2003
3D took his anti-war campaign to the HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT on this day - which just so happened to be his birthday! 3D and his campaigning partner Damon Albarn turned up outside Big Ben as part of a national lobby of Parliament aimed at opposing a future war in Iraq. Protesters met up with their local MPs to criticise the recent deployment of troops to the Gulf region. Quote - 3D told NME.COM - “What a way to spend your birthday!. I”ve already faxed my MP in protest. I used the online site www.faxyourmp.com, it’s so simple it’s ridiculous.”
After a nearly five year wait since Mezzanine, the new Massive Attack album, 100th Window is finally released first in Japan only. The Japanese preceeded the rest of the world’s release by nearly two weeks. It does however contain copy protection software embedded on the disc itself.
The official website produced by a London web consultancy firm called Hi-Res, goes online on this date and serves as a promotional tool mainly for the soon to be released 100th Window album. The website is designed completely in Flash, so you must have Macromedia Flash installed on your computer before attempting to view the site. During the 2003 tour, the site was updated frequently with photos from each of the individual shows. These photos have since early 2007 disappeared from the site inexplicably. Since the 2003 tour, the site has been very infrequently updated. The last update to the site was in Summer 2004 and has been pretty much dead since. Do not expect any major updates to the official site until the release of the next Massive Attack album.
100th Window is released in the UK and most other European territories. Depending on your location or region, your 100th Window copy may or may not have copy protection software on it.
100th Window is released in North America.
Feb 15th
Almost one million people gathered to march through London on this day, police have said, in an unprecedented protest against war in Iraq - with Damon Albarn and 3D amongst the leaders. While march organisers have put the figure for those taking part closer to two million, the official number still marks the event as the biggest of its kind in the history of Britain. Protestors gathered in London by the Thames from early that morning. One commentator described seeing a “sea of people” snaking along Embankment on the way to a meeting point in Hyde Park. The Hyde Park rally was addressed by, amongst others, US civil right’s leader Rev Jesse Jackson, long-standing Parliamentarian Tony Benn, playwright Harold Pinter and MP Mo Mowlam. Radio 1 figurehead John Peel and veteran protest singer Billy Bragg were also amongst the crowd.
The first single to be taken from 100th Window, Special Cases is released in the UK and some select European territories. It is also the first Massive Attack single to be released in over four years following on from Inertia Creeps.
3D was arrested and questioned by police over alleged Internet child porn offences on this unfortunate date in Massive Attack’s history. He was bailed by officers working on Operation Ore, the national crackdown on child porn. Detectives seized computer equipment and a quantity of suspected drugs during a raid at 3D’s home in Bristol on the 25th February. The news of this would not break until two days later however. A spokesman for Avon & Somerset Police said: “A man in his 30s from Bristol was arrested on February 25 in connection with allegations of the possession of class A drugs and Internet porn offences. “He was bailed pending further inquiries.” The arrest was made under Avon And Somerset’s Operation Ricochet, part of Operation Ore, the national crackdown on child porn. Quote - 3D said of the incident - “I have never looked at child pornography in my life. “I am co-operating fully with the police and I would ask everyone not to judge me prematurely. I have total faith in the justice system.”
Directly owing to 3D’s recent arrest and questioning on child porn offenses, the first two shows of the 2003 tour have been forced to be rescheduled. The two affected shows were both in New Zealand, in Wellington (7th March) and Auckland (8th March). The shows were rescheduled for the 29th and 30th March respectively. An apology from 3D to New Zealand fans was also issued on this date.
The Special Cases single is released in Canada.
Even though the 2003 tour to promote 100th Window was inteneded to get underway in New Zealand, because of the recent rescheduling of dates, the 2003 tour now starts at the Rod Laver Arena in Melbourne, Australia on this date. This is Massive Attack’s first live show as well in over three years, their last one being at the Melkweg in Amsterdam, Netherlands on 28th November 1999.
The two New Zealand dates which had previously been rescheduled, Wellington (29th March) and Auckland (30th Match) are been cancelled. These two dates had already been delayed once, and the reason for the cancellation is that “they have been unable to secure all the production elements they need and are not prepared to deliver sub-standard performances”. Full ticket refunds were given out to the disappointed New Zealand fans.
