Massive Attack | |
|---|---|
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Massive[a] |
| Origin | Bristol, England |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1988–present |
| Labels |
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| Spinoff of | The Wild Bunch |
| Members | |
| Past members | |
| Website | massiveattack.co.uk |
Massive Attack are an Englishtrip hop collective formed in 1988 inBristol, England, byRobert "3D" Del Naja,Grant "Daddy G" Marshall,Adrian "Tricky" Thaws andAndrew "Mushroom" Vowles. The group currently consists of Del Naja and Marshall.
They released their debut album in 1991,Blue Lines, which has been included on numerous best-of lists and is generally considered the first album of the 'trip-hop' genre.[3] The single "Unfinished Sympathy" was a chart hit in Europe, including number one on theDutch Top 40, and was later voted the 63rd-greatest song of all time in a poll byNME.[4] In 1994, they released their second album,Protection. Thaws left the band later that year to pursue a solo career. In 1998, they released their third album,Mezzanine, giving them their first number one on theUK Albums Chart.Mezzanine also contains the top-10 single "Teardrop", which earned further recognition as the opening theme of the American television seriesHouse.[5] In 1999, Vowles left the band, with Del Naja and Marshall continuing as a duo. They further released the albums100th Window (2003) andHeligoland (2010).
BothBlue Lines andMezzanine feature inRolling Stone's list of the500 Greatest Albums of All Time.[3][6] The group have collaborated with several recurring guest vocalists, includingHorace Andy,Shara Nelson,Tracey Thorn,Elizabeth Fraser,Sinéad O'Connor,Damon Albarn andHope Sandoval.
Massive Attack's awards include aBrit Award for Best British Dance Act, twoMTV Europe Music Awards, and twoQ Awards.[7][8] Their five studio albums have sold over 13 million copies worldwide.[9] Massive Attack are also known for supporting several political, human rights andenvironmental causes.
DJsDaddy G andMushroom, and rappersTricky and3D met as members of partying collectivethe Wild Bunch in the early 1980s. One of the first homegrownsound systems in the UK, the Wild Bunch became dominant on the Bristol club scene in the mid-1980s.[9]
Massive Attack was created in 1988 as a spin-off quartet. Unsigned, the group (Mushroom, Daddy G, 3D and Tricky) put out "Any Love" as a single.[10] It was co-produced by Bristol double-actSmith & Mighty and featured thefalsetto-voiced singer-songwriterCarlton McCarthy. In 1990, they committed to deliver six studio albums and a "best of"compilation to Circa Records. This record label became a subsidiary of, and was later subsumed into,Virgin Records, which in turn was acquired byEMI.[11][12][13]
3D co-wroteNeneh Cherry'sManchild in 1989.[14] This working relationship continued with Cherry helping Massive Attack to record their first albumBlue Lines. Cherry's partnerCameron McVey was an executive producer of the album and became the group's first manager.[15][16] Cherry and McVey provided financial support, via the Cherry Bear organisation, and the album was partly recorded in their house.[17] The band used guest vocalists, interspersed with their ownsprechgesang stylings, on top of what became regarded as an essentially British creative sampling production; a trademark sound that fusedhip hop,soul,reggae and other eclectic references, both musical and lyrical.[11] The album used vocalists includingHorace Andy andShara Nelson, a former Wild Bunch cohort.[18] MC Willie Wee, also once part of the Wild Bunch, featured. Neneh Cherry sang backing vocals on environmentalist anthem, "Hymn of the Big Wheel".[19] Co-production was also provided byJonny Dollar.
Blue Lines was released on 8 April 1991 on Virgin Records.[19] The album has been retrospectively considered the first of the "trip-hop" genre and received critical acclaim.
That year they released "Unfinished Sympathy" as a single, a string-arranged track atAbbey Road studio, scored byWill Malone.[20] The group temporarily shortened their name to "Massive" on the advice of McVey to avoid controversy relating to theGulf War.[21] They returned to being "Massive Attack" for their next single, "Safe from Harm".
For their second album, the band brought inEverything but the Girl'sTracey Thorn[11] andNicolette as vocalists and released "Protection" on 26 September 1994.
