studios, the band had this to say:

Murdoc: Oh it’s that time of year again is it? The ‘Grab-A-Grammy’ Competition. Five nominations?! That’s great ‘Record of the Year’ Really. Well I’d have to agree with that. I bought a copy for definite. In fact it hasn’t been off my turntable all year.

Russel: On behalf of Gorillaz I’d like to say how pleased we are with these nominations. Dangermouse did such an incredible job with the production on this record, so it’s great that he’s nominated for Best Producer.

2D: Yeah, we just heard. Five nominations. That’s er, wicked. My mum’s gonna be well pleased.

Noodle: On behalf of all of Gorillaz I’d like to say we’re all really pleased to hear this� De La Soul gave us such a great rap for ‘Feelgood Inc’ so its great that we’re nominated for the Best Pop Collaboration. But I’m really excited to hear about all of these nominations. It�s a real honour.

2D: ‘Best Urban Alternative Performance’ Wow! That’s a mouthful. But Dirty Harry’s a great song and the kids choir sang so well on it. Er, Thanks for the nomination.

Russel: Plus working with Bootie Brown was an absolute pleasure. He’s one of the most well-mannered and considerate people you’re ever gonna meet.

Murdoc: For once I’m speechless. Really. I genuinely hope we win ‘cos er, I hear Grammys go for a really good price on E-bay. It’s incredible, isn’t it? Five Grammy nominations and I still can’t get someone to come round and unblock the drains. Our studio stinks.

Gorillaz

Animated band record Manchester show.

Gorillaz’ recent shows in Manchester were filmed for a possible release on DVD.

The concerts at the Manchester Opera House earlier this month were the first and only time the band will play ‘Demon Days’ in full, with all the special guests including Shaun Ryder, De La Soul and Roots Manuva.

A source close to the band told NME.COM: “The shows were filmed and we’re hoping they’re good enough quality to put out at some point, but nobody has had the chance to watch it back yet.”

Gorillaz released their new single, ‘Dirty Harry’ this week (November 21).

NME.com

Gorillaz “Dirty Harry” single is released today (21 Nov). The single is available on 2 track CD, Maxi CD, DVD and download.

Track details as follows:

2 track CD:
1. Dirty Harry (Single Edit)
2. All Alone (Live)

Maxi CD:
1. Dirty Harry
2. All Alone
3. Hongkongaton
4. Dirty Harry (remix)

DVD:
1. Dirty Harry (Video)
2. Murdoc Is God
3. Dirty Harry

Buy the single now from Amazon.co.uk, HMV, iTunes or the Gorillaz Shop.

Parlophone is offering exclusive animated footage from Gorillaz Demon Days Live in Manchester, across a number of digital platforms in a first for BBC Radio 1.

Footage will be available via BBC.co.uk, BBC Radio 1 online and BBC interactive TV.

The Manchester gigs ran from the 2nd – 5th November, with this being the first time Radio 1 has delivered visual content on demand for TV, taking the BBC’s plans to visualise radio up a gear.

The ground-breaking initiative means viewers with digital satellite, cable and Freeview can enjoy exclusive audio and animated visuals from the gig at the push of the red button for 7 days after transmission.

Gorillaz Demon Days Live is a trailblazing event for the Manchester International Festival, the world�s first commissioning arts festival which kicks off in 2007. Jamie Hewlett – creator of Gorillaz visual identity – is producing exclusive visuals for the evening.

Radio 1 will be broadcasting Friday’s show on Lamacq Live from 9pm on Monday November 7. From 11.30pm the same night, the station will make visuals and audio of the event available from all BBC TV channels and online at bbc.co.uk/radio1. Freeview viewers will be able to press red from Radio 1.

Daniel Heaf, Radio 1′s Interactive Editor said; “Radio 1 knows how important visualisation is for its young listeners. This collaboration with Gorillaz Demon Days Live demonstrates how the station can provide world class music content across multiple platforms.”

Dan Duncombe, Digital Media Manager at Parlophone, comments, “Giving fans the ability to access content across a number of digital platforms is a key part of the Manchester events. We are also offering fans the opportunity to pre-order and download the live from Manchester version of the Gorillaz new single Dirty Harry, on to their mobile before the physical release date (21st November).

“These are groundbreaking shows, and working with Radio 1 has allowed us to take this further in terms of reach as well as interactivity. Gorillaz fans throughout the world can access and interact with this exclusive audio and visual content, making it a truly global and multi platform event.”

Gorillaz Demon Days Live sees the musical collaborators behind smash hit album Demon Days brought together for the first time ever, to recreate the album over five remarkable and unrepeatable evenings; it’s also the first time R1 audiences can receive on demand visual content on digital television (DTV).

BBC Radio 1 can be found on Freeview, Sky Digital, NTL and Telewest.

Netimperative