The Pink Phantom
by Gorillaz (featuring Elton John)

Album: Song Machine, Season One: Strange Timez (2020)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Damon Albarn's 2-D character starts off this piano-led ballad lamenting a lost love.

    Atlanta singer and rapper 6lack steps in with a melancholy Auto-Tuned verse where he questions whether their relationship was real, while recalling happy memories of their time together.

    Elton John croons the mildly psychedelic chorus and outro where he continues to reflect on the dead romance.
  • The titular Pink Phantom has a double meaning, referring to:

    A pink 1960 Rolls Royce Phantom V that Elton John once owned.

    The ghost (phantom) of the dead relationship. (The color pink is typically associated with love and romance).
  • A childhood ride in Elton John's Rolls Royce Phantom V that thrilled the young Damon Albarn inspired the song. Albarn recalled to Mojo magazine: "When I was about 7 or 8 - and this initially sounds very weird - I got picked up from school in Elton John's pink Phantom by his percussionist Ray Cooper, who was a friend of my parents. I was going to his nephew's party, who was my friend. It was very, very, very exciting."

    Many years later, Albarn told Gorillaz animator Jamie Hewlett about this vivid childhood memory. "He said, 'Well why don't do you write a song about it and do it with Elton?'" Albarn recalled. "And that's how 'Pink Phantom' came into being."
  • Jamie Hewlett told The Sun newspaper that he suggested the collaboration to Albarn one night when the two were up late talking and drinking. "I started playing Elton John songs at four in the morning," he recalled. "Damon was quite moved and said how much he loved them. I just slipped in the idea that we should do a Gorillaz thing with him."
  • Elton John recorded his vocals remotely in a London studio while Albarn was at the other end in Devon.
  • Damon Albarn and 6LACK wrote the song with Gorillaz drummer Remi Kabaka Jr. Elton John didn't contribute to the writing.
  • The song's music video features a cartoon version of Elton John. Hewlett told The Sun: "He said he didn't want to be in the video because he'd done enough of them and was tired of all that s--t. I said I should animate him and he sent me an email saying, 'I love this idea.'"
  • Elton John also included the song on his 2021 The Lockdown Sessions album. The record groups together a collection of one-off projects with different musicians.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"

Matthew Wilder - "Break My Stride"They're Playing My Song

Wilder's hit "Break My Stride" had an unlikely inspiration: a famous record mogul who rejected it.

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s Edition

Songs in Famous Movie Scenes: '80s EditionMusic Quiz

You know the scenes - Tom Cruise in his own pants-off dance off, Molly Ringwald celebrating her birthday - but do you remember what song is playing?

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"

Mike Scott of The Waterboys - "Fisherman's Blues"They're Playing My Song

Armed with a childhood spent devouring books, Mike Scott's heart was stolen by the punk rock scene of 1977. Not surprisingly, he would go on to become the most literate of rockers.

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock Photography

Danny Clinch: The Art of Rock PhotographySong Writing

One of rock's top photographers talks about artistry in photography, raising funds for a documentary, and enjoying a County Fair with Tom Waits.

Tom Johnston from The Doobie Brothers

Tom Johnston from The Doobie BrothersSongwriter Interviews

The Doobies guitarist and lead singer, Tom wrote the classics "Listen To The Music," "Long Train Runnin'" and "China Grove."

Joe Ely

Joe ElySongwriter Interviews

The renown Texas songwriter has been at it for 40 years, with tales to tell about The Flatlanders and The Clash - that's Joe's Tex-Mex on "Should I Stay or Should I Go?"