With McVey out of the picture,[clarification needed] Massive Attack enlisted the production talents of former Wild BunchNellee Hooper to co-produce some songs on it, with Mushroom. Other tracks were co-produced bythe Insects and 3D. A dub version,No Protection, was released the following year byMad Professor.Protection won aBrit award for Best Dance Act.[22] The other collaborators onProtection wereMarius de Vries andCraig Armstrong,[23] a Scottish classical pianist.
Tricky decided to end his involvement with the band in 1995 in order to pursue a solo career.[11] The crediting of Tricky's contribution forBlue Lines was also a source of friction.[24] This was also the period of the release of Tricky'sMaxinquaye andPortishead'sDummy. The term "trip hop" was coined and was referred to by the media as part of the "Bristol scene".[25][26]
Massive Attack started a label in 1995 distributed by Virgin/EMI, Melankolic, and signed Craig Armstrong and a number of other artists such as Horace Andy,Lewis Parker,Alpha,Sunna, andDay One. The group espoused a non-interference philosophy that allowed the artists to make their albums in the way they wanted.[27]
The same year, the Insects became unavailable for co-production and having parted ways with Nellee Hooper, the band were introduced toNeil Davidge,[28] a relatively unknown producer who had an association with anonymous dance-pop outfitDNA. The first track they worked on was "The Hunter Gets Captured by the Game", a cover version sung by Tracey Thorn for theBatman Forever soundtrack. Initially, Davidge was brought in as engineer, but soon became producer.[29]
The group increasingly fractured in the lead-up to the third album, Davidge having to co-produce the three producers' ideas separately. Mushroom was reported to be unhappy with the degree of the post-punk direction in which 3D, increasingly filling the production vacuum, was taking the band.[28]
The group contributed to thefilm soundtrack ofThe Jackal in 1997, recording "Superpredators (Metal Postcard)", a song containing a sample ofSiouxsie and the Banshees' "Mittageisen"[30] and "Dissolved Girl", a new song with vocals by Sarah Jay (that was later remixed for the next album), which was featured at the beginning of the 1999 filmThe Matrix, although it was not on the official soundtrack.
Later that year, they released a single, "Risingson", from what would be their third album,Mezzanine.[31]
3D became the band's main producer in 1997 in the recording sessions that madeMezzanine, Massive Attack's most commercially successful album,[32] selling nearly four million copies. It featured Neil Davidge as a sound engineer and co-producer, and Horace Andy andElizabeth Fraser as the main guest vocalists. During recording,Angelo Bruschini became their permanent lead guitarist both in a session capacity and live.[31]
The lead single, after "Risingson", was "Teardrop", sung by Fraser ofCocteau Twins. The song was accompanied by a video directed byWalter Stern, of ananimatronic singing fetus. Horace Andy sang on three songs, including "Angel". A track the band made for the filmThe Jackal, "Dissolved Girl", sung by Sarah Jay, was remixed for inclusion on the record.
Mezzanine went on to win aQ Award for Best Album[33] as well as being nominated for aMercury Prize.[34]
Touring extensively, friction between Mushroom and the other band members came to a head. Mushroom was unhappy with the direction of the group and having to appear on tour. In 1999, Mushroom left the band.[35]
Around this time, 3D, with Davidge decamped into Ridge Farm studio with friends and band members ofLupine Howl (made up of former members of the bandSpiritualized, including Damon Reece, who went on to be Massive Attack's permanent session drummer and one of two live drummers) towards a fourth Massive Attack LP, taking things even further into a rock direction.[15] 2001 also saw the release ofEleven Promos, a DVD of Massive Attack's 11 music videos thus far, including "Angel", a £100,000+ promo.[36]
Despite having taken 3D's side after Mushroom's departure and participating in a webcast as a duo in 2000, Daddy G took a personal break from the band in 2001.
