GNARLS BARKLEY

'Gnarls Barkley' is a Grammy-award winning musical collaboration between DJ, multi-instrumentalist and producer Danger Mouse (Brian Burton) from Baltimore, and rapper/vocalist Cee-Lo Green (Thomas Callaway), from Atlanta. Their first album, ''St. Elsewhere'', was released by Warner Music on April 24 2006 in the UK and on May 9 in the US by Atlantic/Downtown Records. It was made available for download one week earlier in the US via the iTunes Music Store and other online download stores. Their first hit, "Crazy", was the biggest-selling single in the UK in 2006. Their name directly refers to Hall of Fame basketball player Charles Barkley as stated by the band.^[1]

Contents

Career

Awards

Costumes

Discography

Albums

Singles

See also

References

External links

Career

Prior to their collaboration, both had their own lengthy careers.
Cee-Lo first entered the music scene as part of the Atlanta hip-hop group Goodie Mob which had a large hand in the Dirty South Movement of the 1990s. Cee-Lo left the group after their third album in 1999 and started his solo career. He released two solo albums, one in 2002, and one in 2004. In 2006 his former record label released a Cee-Lo's greatest hits album to ride the success of Gnarls Barkley.
Danger Mouse has produced for a number of hip-hop artists, and he produced Gorillaz' Grammy winning album ''Demon Days''. Danger Mouse garnered national attention for his Grey Album, which was a blending of the a cappellas from Jay-Z's the Black Album and beats using samples from the Beatles' White Album.
"Crazy", their first single, gained some of its popularity due to its use on primetime BBC Radio 1 DJ Zane Lowe's television advert, and it was also made Record of the Week by Ken Bruce of BBC Radio 2, Scott Mills and Jo Whiley of BBC Radio 1 as well as being made 'Weekend Anthem' by DJ Spoony and Sara Cox (also of Radio 1).They came together in 2003 when Cee-Lo was on tour and Danger Mouse happened to be the DJ. They became Gnarls Barkley. They were signed to Downtown Records by Josh Deutsch, after the song was presented to him by Danger Mouse's manager.^[2] It was released as a single on April 3 2006, preceded by its release as digital download and 12" Vinyl record single in March 2006. On 2 April 2006, it became the first ever UK number one single based on download sales alone.^[3]
In making their American television debut on Late Night with Conan O'Brien on May 24, 2006, the band performed their smash hit, Crazy. The band performed along with Christina Aguilera, AFI, and Wolfmother at the MTV Movie Awards 2006 June 8 2006 at the Sony Pictures Studios in Culver City, California.^[4]. They were dressed as characters from the film series Star Wars: Rebel Alliance pilots, Imperial officers, Stormtroopers, Chewbacca, Jango Fett, Obi-Wan, with Cee-Lo singing as an unmasked Darth Vader.
In October 2006, Gnarls Barkley recorded a live session for Live From Abbey Road at Abbey Road Studios.
Burton explains the collaboration's name came from friends, "making up fictional celebrity names like ''Prince Gnarls'' and ''Bob Gnarley.''" When someone came up with ''Gnarls Barkley,'' Burton wrote it down.
"Crazy" is the first ever single to top the UK singles chart purely on download sales as it was released online a week before it was released as a CD single. It is also the first single to top the UK singles chart for nine weeks consecutively since 1994 when Wet Wet Wet's "Love Is All Around" was number one for 15 weeks (the last song to spend exactly nine weeks on top was "Two Tribes" by Frankie Goes to Hollywood in 1984). It has also equaled the Queen 1975 classic "Bohemian Rhapsody", which also topped the UK singles chart for nine weeks. Crazy is also the longest number-one on the UK Official Download Chart with its stay lasting eleven consecutive weeks. Gnarls Barkley announced that as the record had spent its ninth week at number one, it was to be deleted as a vinyl/CD listing from May 28 2006 so people will "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it".^[5]
Prior to their collaboration as Gnarls Barkley, Danger Mouse and Cee Lo both worked on the single "What You Sittin' On?", available on "The Wired CD" under a Creative Commons license as well as "Benzie Box" from the album "The Mouse and the Mask" by Dangerdoom released 2005 on Epitaph Records.
As of August 23, the album has sold 772,000 copies.
A limited edition deluxe package of St. Elsewhere was released on November 7, 2006. The CD+DVD package includes a 92-page booklet, four music videos and bonus songs from live performances. From January until March of 2007, they toured with the Red Hot Chili Peppers through the United States of America. [2]
They toured Australia in March and April 2007 as part of the V Festival. Gnarls Barkley are currently working on their second album; in an interview with MTV, Cee-Lo Green revealed that the record is tentatively due in September 2007. ^[6]

