Damon Albarn, the chief singer and songwriter behind the groups Blur and Gorillaz, was born in Whitechapel, London, U.K., on March 23, 1968. Damon’s father had previously worked as the manager for English rock band Soft Machine and had also served as the head of an arts university in the London area. His mother worked as set designer for theater productions. According to Jim DeRogatis’ book “Turn on Your Mind,” Albarn used to attend Soft Machine concerts and finger paint backstage as a small child.Albarn came together with future Blur members Graham Coxon, Dave Rowntree and Alex James in 1989. Though they scored early success in the U.K. with their debut album “Leisure,” it wasn’t until their self-titled 1997 album that the band reached a wider audience in the U.S. Their crossover was largely fueled by the success of the album’s signature track “Song 2.”