In an extensive interview with The Guardian, Damon Albarn has confirmed that both Blur and Gorillaz are likely finished. He also spoke about his feud with former Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher.

Recently it was announced that Blur will be playing a Hyde Park concert to mark the closing of the Olympics, which will be held in London this summer. But Albarn told the British newspaper that this gig may be the last show the band ever plays.

When asked if he had future plans for Blur after that gig, he replied, “No, not really.” He went on to say that “I hope that’s the truth and that’s how we end it.”

He also said that “Under the Westway,” a new single, will probably be the last recording by the band.

“I don’t really see any more recordings after this,” he said. “So it’s nice to have finally done one song where we did it properly.”

He says the reason for the lack of future record is primarily because of the band’s rhythm section.

“I find it very easy to record with [guitarist] Graham [Coxon],” he said. “He’s a daily musician. With the other two, it’s harder for them to reconnect. You know what I mean? It’s fine when we play live – it’s really magical still – but actually recording new stuff, and swapping musical influences, it’s quite difficult.”

He said that the end of Gorillaz is the result of a disagreement with Jamie Hewlett, the artist that collaborates with Albarn on the project.

“Jamie [thinks Gorillaz is finished], which is fair enough. I think we were at cross purposes somewhat on the that last record, which is a shame.” That last record was 2009’s Plastic Beach.

Albarn also said that he had buried the hatchet with formal rival Noel Gallagher after a chance encounter.

“I met him in Mayfair, in a nightclub,” Albarn said. “What normally happened in that situation was, we had a way of looking a certain way and walking past. It was like a code. But we broke the code that night, instantly. We looked at each other and said hello, and it made all the difference. A lovely man.”

Gorillaz, the animated and virtual Brit-rock quartet which is the collaborative effort of Blur front man Damon Albarn and animator and visual effects expert Jamie Hewlett, will be going on a world tour spanning three continents and two months to promote their recent studio release, “Plastic Beach”.

The tour dubbed as the “Escape to Plastic Beach”, will open with a show in Montreal on October 3 and will be followed with the band’s debut gig at the Madison Square Garden in NYC on October 8. More dates for the US and Canada stops will be added to the itinerary to fill out the October slots.

In November, the Albarn-led virtual rock outfit will be heading back to their home soil as they perform in Manchester (November 12) and London’s O2 Arena for two nights (November 14 and 16), after they open the all-European November leg of their tour in Dublin, Ireland on the 11th. They are also scheduled to hit two more cities in the UK – Birmingham and Brighton, The Netherlands, Germany, Belgium and finally, Paris, France to cap off the European leg.

They will be heading down south in Australia for a series of shows in the Great Outback in December, until they finally cap off the world tour with a show in Auckland, New Zealand, four days before Christmas.

Members of Sub Division, the official Gorillaz fan club, will have the first knack at advanced tickets which will be available in the weeks to come. For additional ticket information, such as general on sale and presale dates and times, log on to the Gorillaz website.

Fresh from their headlining performance at the April 18 finale of the Coachella Festival, Gorillaz is currently on their way to the Middle East for a July 25 show in Damascus, Syria.

“Plastic Beach” marks the third studio effort from the group who is best recalled by many for their breakout hit “Clint Eastwood” in 2001. The 16-cut compilation was released in March and immediately landed at the second spot of the Billboard 200. “Plastic Beach” is the band’s first studio release in five years since 2005’s “Demon Days”.

2010 Gorillaz Concert Tour
July 2010
25 – Damascus, Syria – Damascus Citadel

October 2010
3 – Montreal, Quebec – Bell Centre
8 – New York, NY – Madison Square Garden Arena

November 2010
11 – Dublin, Ireland – The O2 Dublin
12 – Manchester, United Kingdom – Manchester Evening News Arena
14 – London, United Kingdom – The O2 London
15 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Heineken Music Hall
16 – London, United Kingdom – The O2 London
17 – Birmingham, United Kingdom – The NIA
18 – Brighton, United Kingdom – The Brighton Center
21 – Berlin, Germany – Velodrom Arena
22 – Antwerp, Belgium – Lotto Arena
23 – Paris, France – Zenith Paris