Awards

Gnarls Barkley won Best Song (for "Crazy") and the Future Sounds award at MTV's European Music Awards 2006 in Copenhagen.
The duo won two Grammy awards in 2007 for Best Urban/Alternative Performance ("Crazy") and Best Alternative Music Album ("St. Elsewhere").^[7]
2007 BET Award for Best Group (Win)

Costumes

Gnarls Barkley has a propensity to appear in costume. For each live performance, as well as each photo shoot and interviews, the duo and their backing band dress in a different set of themed costumes. When performing live, the group will often open with a cover suited to their particular costume. For example, when they appeared as chefs in San Francisco, they opened with a cover of Duran Duran's "Hungry Like the Wolf."

Here is a partial list of costumes the group has worn in concert:


★ ''Airline flight crew'' (Top of the Pops, London, April 16, 2006; Grammy Award, Los Angeles, February 11, 2007)

★ ''Wizard of Oz characters'' (Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, Indio, Calif., April 29, 2006) Opened with "Breathe" by Pink Floyd; introduced themselves as "Mean Ol' Lion and the Hearts."

★ ''Glam metal band'' (Webster Hall; New York; May 22, 2006) Opened with "The Final Countdown" by Europe

★ ''Bathrobes'' (Late Night with Conan O'Brien, New York, May 24, 2006)

★ ''Graduation caps & gowns'' (The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Los Angeles, June 12, 2006)

★ ''Chefs'' (The Fillmore; San Francisco, June 18, 2006) Opened with "Hungry Like the Wolf" by Duran Duran and introduced themselves as the Sam Cookes.

★ ''Scientists'' (VEGA, Copenhagen, June 21, 2006; Le Bataclan, Paris, July 3, 2006; Austin City Limits Music Festival, Austin, Texas, September 15, 2006; Milwaukee, Wisconsin, February 28, 2007) Opened all four with "She Blinded Me With Science" by Thomas Dolby; introduced themselves as "John Nash and the Beautiful Minds"

★ ''Doctors and nurses'' (Avalon; Los Angeles; July 23, 2006; Electric Factory; Philadelphia, August 12, 2006) Opened both with "Dr. Feelgood" by Mötley Crüe Introduced themselves as "Chocolate John and the M.D.s".

★ ''Greasers'' (Avalon, Los Angeles, July 24, 2006)

★ ''Tennis players'' (First Avenue, Minneapolis, August 2, 2006; Lollapalooza, Chicago, August 5, 2006; Avalon, Boston, August 17, 2006; Pacific Amphitheater, Orange County, July 20 2006; V Festival, Sydney, 31st March 2007) Introduced themselves as "Love 40." Opened all five with "We Are the Champions" by Queen

★ ''Private school uniforms'' (SBC Center, San Antonio, Texas, March 6th, 2007; American Airlines Center, Dallas, Texas, January 13, 2007; Hammersmith Apollo, London, UK, July 6th 2006; The Late Show with David Letterman, New York, August 14, 2006; Ryan Center, Kingston, R.I., September 28, 2006; US Bank Arena, Cincinnati, Ohio, January 20, 2007, Allstate Arena, Rosemont, Illinois, February 27, 2007, Assembly Hall, Champaign, Illinois, March 3, 2007),Perth, Australia, April 5, 2007) Opened shows with "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" by Pink Floyd; introduced themselves as "School of Rock"

