Gorillaz star makes football fans fume after sly dig on Graham Norton Show

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Damon Albarn, the co-founder and man behind virtual band Gorillaz, took a swipe at Tottenham Hotspur during his appearance on The Graham Norton Show.

The former frontman of Blur was on the sofa after performing live in the studio. He joined Stephen Graham, Kaley Cuoco, Adrian Lester and Leo Woodall on the chat show during last night’s episode.

Speaking about his upcoming tour, the singer and Chelsea F.C. supporter made a dig at rival football team, Tottenham Hotspur.

As Graham informed the audience of Gorillaz’s upcoming gigs, he asked Damon, 57: ‘You’re doing your biggest ever gig I think? Tottenham Hotspur Stadium?’

Damon replied by jokingly correcting the Wheel of Fortune host: ‘A large music venue in North London, yeah.’

The crowd erupted into laughter, but a football fan at home had some choice words for Damon. On X, Spurs fan Graham Kingsbury called the music artist a ‘pr**k’, while sharing the clip he had recorded from his TV.

Damon Albarn at the Dior fashion show as part of Haute Couture Spring/Summer 2026 held at the Mus??e Rodin on January 26, 2025 in Paris, France. (Photo by Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty Images)
The music legend, who was once the lead singer of Britpop band Blur, riled footie fans with his comment (Picture: Swan Gallet/WWD via Getty)
Kara Jackson, Anoushka Shankar and Damon Albarn during filming for the Graham Norton Show, sat on the sofa.
He performed alongside Kara Jackson & Anoushka Shankar on Friday’s edition of The Graham Norton Show (Picture: Matt Crossick/PA)

The Blur legend’s refusal to utter the words of the opposing club was applauded by Philip Gaines, who wrote: ‘Still got it, Damon.’

John Gould reminded users on X of the time that ‘Oasis played Lancashire County Cricket Club in 2002′ and ‘refused to have the words Old Trafford on the ticket’.

Noel and Liam Gallagher are big Manchester City fans, and the cricket club’s ground had the same name as their rival team’s stadium. Rumours at the time suggested that the brothers therefore avoided referring to it as such, according to NME.

With a capacity of 62,850 people, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium is the second biggest Premier League ground in the UK.

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 16: Damon Albarn attends the Burberry Summer 2025 show during London Fashion Week at The National Theatre on September 16, 2024 in London, England. (Photo by Dave Benett/Getty Images for Burberry)
The band came about in 1998 (Picture: Dave Benett/Getty Images for Burberry)

The venue has hosted the likes of Lady Gaga, Beyoncé, and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

In comparison, Chelsea’s home ground, Stamford Bridge, can only hold approximately 40,000 people.

Gorillaz will perform there on June 20, after touring Europe and the US.

Adolescence star Stephen was singing Damon’s praises from his spot on the sofa: ‘I think you’re a genius, I always have.’

The actor told Damon that his dad had introduced him to Gorillaz and said: ‘”You’ll never guess who this is…”‘.

EDITORIAL USE ONLY (l-r) Damon Albarn, Kara Jackson, and Anoushka Shankar of Gorillaz during filming for the Graham Norton Show, at BBC Studioworks 6 Television Centre, Wood Lane, London, to be aired on BBC One on Friday evening. Picture date: Thursday February 12, 2026. Picture credit: Matt Crossick/PA Media Assignments
Gorillaz performed Orange County live in the studio (Picture: Matt Crossick/PA Media Assignments)

‘It blew my mind’, Stephen added.

He went on to ask where the concept for Gorillaz came from.

Damon explained he was living with cartoonist Jamie Hewlett and the pair ‘came to the conclusion there was a lot of manufactured stuff out there’, so they decided to ‘do something interesting with manufacture’.

The virtual band use cartoon characters to represent their musicians.

The Graham Norton Show is available to watch on BBC iPlayer.

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