Item from Gorillaz by Damon Albarn & Jamie Hewlett
The Faustian agreement Murdoc claims to have made at a crossroads in Stoke-on-Trent — the source of his supernatural luck, his green skin, and his outstanding debt.
The crossroads deal is the originating event of Murdoc's supernatural trajectory — the moment that set him apart from being merely an unpleasant bassist from Stoke and made him an unpleasant bassist from Stoke with actual dark powers and obligations. He made it, he says, at midnight, at a crossroads, in exchange for talent, luck, and something else that he describes differently depending on the telling. The consequences are still accruing. The Boogeyman's patience means the full terms haven't come due yet. Murdoc is aware of this. It explains certain things about his behavior — the grandiosity, yes, but also the occasional moments where he looks over his shoulder at nothing visible.
Murdoc claims it exists as a physical document somewhere. If so, it's not been found. The only evidence of it is circumstantial: the green skin, the luck that bends in specific ways, the fact that the Boogeyman exists at all. Some people believe it's metaphorical. Those people haven't spent much time around Murdoc.
Also known as: The Crossroads Contract, The Deal, The Bargain, The Stoke Crossroads Deal