With Daddy G temporarily no longer involved in the studio, Davidge and 3D steered "LP4" on their own. Enlisting the vocals ofSinéad O'Connor and Horace Andy,100th Window was mastered in August 2002 and released in February 2003.[37] Featuring no samples or cover versions,100th Window was not as critically well received in Britain as the other records, although the album received a warmer reception internationally, scoring a 75 out of 100 on review aggregation siteMetacritic.[38] The group collaborated withMos Def on the track "I Against I", which appeared on the "Special Cases" single and the soundtrack forBlade II. "I Against I" is also notable as the only track from the100th Window sessions that features a writing credit from Daddy G.100th Window sold over one million copies and was toured extensively (including Queen Square, Bristol—a one-off sell out concert set up in the city centre park, which was seen as a homecoming).[39]
3D was arrested on allegations involving child pornography in 2003, which were reported widely in the media.[40] 3D was soon eliminated as a suspect[41] (although he was charged withecstasy possession and unable to get a U.S. visa for a while) with Daddy G and fans offering their support. The arrest affected the beginning of the100th Window tour schedule.
3D and Davidge agreed to an offer from directorLouis Leterrier to score the entire soundtrack forDanny the Dog, starringJet Li, in 2005.Dot Allison, who had sung with the band on the100th Window tour, sang the end title track, "Aftersun". 3D and Davidge also scored the soundtrack for theBullet Boy film, with 3D on the end title vocals.
Daddy G started coming into the studio the same year, although little came of the material. He decided to instead work with a production duo, Robot Club, in another studio, feeling that he would be more free to develop tracks in the way he wanted. Meanwhile, 3D and Davidge recorded with a number of different singers as well as creating a track named "Twilight", forUNKLE'sWar Stories album. Later that year, Massive Attack decided to release their contractually obliged compilation albumCollected in 2006. They released it with a second disc, made up of previously released non-album songs and unreleased sketches.[37]
3D and Davidge scored three soundtracks in 2007:In Prison My Whole Life (which featured a track called "Calling Mumia" with vocals by American rapperSnoop Dogg),Battle in Seattle andTrouble the Water.
Massive Attack hosted a charity benefit for the Hoping Foundation, a charity forPalestinian children in 2007.[citation needed] The next year, it was announced that Massive Attack were to curate the UK's SouthbankMeltdown, a week-long event. It was suggested in interviews that this event would inspire Massive Attack back into action, having spent several years drifting towards the completion of their fifth studio album.[42]
Later that year, 3D and Daddy G headed toDamon Albarn's studios for some writing and jamming. Around this time, Davidge scored the soundtrack for aPaul McGuigan film,Push and in December, 3D completed the score for44 Inch Chest with the Insects andAngelo Badalamenti.
Davidge and 3D got back together in 2009 with Daddy G to finish the fifth album, incorporating bits of the Albarn material. Later it was announced that the band were to headline the 2009Bestival festival,[43] and soon after that they were to tour the UK and Europe. In May, 3D's instrumental "Herculaneum", featured in the filmGomorra, won an Italian award for Best Song. Later that month, 3D and Daddy G picked up a specialIvor Novello award for Outstanding Contribution to British Music.[44]
Jonny Dollar died of cancer on 29 May 2009 aged 45, survived by his wife and four children. Dollar was the programmer and hands-on producer behindBlue Lines, writing some of the melodies that were the basis for the string arrangements in "Unfinished Sympathy".[45]
Their new EP,Splitting the Atom, was announced on 25 August 2009. The other new tracks on the EP wereTunde Adebimpe's "Pray For Rain",Martina Topley-Bird's "Psyche" andGuy Garvey's "Bulletproof Love". The latter two tracks appear as remixes of the album versions.
The fifth album was released on 12 November 2009, calledHeligoland, after the Germanarchipelago ofHeligoland, after a previous project called "Weather Underground" was abandoned.[9] 3D said "I think it's got definitely a more organic feel".[46] The opening track, "Pray For Rain" featured guest vocals ofTV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe. Damon Albarn, Martina Topley-Bird andMazzy Star frontwomanHope Sandoval also provide guest vocals on the album. 3D said in October 2010, to the Spinner website, that his plans were now for "unorthodox" releases of several EPs in 2011, rather than an album.[47]
In a 2013 interview for his first solo art show since 2008, 3D confirmed that not only was new Massive Attack material in the works, but that rumours of a reunion with Tricky were true.[48] Tricky had not been featured on a Massive Attack album since 1994'sProtection.
