(All copyrights belong to the owners Jamie Hewlett and Damon Albarn). The music video for "Dare" mostly performed by Noodle from the "first virtual hip-hop group" or cartoon band - the Gorillaz with English singer/songwriter Shaun "X" Ryder from their 2005 album Demon Days released on August 29 2005 as the second single from the album. This is the first Gorillaz single to hit #1 on the UK Singles Chart.
FUN FACTS: The video was leaked a few days prior to its July 17, 2005 release on the Gorillaz official website. Some say that legal threats were made against the individuals who uploaded the video, but none of these claims can be confirmed. Among those who uploaded are: DTV, NoSaNiTy and Gorillaz-Unofficial. The video was later recalled from other websites and the final scene was tweaked slightly;
On online music stores such as iTunes, the radio edit of the song had been available since 20 June 2005.
"Dare" was released to US airplay in mid-October. On the Billboard Hot 100, it peaked at #87. The song has reached the Top 10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
Murdoc's Confederate Naval Jack flag was replaced with that of the Jolly Roger. (The version with the Naval Jack is played in some countries, including Canada.)
The commentator on the 2006 BRIT Awards said that the song was originally to be called 'It's There' but they had to change it because Shaun Ryder's strong Mancunian accent made it sound like he was saying 'It's dare.' Rosie Wilson takes over the role from Miho Hatori, who usually provides the vocals for Noodle.
DESCRIPTION: The rest of the group-2D, Russel, and Murdoc-only appearing in short cameos in the video including an appearance by Shaun Ryder as a giant disembodied head kept alive by machinery in Noodle's closet. 2D is seen listening into Noodle's room by pressing his ear to the floor, Russel is shown seated on a toilet reading a newspaper and Murdoc appears at the end of the video lying in bed with Shaun Ryder, who wakes up, apparently having dreamt up the entire sequence of the video. Murdoc tells Ryder to "go back to sleep, honey," after which it is further revealed to be another nightmare dreamt by Murdoc, who also wakes up quickly upright in his own bed gasping and panting. In commentary, Noodle claims that Murdoc initially protested at her doing the entire video by herself, but she countered that she had seen him show off too much in the Feel Good, Inc. Video - and adds that he was asleep in his Winnebago for the whole of the shoot up until the final scene. The video was directed by Jamie Hewlett and Pete Candeland.
MORE INFORMATION ABOUT THE VIDEO: This video calls back to classic horror movies. In the very beginning of the video we see Gorillaz' 'reject false icons' statue, which one may recognize as Pazuzu, the figurine from The Exorcist and son of the devil. Crows are flying around the building, in a tribute to Alfred Hitchcock's The Birds. Shaun Ryder is depicted as a Frankenstein-like monster who is brought to life as the music begins. Amongst the contraptions that are part of the life support system appear to be Atari joysticks from the early 1980s. Ryder's head being kept alive is a pun on the movie The Brain That Wouldn't Die. The tube attached to Ryder's cheek switches from side to side as a tribute to the goofs commonly made in early horror movies. When we see Russel sitting on the toilet, he is holding a newspaper with a headline that reads CANNIBAL MASSAKREN, the Danish title of Cannibal Ferox, a horrifically violent horror movie that is banned in many countries, and on the back of the newspaper a headline text of the name "Freddie" is seen which is possibly a reference to Freddy Krueger from A Nightmare on Elm Street. The zoom on Noodle's eye at the end of the video is taken directly from Ringu and its American remake, The Ring. The fact that her eye is completely black followed by the scene of Murdoc gasping may also be a reference to the fact that Murdoc knocked out (or, more accurately, knocked in) both of Noodle's eyes, turning them black. All rights reserved.
(Less)
Video details
