Murdoc Niccals

Murdoc Niccals

Murdoc Niccals (sometimes spelled Nicalls) (born June 6, 1966 in Stoke-on-Trent, England) is a fictional musician, member of the virtual band Gorillaz. He provides bass, and is the self-proclaimed leader of the band. He was created by Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn.

Character Biography

Murdoc was dumped on his father's doorstep in infancy and went on to a very abusive childhood. It has been proposed that his many addictions and his sour attitude were due to his abusive and very bad childhood. Sebastian Jacob Niccals ("or Jacob Sebastian Niccals, depending on who's asking") was a spiteful drunk of a man who often verbally abused and exploited his sons. No one actually knew who his mother was but most think he was born to a woman in a mental hospital for the terminally bored (though there are many other creative possibilities that contradict the theory). The local pub had a routine talent show that Murdoc was often forced to participate in so he could win his father drinking money (Murdoc once played Pinnochio, singing "I've Got No Strings"). Though he and his older sibling Hannibal never got along (he was responsible for two of the eight separate times Murdoc's nose was broken), it was through big brother that Murdoc was introduced to his favorite bands, such as the Clash (though Muds found Black Sabbath on his own). He used to be bullied by a very large boy, Tony Chopper, but eventually Murdoc began to fight back with words and from then on, he had no trouble. Tony Chopper now works at a grocery store and regrets being mean to Murdoc because of his present world-wide fame.

Murdoc played in a number of bands before Gorillaz; they never went anywhere. One of these was an unnamed Metal band which consisted of six people, including Murdoc on bass. The names and instruments of the other members appear in the Gorillaz 2005 promotional booklet and are given as follows: Billy Boy (who is based on a character in A Clockwork Orange) and Tiny on guitars, Crunch on drums, Rocky on keyboards and Munch who appears to be listed as "Band Artist." Not much else is known about these characters including their personalities or current whereabouts, although they appear on a few pieces of official Gorillaz artwork, most notably in the previously mentioned booklet as well as in Kong Studios where an image of Crunch, Billy Boy and Tiny can be seen on the wall in the instrument room.

Eventually after recruiting 2D through a series of accidents and not-so-accidents and kidnapping Russel from Big Rick Black's Music Shack, he pieced together the band that would become Gorillaz. He purchased Kong Studios and was delivered a small Japanese girl who could play a wicked guitar solo; Noodle replaced Paula Cracker (presently an overmedicated psychopath with a personal vendetta against the thirteen-year-old who helped lead the band to success) as Gorillaz's axe bandier. Murdoc wrote the self-titled debut album. After achieving fame, fortune, and several nasty hangovers, the alcoholic bassist relocated his band over to Los Angeles so they could begin production on a movie. Unfortunately, this was never to be. They were conned by a movie director (who it turns out, was just an insane man) while Murdoc attempted starring in a television programme (he was too old for the part), and they ventured unsuccessfully into scriptwriting. Murdoc took off to a Tijuana brothel after strangling 2D (who, like the rest of the band, went their separate ways) and was eventually thrown in prison with a 30-year sentence for giving bad cheques to the prostitutes. He escaped with the help of two Mexican criminals and a paper mache mannequin of himself.

Murdoc wandered back to Kong, finding that Noodle had written the second album by herself (which he tried to take the credit for). The new album, Demon Days, made the band into even bigger superstars. After several number one videos, Noodle-close compadre to Murdoc-was apparently "killed" during the "El Mañana" video shoot (it can be noted that Murdoc came up with the idea of shooting down the floating island with Noodle inside, though).

After the El Mañana conspiracy, 2-D and Russel were frantic about Noodle's supposed death. But it turned out be a hoax. Murdoc revealed the truth about the El Mañana video in the Gorillaz official autobiography book, Rise of the Ogre. Gorillaz-Unofficial released an article containing the contents of the book.

I guess you've waited long enough. Noodle's safe, she was just acting as planned… Jamie Hewlett gave Noodle the command, and she parachuted safely off the island.
—Murdoc Niccals on the video for El Mañana

It turns out that the entire El Mañana conspiracy was calculated specifically to get rid of an enemy of the band: Little Jimmy Manson, a psychotic hippie turned industry executive who was set on sabotaging Gorillaz. The reason was that Jimmy auditioned for Gorillaz a few years back, but was turned down after Noodle got the job. He has had a grudge with Gorillaz ever since. Murdoc saw Jimmy's plan and decided to get rid of Jimmy before it was too late. Murdoc told Jimmy that he had a plan to "help him" to kill off one of the band members so that 1) Gorillaz would end with a bang and 2) Jimmy could start a new band with Murdoc. Noodle was to do the El Mañana video with Manson stowed away on the island and then, while the windmill was crashing around them, Jimmy would shoot the guitarist whilst taking the parachute for himself. However, Murdoc turned the tables on Jimmy by not only "forgetting" to leave the weapon aboard the island but by also locking him in the windmill; Jimmy supposedly died within the crash while Noodle parachuted to safety. His statement has followed:

There's no way on earth I'm killing Noodle. Are you mad? She's Noodle. We're Gorillaz! The greatest band on earth. I'm arrogant, ruthless even but I'm not stupid. I'm not having some two-bit mouldy despot record company nut killing off my band. No way, José. That clown got what he deserved. . . He set himself up and burned all the evidence in the process. Instant Karma for Mr. Jimmy Manson.
—Murdoc Niccals, Rise of the Ogre

It was stated by Murdoc that Noodle had been planning to leave after Demon Days, although leaving what, the band or the country, was never answered. Though it had been planned for months (the packing boxes had begun showing up in Kong Studios the previously February), she had neglected to tell anyone of her plans (though Murdoc said it was obvious what she was doing). Murdoc, in order to run with his plan to off Jimmy, made a deal with Noodle: she could disappear for some R&R with no fuss if she did the video.