"The idea is to put a record out next year", he says. "We actually get on really well at the moment because we don't spend time in the studio together", he says with a wry grin. "Me and Tricky wrote some new tracks in Paris last year, which haven't seen the light of day yet – but that was fun. They should be on the next album."
— Robert "3D" Del Naja,Metro, 23 May 2013[48]
Massive Attack headlined atSecret Solstice, a new music festival inReykjavík in June 2014.[49] On 21 February 2015, it was confirmed through the Massive Attack Facebook page that they would be collaborating withRun the Jewels.[50][51][52]
An iPhone application "Fantom" was released in 2016, developed by a team including 3D, which let users hear parts of four new songs by remixing them in real time, using the phone's location, movement, clock, heartbeat, and camera.[citation needed]
The group released a new EP on 28 January 2016,Ritual Spirit, which includes the four songs released on Fantom. The EP was written and produced by 3D and new collaborator, Euan Dickinson.
It was their first release since the 2011Four Walls / Paradise Circus collaboration withBurial, and the first time since 1994 that Tricky had been featured on Massive Attack content. Scottish hip-hop groupYoung Fathers, London rapperRoots Manuva and singerAzekel also featured on the EP.[53]
Massive Attack previewed three new songs on 26 July 2016: "Come Near Me", "The Spoils", and "Dear Friend" on the Fantom iPhone application on which they previously previewed the four songs from theRitual Spirit EP.[54]
They released a new EP on 29 July 2016, "The Spoils", which includes "The Spoils" and "Come Near Me", both previewed on Fantom. The EP was written and produced by Daddy G, without 3D's involvement. "The Spoils" features vocals from American singer-songwriterHope Sandoval, and "Come Near Me" features British vocalistGhostpoet. A music video for "Come Near Me", directed by Ed Morris, and featuring Kosovan actressArta Dobroshi, was released the same day as the single.[55] The video for "The Spoils", featuringCate Blanchett and directed by Australian directorJohn Hillcoat, was released on 9 August 2016.[56]
Massive Attack cancelled their appearance at the 2018Mad Cool festival inMadrid because of sound bleed fromFranz Ferdinand on a neighbouring stage. The festival offered several solutions to accommodate the band, but Massive Attack rejected them all.[57]
Massive Attack went on tour in 2019 to promote the 20th anniversary rerelease ofMezzanine, billed as "Mezzanine XX1". The American tour dates, originally scheduled for April, were postponed to September due to illness in the band.[58]
Massive Attack released a political audiovisual EP in July 2020 calledEutopia.[59] The three-track fusion was created across five cities during theCOVID-19 global lockdown period, and was partly formed by generative algorithmic visuals from AI art pioneerMario Klingemann and collaborations withAlgiers,Young Fathers and US poetSaul Williams.[60] The conceptual project, co-written and produced by 3D and documentary filmmakerMark Donne, featured strong arguments for global system change from UN Paris Climate Agreement authorChristiana Figueres, founder of theUniversal Basic Income Principle ProfessorGuy Standing and inventor of the US "Wealth Tax" policy ProfessorGabriel Zucman. Each video ends with a quote from Thomas More'sUtopia.[61]
Massive Attack were scheduled to headline the 2022 edition of thePrimavera Sound music festival inBarcelona,Spain, but an unnamed band member's serious illness forced the band to cancel its appearance with the rest of its European tour.[62]Angelo Bruschini, who played guitar onMezzanine and100th Window and had toured with the band since 1995, died of lung cancer on 23 October 2023.[63]
The group played their first show in five years on 5 June 2024 inGothenburg, Sweden, joined by guestsElizabeth Fraser,Horace Andy andYoung Fathers, who all toured with the band during their European shows that summer.[64] The same line-up played Bristol in August. Billed as a 'Climate Action Accelerator' gig, the group worked with local businesses to reduce the event'senvironmental impact.[65][66] Around this time, Massive Attack announced their first American tour since 2019; again to feature Fraser, Andy and Young Fathers. However, on 11 October 2024, the group cancelled all the US dates less than a week before. They cited "unforeseen circumstances" as the reason.[67][68]
In a December 2024 interview withNME, 3D revealed plans to release new music next year that had been ready since 2020 but was held up by record label disputes. He also said the band rejected an offer to playCoachella 2025 because of its environmental impact.[69] In September 2025, Massive Attack removed their music from Spotify in protest againstSpotify CEODaniel Ek's investment in artificial intelligence military companyHelsing.[70]
