Damon Albarn was born in Whitechaple, London, in Febuary 1968. He has a sister, Jessica, who is three years the elder. Damon's dad, Keith, was manager of jazz-rock combo Soft Machine in the late Sixties, and desgned many of their reknowned stage sets. Damon's mother herself was also an artist. They lived in Leytonstone, East London, until he was ten when they upped to Colchester due to Keith landing a well-paid job as head of The North Essex College of Art. Damon then attended Stanway Comprehensive where, mocked by the local teenagers, he became an extrovert who wore an ear ring, read Karl Marx and played the violin. It was there where he met another outsider, Graham Coxon. At the time, 2-Tone bands such as Madness and The Specials were the craze and so-called "rude boy" look was in. Essential to this craze were porkpie hats, trim grey suits and brogues. Graham did not have the right footwear. Damon, of course, had the genuine article. "Those aren't proper brogues! They're rubbish! I've got the good ones, see..." The start of a close friendship which has lasted the rest of their lives?
