Gorillaz made their Saturday Night Live debut on March 7th, and it did not disappoint. Though the group is technically a virtual rock band made up of four animated characters, the full live band threw down on the stage in Studio 8H. The band, including mastermind/frontman Damon Albarn, was at the show to promote its ninth studio album, “The Mountain,” but they kicked off their late-night performance with the song that started it all.
“Clint Eastwood” was released as the band’s debut single on March 5th, 2001, meaning the SNL performance nearly coincided with the song’s 25th anniversary. Even after so long, the song has not lost any of its punky, down-and-dirty grit.
The live lineup of Gorillaz includes a drummer, a percussionist, a keyboardist, a guitarist, a bassist, a keyboardist, and three backup singers. Albarn sang the earworm of a chorus, while special guest and rap legend Del the Funky Homosapien joined to reprise his performance of the verses, just like the original recording.
In a “blink and you’ll miss it” moment, the performance playfully referenced the song’s casual origin. Just after SNL host Ryan Gosling announces the band, it cuts to a gorilla’s hand pressing a button on a device in the studio. That device is the Omnichord, an electronic instrument introduced by the Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation in 1981.
“In its inception, [the Omnichord] was originally intended to be something akin to an electric autoharp,” Perfect Circuit explains. “Over the years, differing models featured touch plates, chord buttons, bass lines, drum patterns, and some eventually incorporating MIDI and the ability to store information.”
Albarn used the Omnichord in making “Clint Eastwood.” Or maybe it’s better to say the Omnichord made the song.
In a 2023 interview with Apple Music’s Zane Lowe, Albarn revealed that the entire song is based on the Omnichord’s “Rock 1” preset, including the beat, bass line, and chord pattern. He then shows that even the fills at the end of each section are built-in fills that can be triggered.
Hear the song’s origin and share in Lowe’s amazement:
Albarn downplays the feat of turning the preset into a global phenomenon, nearly shrugging it off as if anyone with an Omnichord could have stumbled onto a classic. But that’s exactly why “Clint Eastwood” still lands so hard after a quarter of a century. It’s not about production fireworks; it’s about taste. Countless musicians have flicked past the same preset for decades, but Albarn heard a warped spaghetti-Western groove and built an entire haunted pop universe on top of it.
When Gorillaz hit the SNL stage in 2026, that lurching groove doesn’t feel retro. It just feels instantly familiar, transporting you to the eerie and wonderful Gorillaz universe.
They also proved that even though it came from an electronic preset, it’s a monster song for musicians to perform. Check out this piano arrangement by Łucja Falińska or get the official score.