Some of their most noted songs have been without choruses and have featured dramatically atmospheric dynamics. They use distorted guitar crescendos, lavish orchestral arrangements and prominent looped/shifting basslines. Underpinned by high and exacting production values, sometimes using copious digital editing and mixing.[12] The pace of their music has often been slower than prevalent Britishdance music of the time. These and otherpsychedelic, soundtrack-like and DJist techniques, formed their style which has often been emulated. Journalists described this sound as "trip hop" from the mid-nineties onwards.[71] In an interview in 2006, Daddy G said, "We used to hate that terminologytrip-hop so bad," [laughs] "You know, as far we were concerned, Massive Attack music was unique, so to put it in a box was to pigeonhole it and to say, 'Right, we know where you guys are coming from.'"[72]
A solo exhibition of Del Naja's art was held at the Lazarides gallery in central London, from 24 May to 22 June 2013. The show's content spanned a period of over twenty years and featured many of the art pieces that Del Naja created for Massive Attack. Each piece, reinterpreted especially for the exhibition, was hand-printed and finished. The show also featured three one-off 'digital infinity mirrors', two of which contained phrases supplied byReprieve that were extracted fromdrone pilot dialogues. Del Naja performed a DJ set during the opening night on 23 May 2013.[73]
Del Naja conceived and designed an eight-night festival with filmmakerAdam Curtis—in collaboration with UVA (United Visual Artists)—that premiered in Manchester, UK in July 2013. The festival featured Curtis's film, unofficially titledThe Plan, which was projected on a huge screen surrounding the audience, while music from Massive Attack was interweaved throughout the film.[74] Del Naja, who orchestrated the film's soundtrack, described the experience as a "collective hallucination" and the film was also shown at theManchester International Festival in July 2013.[75][76][77][78] Music created by Del Naja for the festival became the score for aBBC production entitledHyperNormalisation in 2016.[79]
Del Naja and Adam Curtis teamed up in 2019 for a second time on a live show based on the band's Mezzanine album.[80] The show challenged the idea of nostalgia and power, and featured machine learning GANS and deep fakes fromMario Klingemann, as well as new films from Curtis that were used to tell a narrative story. They were used as visuals for cover versions of non Massive Attack songs based on samples and loops that made up the album's identity.[81]
It was reported in April 2019 that Massive Attack had encodedMezzanine into DNA to mark the 20th anniversary of the seminal 1998 album. The album has also been made available in the form of a matte black spray paint can. A limited number of spray cans will contain the DNA encoded audio within matte black paint and each can will contain approximately one million copies of the album.[82] Addressing the novel storage method, Del Naja – who is also known as a graffiti artist as '3D' – said: "It’s a creative way to store your back catalogue, although DNA-encoded spray paint is unlikely to be adopted by street artists seeking anonymity".[83]
Robert Del Naja was critical of the policies of theUK government under Tony Blair. He was strongly opposed to the2003 invasion of Iraq, and with fellow musicianDamon Albarn personally paid for full-page advertisements against the war in theNME magazine.[84]
Massive Attack have worked withCampaign for Nuclear Disarmament andStop the War Coalition, while also having helped fund a legal challenge to military intervention in international courts.[85]
Massive Attack curated the annualMeltdown festival on London'sSouth Bank in 2008. During the two weeks of live performance, cinema and art, they worked with human rights lawyerClive Stafford Smith and his organisationReprieve which uses the law to enforce thehumanrights of prisoners.[86]
The video shot byAdam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin for the song "Saturday Come Slow", featuring Albarn, drew attention to the use of music intorture.[87]
Massive Attack donated all proceeds from their 2010 EPAtlas Air toWar Child, a charity the band previously supported when they contributed toThe Help Album.[88]
Del Naja, musicians Albarn andBrian Eno, and United Visual Artists contributed to aGreenpeace demonstration in 2007 against the renewal of theTrident nuclear programme that was held on board theArctic Sunrise on theRiver Thames.[89]
