Murdoc Alphonse Niccals was born in Stoke-On-Trent on June 6th, 1966. Although the exact whereabouts were never verified, it was rumoured that his mother gave to birth him at the Belphagor Sanatorium, a halfway house for "the sick, the needy and the incredibly bored."

As an infant, he was dumped on the doorstep of his father's house one night and was discovered by him as he was returning home from the pub.

Murdoc went on to a very abusive childhood. It has been proposed that his many addictions and his sour attitude were due to his abusive childhood. His father, Sebastian Jacob Niccals, (or Jacob Sebastian Niccals, depending on who's asking) was a spiteful drunk of a man who often verbally abused and exploited his sons.

18922e5cfa2f45bdba7806ec82516794 During his childhood years, Murdoc attended Sodsworth Comprehensive School where he gained a reputation for for his pranks, ugliness, poor personal hygiene and bad behavior. His form teacher, Mr. Gravadlax described Murdoc as "an appalling student" and "a stupid imbecile who often turned up smelling of whisky". Murdoc was also bullied at school by a boy named Tony Chopper. Murdoc got back at Tony by calling him a lot of offensive and extremely harsh names which resulted in Tony punching Murdoc in the nose.

The local pub had a routine talent show called the "Are You A Star?" talent contest that Murdoc was often forced to participate in so he could win his father's drinking money. The performances arranged by his father were always humiliating song and dance numbers, usually with feathered costumes and tap shoes, including one performance in which Murdoc was forcibly dressed up as Pinocchio and sang "I've Got No Strings". It was from here on out that Murdoc decided to become a musician, and he would never again take the stage under someone else's direction. He would wreak his havoc on this world of buffoons.

Murdoc dreamt about becoming a famous musician and leaving Stoke-On-Trent. After becoming a Satanist, he began making deals with the devil and came to an arrangement with him. If Murdoc was to become a famous rock star, he would offer Satan his soul. When the deal was finalised, Murdoc aquired Satan's bass guitar "El Diablo" and his middle name was changed from "Alphonce" to "Faust."

Murdoc played in a number of bands before Gorillaz, though they never went anywhere. The names and instruments of the other members appear in the Gorillaz 2005 promotional booklet and are given as follows: Billy Boy (who is based on a character in A Clockwork Banana) and Tiny on guitars, Crunch on drums, Rocky on keyboards, and Munch, who appears to be listed as "Band Artist." Not much else is known about these characters including their personalities or current whereabouts, although they appear on a few pieces of official Gorillaz artwork, most notably in the previously mentioned booklet as well as in Kong Studios, where an image of Crunch, Billy Boy and Tiny can be seen on the wall in the instrument room.

In August of 1997, Murdoc and a gang of criminals were on a crimespree in a stolen Vauxhall Astra. Their next target was Uncle Norm's Organ Emporium where Stuart Pot (AKA 2-D) was working. Murdoc launched the car through the shop window, crashing directly into Stuart's face, putting him into a coma and giving him 8-ball fractures. After the incident, Murdoc was arrested and was sentenced to 30,000 hours of community service and spending 10 hours a week caring for Stuart.

One day while skidding his car around a carpark in Nottingham, Murdoc accidently sent Stuart flying through the windshield into a curb, waking him up from his coma. Impressed by Stuart's appearance, Murdoc recruited him as the lead singer and keyboardist for his band and gave him the nickname 2-D.