Damon Albarn has recalled the first time he watched late singer Terry Hall perform, aged 14.
Hall, the frontman of legendary two tone band, The Specials, died last December aged 63, shortly after a cancer diagnosis.
Now Gorillaz and Blur frontman Albarn has called the singer “the coolest human being on earth”, while being interviewed on Radio X.
"I was a kid of 14," remembered Albarn on the first time he encountered Hall.
"I somehow managed to get to a filming of Top of the Pops, and I found myself standing underneath Terry Hall and thought, ‘This is the coolest human being on Earth.’"
The pair later worked together on the Gorillaz track “911”, and Hall’s solo tracks “Chasing a Rainbow” and “Room Full Of Nothing”.
"He was a lovely, beautiful, fun person, and I didn’t know he was so ill, so I never got a chance to say goodbye,” Albarn added of the late singer.
Shortly after Hall’s death, Albarn posted a video of himself playing a slow piano version of The Special’s “Friday Night, Saturday Morning”.
“Terry, you meant the world to me. I love you,” wrote the singer on the caption of the video on Instagram.
In the video, Albarn can be seen facing the camera while playing the piano, with light streaming in from the window behind.
Albarn’s piano tribute is slower and more melancholy than the original version, but instantly recognisable as the 1980 track.
The Gorillaz are just off the back of releasing their latest album Cracker Island, which The Independent gave a four star review.