★ ''Star Wars'' characters'' (MTV Movie Awards, Sony Pictures Studios, California, June 3, 2006)

★ ''Pajamas'' (Riviera Theatre, Chicago, September 11, 2006) Opened with "Talking in Your Sleep" by The Romantics

★ ''Gladiators'' (Virgin Festival, Baltimore, September 23, 2006; The Tabernacle, Atlanta, October 1, 2006) Opened with "We Are the Champions" by Queen; introduced themselves as "The Chariots of Fire"

★ ''Austin Powers characters'' (Friday Night with Jonathan Ross, London, October 27, 2006); Bang Music Festival, Miami, November 11, 2006, Deck the Hall Ball, Seattle, December 7, 2006, Verizon Center, DC, January 25, 2007)

★ ''Astronaut jumpsuits'' (USC Galen Center, The Flaming Lips and Gnarls Barkley New Year's Eve Extravaganza!, Los Angeles, December 31, 2006, and in St. Louis with Red Hot Chili Peppers on January 15, 2007, Raleigh on January 22, 2007, and Charlottesville on January 26, 2007) Opened with "Space Oddity" by David Bowie; introduced themselves as "Area 69"

★ ''Hippies'' (Carling Academy Brixton, London, November 5, 2006) Opened with "Sunshine of Your Love" by Cream; introduced themselves as "Fat Lizzy" (A pun on Thin Lizzy).

In photo shoots, as well as in the "Smiley Faces" video and various concerts, the group mimicks a classic movie. Here is a partial list of movies and/or movie characters they have referenced in publicity photos or otherwise:


★ ''Austin Powers''

★ ''Back to the Future''

★ ''The Big Lebowski''

★ ''Cheech and Chong''

★ ''A Clockwork Orange''

★ ''Donnie Darko''

★ ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''

★ ''Fight Club''

★ ''Finding Nemo''

★ ''Freddy vs. Jason''

★ ''Hair''

★ ''Kung Fu Hustle''

★ ''The Matrix''

★ ''Men in Black''

★ ''Napoleon Dynamite''

★ ''Night Of The Living Dead''

★ ''Pulp Fiction''

★ ''School of Rock''

★ ''Soul Train'' (Jazz TV Show in B/W)

★ ''Star Wars''

★ ''Superman''

★ ''Wayne's World''

★ ''The Wizard of Oz''

★ ''Yellow Submarine''

★ ''Zelig''

Discography

Albums

★ ''St. Elsewhere'' (2006) - US #4 Platinum, UK #1

★ Second album (tentative date: September 2007) ^[6]

Singles

★ "Crazy" - #1 UK (9 Weeks), #2 US (7 weeks), #2 AUS

★ "Smiley Faces" - #10 UK

★ "Who Cares? / Gone Daddy Gone" - #60 UK

See also

★ DANGERDOOM

★ Kung Faux

★ ''Gnarls Biggie''

References

1. dangermousesite.com, "The DJ Auteur" (reprint of an interview originally published in the ''The New York Times Magazine''), accessed January 12, 2007
2. Interview - Josh Deutsch, A&R for Gnarls Barkley (No.1 UK) - Sep 04, 2006
3. Crazy song makes musical history
4. [1]
5. Gnarls Go Out On Top
6. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1559807/20070516/id_0.jhtml
7. CNN.com, February 11, 2007
8. http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1559807/20070516/id_0.jhtml

External links

★ Official Site

★

★

★ Gnarls Barkley Fan Site

★ Gnarls Barkley Fan Forums

★ Rolling Stone Feature

★ ''Pitchfork'' Interview

★ Excerpts from Concert Rider

★ T.I.R.M. Who Is? Feature