Massive Attack held a minute’s silence at their show this night in recognition of Iraqi citizens caught up in the current war in their country. At the gig at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre , the band lined-up at the front of the stage before their performance, held hands, and conducted a minute of silence. Quote - 3D said to the crowd - “As you all know, the war in Iraq started today. We’d like you all to join us in silence to think about the innocent civilians who are suffering as a result of this tragedy.” 3D had been one of the most outspoken critics of the war in Iraq, within the music industry. Since last year he had been involved in various demonstrations in London, and along with Damon Albarn of Blur , designed and financed a number of anti-war ads that appeared in the NME.
Avon & Somerset Police in Bristol, UK on this day announced all enquiries relating to the arrest of 3D for Internet pornography have been dropped. All property seized in this matter were returned to 3D.
The promo video for Butterfly Caught, directed by Daniel Levi, is filmed at Black Island Studios in London, UK. Filming also continues on into the next day on the video.
Following on from the successful Australian and Japanese first leg of the 2003 tour, Massive Attack played their first European date at the Academy in Glasgow, UK. After palying several UK dates, Massive Attack would then make their way onto mainland Europe by the end of the month.
The second and also last single to be taken from 100th Window, Butterfly Caught is released in the UK.
The Butterfly Caught single is released as a limited edition single in Japan, in order to promote Massive Attack’s live appearance at the Fuji Rock Festival later on that month. Japan is the only country outside the UK to recieve the Butterfly Caught single.
Massive Attack stage a triumphant return to their hometown by staging a homecoming show right in the centre of their city of Bristo, UK on this date. About 20,000 music fans packed into Queens Square in the city centre had been transformed into the open air concert venue over the course of the last few days. It was the first time the group, currently on a world tour had played in Bristol for nearly five years. Band members said it was great to play in their home city but added it was time the city had a proper concert venue. Quote - 3D spoke about this by stating - “Bristol still hasn’t got an arena which is a shame because the city’s been missed out on the map by a lot of bands on their tours, so this is a way of compensating for that a bit. We’ve just bought a building outside Bristol and are installing all our stuff in it so we’re waiting to go into the studio to work for the rest of the year. “We’ve got a massive amount of stuff written on the back of bits of paper and hotel menus.” The group were supported by the musical acts The Streets, Goldfrapp, The Bees, Martina Topley-Bird and Lupine Howl in a concert which went on until nearly midnight.
The entire 2003 tour ends on this date at the Pukkelpop Festival in Hasselt, Netherlands, two shows after playing their homecoming gig in Bristol, UK earlier in that same week. The next Massive Attack would not begin until the Creamfields Festival in Mexico City, Mexico on the 22nd May 2004.
The new album from U.N.K.L.E is released today. Among other things, it contains a new collaboration with Massive Attach with 3D on vocals called Invasion. Quote - James Lavelle of U.N.K.L.E said of this collaboration with 3D - “That was one of my boyhood dreams. He was meant to do the last record. I think he realised if he didn’t do it this time, we’ll never do it. He was really nervous and said look if you don’t use it I would’nt be offended”.
A career retrospective of Irish singer and recent Massive Attack collaborator, Sinéad O’Connor was released on this day spanning two discs, one devoted to her greatest hits the other one rare b-sides and collaborations. On the second disc there are two new Massive Attack songs which were both recorded with Sinéad O’Connor during the 100th Window recording sessions. These songs respectively are It’s All Good and Love Is Ours.
3D condemned the decision to release a Pop Idol (UK version of American Idol) version of John Lennon’s single Happy Xmas (war Is Over), this Christmas. Massive Attack have joined up with the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND) in opposing the single and are calling for all profits from the sale of the CD to go to humanitarian aid organisations working in Afghanistan and Iraq. Quote - 3D said - It’s utterly repugnant as a choice of song by anyone right now. This is a new low - it is utterly repugnant as a choice of song by anyone right now. US planes bombed and killed children in Afghanistan this week, US troop deaths since May have topped 200 and there have been thousands of Iraqi civilian casualties since Bush declared the war to be over”.
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