While some may say this is one of the only occasions when it appears that Murdoc isn't as selfish as he appears, he later states that no one was going to ruin his band, obviously meaning he would not jeopordize his fame.

Murdoc is still living in Kong Studios, which is now mysteriously crumbling to the ground; the rest of the band is on break. Murdoc says he is almost broke, thanks to some legal fees and a golf club membership. He is planning a foray into politics, with a much more literal ambition for taking over the world. He also states that Gorillaz is actually in the middle of the biggest project the world has ever seen.

Character Personality

He is the self-proclaimed 'leader' of the band and often makes attempts to bully the other members into doing things his way. He's also something of a womanizer. Despite these grave personality flaws, he also manages to be highly amusing through his use of creative insults and misanthropic rants. He is an alcoholic and a former speed addict, who also has problems with personal hygiene. His main influences are the likes of Black Sabbath, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, however, he is also fond of AC/DC and Syd Barrett. Murdoc was, for a time, idolized by his vocalist and keyboard player, 2D; Murdoc very blatantly does not return the compliment and beats 2D up whenever he gets the chance. Murdoc also seems to have a fascination with Nazi paraphernalia--in the video for Dirty Harry he is seen actually wearing a uniform very reminiscent of a Nazi's. He is quite vulgar, and can be seen performing pelvic thrusts in several of the Gorillaz videos, such as "Rock the House" (to knock away billiard balls) and Feel Good Inc (as a sort of dance), and in a few live shows as well.

Although resentful and "evil" (a self-proclaimed description), Murdoc can be very complimentary when the mood strikes him. This is demonstrated by inducing the stream of enthusiastic accolades about Russel's drumming skills in We Are the Dury and frequently praising Noodle's guitar skills, even pausing to note that 2D does have an extraordinary talent with vocals and keyboards. Murdoc is not one to give credit where credit is due, taking responsibility for Gorillaz's second album, Demon Days (which is mostly Noodle's work), but was momentarily upset when 2D said Gorillaz, the band's self-titled debut album, was his own work. As Russel stated in "The Apex Tapes" about the bands relationship, "We all love each other! Except for Murdoc, who hates us all-and himself equally." Murdoc simply responded "Yeah, yeah, exactly, that would be true...what's your point?" During the MTV Choice Awards (after not winning best album), Murdoc shouted a rude word causing people to turn around in their seats (it was actually Damon Albarn who had been sitting in back with Jamie Hewlett; afterward they blamed it on the fictional Murdoc. According to Hewlett, they'd been drinking).

Murdoc doesn't dislike his bandmates (although he hardly shows it). Said and stated, Murdoc shows his band members "tough love'. He has no problems offending them. When asked in the epilogue of Rise of the Ogre what 2D was doing during the band's second hiatus, he genuinely didn't know the singer's whereabouts. Murdoc (in a weird way) considers 2D like a younger brother (giving the case that he picks and beats him a lot). He doesn't seem to dislike him, but has no problem beating him. Murdoc seems to have actually formed a sort of friendship with Russel, however, calming him down during a panic attack in We Are the Dury and actually keeping track of his activities post-Demon Days. Like the other members, he holds a soft spot for Noodle, often addressing her "darlin'", "doll", or "luv". He is the only member of Gorillaz to address her affectionately; 2D never has and Russel has only ever called her "sista'", e.g. "What the sista' is tryin' to tell you..."

Character Appearance

Murdoc, unlike most animated characters, is actually shown to change his outfit, much like a "real" person, though he is almost always wearing his inverted cross. He can often be seen with his shirt off, at times even appearing in nothing but his undies or a thong. During the period of the first Gorillaz album, he was generally seen wearing a grey sweater and jeans, although in the music video for "Rock the House" he wore undies and what appeared to be the protective padding used in cricket.

During the Demon Days era, his wardrobe seemed to grow much more diverse, appearing in a variety of different outfits. For example, in the music video for Dirty Harry, he wore a military uniform reminiscent of a Nazi outfit. He had also acquired a so-called 'designer label' cape with a skull woggle, seen in much of the album art for Demon Days, and seemed to wear it more often than his inverted cross. He also seems to have a pair of mis-matched eyes. His tongue is abnormally long, which may be a reference to Gene Simmons's famously long tongue. Murdoc sports a number of tattoos, including a black inverted cross on his right upper arm, a black skull and crossed roses bearing the inscription "Born to Die", the word "Helios" tattooed in black on his lower back with an arrow pointed downwards, and a red octopus on the inside of his right forearm. During his stint in a Mexican prison during the band's hiatus, Murdoc was said to have gotten some more ink in the form of the seven deadly sins emblazoned across his back (he maintains that "Lust", "Pride" and "Gluttony" are his favorites). During interviews, he has been voiced by Jamie Hewlett as well as Phil Cornwell.

these guys suck balls