On the eve of theBristol Mayor election, the band caused some surprise by endorsing independent millionaire and formerLiberal DemocratGeorge Ferguson, citing the need for a mayor who would help facilitate creative projects to the city, and wasn't simply following a party political agenda.[90] Previously, Del Naja had openly criticised Ferguson for being a member of theSociety of Merchant Venturers,[91] an organisation dating back to the 16th century which had many connections with theBristol slave trade.[92]
Along with other public figures, Massive Attack signed a letter supportingLabour Party leaderJeremy Corbyn in the2019 general election, describing him as "a beacon of hope in the struggle against emergent far-right nationalism, xenophobia and racism in much of the democratic world" and endorsed him in the2019 UK general election.[93]
Massive Attack endorsedCarla Denyer for the2024 general election, the co-leader ofthe Green Party, as MP forBristol Central. They said "General Election 2024 is an opportunity for #Bristol to consolidate its green reputation by electing an MP who is resolutely focused on #ClimateAction and unambiguous on the matter of genocide in #Gaza. @carla_denyer is that candidate."[94]
Del Naja andThom Yorke ofRadiohead threw an unofficial party at the occupiedUBS building in the city of London in December 2011, in support for the internationalOccupy movement.[95]
During a concert inIstanbul in 2014, Massive Attack named those who died inanti-government protests atGezi Park on the outdoor screen at their back with the following sentences: "Their killers are still out there" and "We won't forgetSoma".[96][97]
Massive Attack cancelled a concert in June 2024 at theBlack Sea Arena inTbilisi, originally scheduled for 28 July, in response to theGeorgian government's repression of thenationwide civil protests against law proposals that could have restrictedfreedom of press andLGBT rights in the country; in an official statement, the band explained their decision by writing quote, "At this moment, performing at the state-owned Black Sea Arena could be seen as an endorsement of their violent crackdown against peaceful protests and civil society".[98]
Del Naja and Marshall visited theBourj el-Barajnehrefugee camp in Lebanon in July 2014 to meet with Palestinian volunteers at an educational centre. The band's profit from the show inByblos was donated to the centre.[99] Massive Attack performed three shows in 2017 in support of Hoping, an organisation that helps raise money and supports projects for Palestinian youth in refugee camps in theGaza Strip and theWest Bank,Lebanon andSyria.[citation needed]
Massive Attack have previously played three shows inIsrael, but have boycotted it since 1999 "as a form of non-violent pressure on Israel to end its brutaloccupation of Palestine".[100] They have described their decision as "not an action of aggression towards the Israeli people", but "towards the [Israeli] government and its policies", arguing that "the Palestinians [inGaza and theWest Bank] have no access to the same fundamental benefits that the Israelis do."[101] Massive Attack co-signed an open letter in May 2020 urging Israel to end theblockade of the Gaza Strip.[102]
The group publicly expressed their support to the music acts who had decided to boycott 2024The Great Escape Festival inBrighton and Hove, in protest against the event's sponsorBarclays and its investments in companies supplying arms that were reportedly used by Israeli military forces in theirinvasion of the Gaza Strip.[103]
After the bandKneecap were criticized for displaying pro-Palestinian messages atCoachella in April 2025, Massive Attack published a statement supporting the group saying, "Kneecap are not the story. Gaza is the story.Genocide is the story."[104]
The band showed a clip of lateHamas leaderYahya Sinwar walking in atunnel in theGaza Strip in a backdrop video at a concert during the 2025Lido Festival inManchester.[105] The display was criticized by Alex Gandler, deputy spokesperson forIsrael's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, who said it was "just disgusting...aligning themselves with the worst humans. Not even hiding their hatred anymore."[106] Israeli activist and writerHen Mazzig accused them of "encouraging [sympathy] with Hamas" and incitement. The band responded by threatening to sue Mazzig for defamation, and defended the clip, which was cut with scenes fromJean Cocteau'sOrpheus, as "placement and implicit tone of horrified lament; that an individual of power can take people down into hell". They also felt the criticism of the clip was selectively chosen from a broader montage of various issues and themes. Mazzig subsequently deleted the post.[107][108]
Massive Attack joined the "No Music For Genocide" campaign, which calls for their music to be removed from streaming platforms in Israel.[109]