December 2010
6 – Perth, Australia – Burswood Dome
8 – Hindmarsh, Australia – Adelaide Entertainment Centre
11 – Melbourne, Australia – Rod Laver Arena
16 – Darling Harbour, Australia – Sydney Entertainment Centre
19 – Boondall, Australia – Brisbane Entertainment Centre
21 – Auckland, New Zealand – Vector Arena

Gorillaz, Muse and Jay-Z are among the top acts for the roster for Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival’s 11th annual show. It will take place at Empire Polo Field in Indio, CA from April 16-18.

Pavement will also be reuniting for the festival. The last time the indie rockers performed was in 1999. The only other stops in North America that have been confirmed are a show in Toronto on June 19 and four shows in September at Central Park in New York City.

Other artists set to perform this year at Coachella include Thom Yorke, Spoon, The Death Weather, Vampire Weekend and Them Crooked Vultures.

The entire lineup will feature over 130 acts.

It’s the fourth year that the April festival has been a three day event. According to an event press release, for the first time attendees will be allowed to freely come and go during the course of the festivals. The options for camping have also been expanded to include RV and car camping in addition to tent camping.

Tickets for Coachella go on sale on Ticketmaster starting January 22. The cost for weekend three day passes will be $269 in addition to any surcharges. The price for single day tickets hasn’t been announced as of yet. More information regarding the layaway plan for tickets, camping options and the festival’s lineup can be obtained on the website for Coachella at coachella.com

2010 Coachella Music Lineup

Friday, April 16:
Jay-Z, LCD Soundsystem, Them Crooked Vultures, Vampire Weekend, Deadmau5, Public Image Limited, The Specials, Grizzly Bear, Passion Pit, Echo and the Bunnymen, Benny Benassi, Fever Ray, Grace Jones, She & Him, Erol Alkan, The Avett Brothers, Calle 13, The Whitest Boy Alive, The Cribs, La Roux, Yeasayer, Lucero, DJ Lance Rock, The Dillinger Escape Plan, Proxy, Ra Ra Riot, Deer Tick, Wolfgang Gartner, Aeroplane, Iglu & Hartly, Sleigh Bells, P.O.S., Baroness, Hockey, Little Dragon, White Rabbits, Wale, Kate Miller-Heidke, As Tall as Lions, Jets Overhead, Alana Grace, Pablo Hassan

Saturday, April 17:
Muse, Faith No More, Tiësto, MGMT, David Guetta, The Dead Weather, Hot Chip, Devo, Coheed and Cambria, Kaskade, 2Many DJ’s, Major Lazer, Dirty Projectors, Gossip, Z-Trip, The xx, John Waters, Les Claypool, The Raveonettes, Mew, Sia, Camera Obscura, Tokyo Police Club, Porcupine Tree, Old Crow Medicine Show, Aterciopalados, Bassnectar, Frightened Rabbit, Dirty South, Flying Lotus, Corinne Bailey Rae, Pretty Lights, Shooter Jennings, RX Bandits, The Almighty Defenders, Edward Sharp and the Magnetic Zeros, Craze & Klever, Zoe, The Temper Trap, Portugal. The Man, Band of Skulls, Girls, Beach House, Steel Train, Frank Turner

Sunday, April 18:
Gorillaz, Pavement, Thom Yorke, Phoenix, Orbital, Spoon, Sly and the Family Stone, De La Soul, Julian Casablancas, Plastikman, Gary Numan, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Sunny Day Real Estate, Yo La Tengo, MUTEMATH, Deerhunter, Infected Mushroom, Club 75, Matt & Kim, The Big Pink, Gil Scott-Heron, King Khan and the Shrines, Florence and the Machine, Yann Tiersen, Little Boots, Miike Snow, Talvin Singh, Ceu, B.o.B., Babasonicos, Owen Pallett, The Glitch Mob, Mayer Hawthorne, Local Natives, Rusko, The Middle East, Hadouken!, The Soft Pack, Kevin Devine, Paparazzi, Delphic, One Eskimo