Songfacts®:

• Dr Dee is an opera scored by Damon Albarn. The work combines Elizabethan English instruments with acoustic guitar and harmonium played by the Blur frontman and drums performed by Nigerian percussionist Tony Allen. It also features a twenty-piece orchestra, which was provided by the BBC Philharmonic and conducted by André de Ridder. In addition, this song features the West African stringed instrument, the kora, which is played by Malian Madou Diabate.
• On the face of it, the opera is based on the life of mathematician and occultist John Dee, who was an advisor to Elizabeth I. However, the work is not entirely set in the Elizabethan era. Albarn explained to The Sun: "I'm in a strange world with it. It's not Elizabethan. The album is informed by my fascination with that era but it feels to me like it's still very much in the modern world. I don't think I would have been able to sing about my country or Queen without having this extraordinary man John Dee to help frame my thoughts. He enabled me to address my relationship with England."