Robert Del Naja announced on 28 November 2019 that Massive Attack partnered with a research centre based at theUniversity of Manchester to explore themusic industry's climate impact. He wrote in a column inThe Guardian: "the commissioning of the renownedTyndall Centre for Climate Change Research to map the full carbon footprint of typical tour cycles, and to look specifically at the three key areas whereCO2 emissions in our sector are generated." This will include information about band travel and production, audience transport and venue. "The resulting roadmap todecarbonisation will be shared with other touring acts, promoters and festival/venue owners to assist swift and significant emissions reductions."[110]
Massive Attack donated the income from a Lincoln car commercial in 2010 to the clean up campaign after theDeepwater Horizon oil spill.[111]
Since October 2018, Massive Attack have also been supporting theclimate activists of theExtinction Rebellion group, also known as XR, which conducted protests in London in October 2018 then April 2019. Massive Attack played a DJ set on 21 April for the Extinction Rebellion protesters[112] in the heart of London in Marble Arch.[113] In July and October 2019, the group protested in 60 other cities worldwide,[114] Robert Del Naja providing a portable radio network using speakers in backpacks with receivers and transmitters for the campaigners in London.[115]
The band published a report in 2021 they had commissioned from the Tyndall Centre for Climate Change Research. The report examined the impact of live music on the environment and gave a set of recommendations for meeting theParis agreement targets. Del Naja criticised the UK government for not doing more to meet the targets.[116] Massive Attack became the first band globally to commit their touring companies to the UN "Race to Zero" – Paris 1.5 compatible emissions reductions schedule.[117]
The band played a Bristol show named "Act 1.5" on 24 August 2024 with the goal of being a "large-scale climate action accelerator", blazing a "trail for new standards of decarbonisation of live music." There were 25 different measures to minimise carbon, including giving extra benefits to local attendees and those travelling by train, powering the venue by renewable energy only, serving only plant-based foods and minimising waste through compostable plates and cutlery.[65][118]
Massive Attack performed at a charity concert inBristol fortsunami relief in 2005 with Adrian Utley andGeoff Barrow ofPortishead. The two-night event featured Massive Attack, Portishead,Robert Plant,the Coral and Albarn. Massive Attack performed an intimate "un-plugged" set, and invited Fraser to reprise her lead vocals on "Teardrop". The group collaborated with Portishead'sBeth Gibbons on the song "Glory Box" to end their set.[119]
Following theFacebook–Cambridge Analytica data scandal in 2018, Massive Attack suspended their Facebook page, stating: "In light of Facebook’s continued disregard for your privacy, their lack of transparency and disregard for accountability – Massive Attack will be temporarily withdrawing."[120]
Current members
Former members
Recurring collaborators
Touring members
Former touring members
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Despite the band rejecting the label,Massive Attack are generally considered to be a pioneering act of theBristol music scene and thetrip hop genre, with some calling them the greatest trip hop band.[121] Their debut album,Blue Lines, is generally considered to be the first album of the genre, even though the term was not coined until 1994. BothBlue Lines andMezzanine are considered to be amongst the best albums of the 1990s and of all time.[122][123]
"Unfinished Sympathy" was voted the 10th greatest song of all time in a poll byThe Guardian in 1999.[124]
TheBillboard Music Awards honor artists for commercial performance in the U.S., based on record charts published byBillboard.[125] The awards are based on sales data byNielsen SoundScan and radio information byNielsen Broadcast Data Systems.[126] The award ceremony was held from 1990 to 2007, until its reintroduction in 2011.[127]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Massive Attack | Top Electronic Artist | Nominated |
| 100th Window | Top Electronic Album | Nominated |
TheBerlin Music Video Awards is an international music festival that promotes the art of music videos.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | VOODOO IN MY BLOOD | Best Performer | Nominated |
Design and Art Direction (D&AD) is a British educationalcharity which exists to promote excellence indesign andadvertising.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Teardrop" | Direction | Yellow Pencil |
| Special Effects | Wood Pencil | ||
| Massive Attack – Teaser | Music Packaging and Print Promotion/Promotional Poster | Yellow Pencil | |
