Gorillaz to celebrate 25 years with new London exhibition ‘House Of Kong’

Gorillaz are set to mark their 25th anniversary with ‘House of Kong’, a new exhibition showing at London’s Copper Box later this year.

• READ MORE: Gorillaz – ‘Cracker Island’ review: conventional, but richly satisfying

For a limited run from August 8 to September 3, fans can get a look behind the curtain of the virtual band’s headquarters, with their origins charted from their formation and release of their 2000 debut single ‘Tomorrow Comes Today’.

The project – helmed by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett – is made up of bassist Murdoc Niccals, singer 2D, drummer Russel Hobbs and guitarist Noodle, with their “life of misadventures, musical innovation and ground-breaking virtual ways” to be explored in the exhibition, per a press release.

The exhibition will open daily from 10:30am to 10pm throughout its run. Tickets for ‘House of Kong’ start from £25 and you can find yours here.

Alongside news of the exhibition, Gorillaz have announced four special live shows at the Copper Box Arena, with performances scheduled for select dates in August and September. ‘House of Kong’ exhibition ticket holders will receive exclusive presale access to these limited-capacity concerts, more details on which are expected to be announced soon.

Dates for Gorillaz limited-capacity shows at Copper Box Arena are:

AUGUST
29 – Copper Box Arena, London
30 – Copper Box Arena, London

SEPTEMBER
2 – Copper Box Arena, London
3 – Copper Box Arena, London

Earlier this year, Albarn teased a new Gorillaz album, which is allegedly slated to be released at some point this year. When sitting down with French magazine Les Inrockuptibles, the Blur frontman was asked about his plans for 2025, to which he responded with “I’m finishing a new Gorillaz album. One opera and one new Gorillaz album seems like enough for 2025! Unless someone accuses me of taking my foot off the gas!”

Co-creator and artist Jamie Hewlett then also commented on an Instagram post seemingly confirming Albarn’s statement, writing: “Yes, the new album is coming out this year,” with a thumbs up emoji, much to the excitement of fans.

The band’s last release was 2023’s ‘Cracker Island‘. In a four-star review of the album, NME shared: “Albarn and his team appear unburdened by living up to a concept, and instead turn in a consistently enjoyable record that shows why they remain relevant so far into their career.

“A band that was once considered mucking about on the periphery of pop are now very much defining the present and inspiring the future. You could be doing much worse for album eight, eh?”

In other news, last year Blur opened up to NME about what the future has in store for them – particularly after their huge Live At Wembley Stadium concert film and their set at Coachella in 2024.

“We can’t leave it too long because we’re knocking on,” Graham Coxon said, looking at upcoming announcements from the band. “Creatively, we’ll always be able to do something, but it’s important that we live life for a bit and hopefully not go through something so traumatic before getting back together again.”

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