“These lot aren’t ready”: Is this music's hottest hook-up? Has Damon Albarn got Noel Gallagher and Paul McCartney in the studio on a new Gorillaz collab?

Jeff Wootton Noel Gallagher Damon Albarn Paul McCartney
(Image credit: Instagram/Jeff Wootton)

Your eyes do not deceive you. That really is Paul McCartney playing with Noel Gallagher. And the guy on the far right? That’s Gorillaz regular go-to guitarist Jeff Wootton, who just posted the pic (alongside some revealing others) on his Instagram.

The caption? A simple "The Shape Of Things To Come"…

And further pics suggest that this isn’t just some one-off jam.

In the next pic we see Albarn working solo in the studio (with an engineer in attendance).

Jeff Wootton Noel Gallagher Damon Albarn Paul McCartney

(Image credit: Instagram/Jeff Wootton)

While on the next he’s joined by Noel Gallagher on bass.

Jeff Wootton Noel Gallagher Damon Albarn Paul McCartney

(Image credit: Instagram/Jeff Wootton)

Gallagher does of course have previous Gorillaz form, having appeared alongside Albarn’s Blur bandmate Graham Coxon and Shelley FKA DRAM, providing backing vocals on the single We Got The Power, featuring Jehnny Beth, from Gorillaz' fifth studio album Humanz.

The Oasis mainstay then later joined Gorillaz on their Humanz Tour in 2017.

Wootton’s final tease then shows a more familiar Fender Strat seated where Gallagher had been, plugged into a Boss JB-2 Angry Driver – possibly a stand-in for the rare Boss Power Driver PW-2, a unit popularly referred to by many as the ‘Oasis pedal’… Definitely?… Maybe?…

Jeff Wootton Noel Gallagher Damon Albarn Paul McCartney

(Image credit: Instagram/Jeff Wootton)

And it’s not just the Gorillaz-connected Wootton that’s teasing something big.

Further encouraging fans to get their hopes up comes an addition to Wootton’s post, this time from similarly-in-the-know Gorillaz bassist, Seye Adelekan who appears just in shot, far left in the initial pic, who simply commented: “These lot aren’t ready”.

Jeff Wootton Noel Gallagher Damon Albarn Paul McCartney

(Image credit: Instagram/Jeff Wootton)

Indeed fans willing to cast their mind back to 2020 may recall Albarn teasing a McCartney colab on the Dutch Podcast, Kink saying: “I have a recording of Paul and myself that I could use for a Gorillaz track. It could easily fit on a Gorillaz album.

“It’s a very simple, basic recording but I would never release it without talking to him first… But I could definitely work with him. He is one of the most special pop musicians ever,’ he gushed.

Could these in-progress recordings have been sat in Albarn’s vaults teasing Gallagher to come and get involved? Who knows, but keeping an eye on all of their socials has so far gleaned at least one interesting comment further…

Elsewhere in band line-up news, regular X music analyst Liam Gallagher appeared to launch further rumours about the final make-up of Oasis's live band ahead of the reformed groups' mega-money tour this summer...

We'll keep you posted should further insight surface.

Daniel Griffiths

Daniel Griffiths is a veteran journalist who has worked on some of the biggest entertainment, tech and home brands in the world. He's interviewed countless big names, and covered countless new releases in the fields of music, videogames, movies, tech, gadgets, home improvement, self build, interiors and garden design. He’s the ex-Editor of Future Music and ex-Group Editor-in-Chief of Electronic Musician, Guitarist, Guitar World, Computer Music and more. He renovates property and writes for MusicRadar.com.

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