| 2011 | "Splitting the Atom" | Music Video | Wood Pencil |
| "Atlas Air" | Animation | Graphite Pencil |
Delivered since 1991. TheGAFFA Awards (Danish: GAFFA Prisen) are a Danish award that rewards popular music awarded by the magazine of the same name.[128]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Mezzanine | Best Foreign Album | Nominated |
| "Teardrop" | Best Foreign Music Video | Won |
TheEdison Award is an annual Dutch music prize, awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is one of the oldest music awards in the world, having been presented since 1960.[129]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Themselves | Best International Dance/Hip-Hop | Won |
| 1999 | Best International Group | Won |
TheFryderyk is an annual award ceremony in Poland, presented by theZwiązek Producentów Audio Video, the IFPI Poland, since 1994.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Mezzanine | Best Foreign Album | Nominated |
Hungarian Music Awards is the national music awards of Hungary, held every year since 1992 and promoted by Mahasz.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Mezzanine | New Trend Album of the Year | Nominated |
| 2011 | Heligoland | Alternative Music Album of the Year | Nominated |
TheInternational Dance Music Award was established in 1985. It is a part of the Winter Music Conference, a weeklong electronic music event held annually.[130]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | "Paradise Circus" | Best Underground Dance Track | Nominated |
TheIvor Novello Awards are awarded forsongwriting andcomposing. The awards, named after theCardiff born entertainerIvor Novello, are presented annually in London by theBritish Academy of Songwriters, Composers and Authors (BASCA).[131]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Themselves | Outstanding Contribution to British Music | Won |
TheMTV Europe Music Awards were established in 1994 by MTV Europe to celebrate the most popular music videos in Europe. Massive Attack has received two awards from three nominations.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | "Protection" | Best Video | Won |
| 1998 | "Teardrop" | Best Video | Won |
| Mezzanine | Best Album | Nominated |
TheNME Awards are annual music awards show founded by the music magazineNME.[132]
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999[133] | Themselves | Best Group | Nominated |
| Mezzanine | Best Album | Nominated | |
| "Teardrop" | Best Single | Nominated | |
| 2000[134] | "Unfinished Sympathy" | Best Ever Single | Nominated |
TheQ Awards is the UK's annual music awards held by music magazineQ for excellence in music. Massive Attack has received two awards from two nominations.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Mezzanine | Best Album[135] | Won |
| 2008 | Massive Attack | Innovation in Sound Award | Won |
The Brit Awards are theBritish Phonographic Industry's annual pop music awards.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | "Protection" | Best British Video | Nominated |
| Massive Attack | Best British Dance Act | Won | |
| 1999 | Mezzanine | MasterCard British Album | Nominated |
| "Teardrop" | Best British Single | Nominated | |
| Best British Video | Nominated | ||
| Massive Attack | Best British Group | Nominated | |
| Best British Dance Act | Nominated |
TheUK Music Video Awards is an annual celebration of creativity, technical excellence andinnovation in music video and moving image for music.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | "Paradise Circus" | Best Dance Video | Nominated |
| "Splitting the Atom" | Nominated | ||
| Best Animation in a Video | Nominated | ||
| 2011 | "Atlas Air" | Best Animation in a Video | Nominated |
| Best Visual Effects in a Video | Nominated |
VIVA Comet Awards were an annual awards ceremony, organised byVIVA Germany.
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Massive Attack | Best Avantgarde Act | Won |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "Teardrop" | Best International Video | Nominated | [136] |
| 2006 | Collected | Best International Music DVD | Nominated | [137] |
Chemam, Melissa,Massive Attack: Out of the Comfort Zone, Tangent Books (2019)ISBN 1910089729,ISBN 978-1910089729
Any Love (Mega rare 1988 UK self released debut 2-track 12" on Massive Attack Records, includes Bonus Version, stickered sleeve MASS001)
The offbeat, ambient ballad Manchild (co-written with Massive Attack's 3D)
Will Malone, who had worked on horror film soundtracks and Massive Attack's classic "Unfinished Sympathy".
Reaching number thirteen in the UK in 1991, Unfinished Sympathy was released under the group name Massive, due to the Gulf War of the same year
Best song: 10. Unfinished Sympathy – Massive Attack.
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