started on follow-up to Play

Moby started on the follow-up to Play in late 2000. Prior to working on tracks for 18 , he got friends to search for records with vocals that he could use and make samples from and went on to write over 140 songs for the album. At the same time, Moby familiarised himself with the ProTools software and made 18 with it. Released in May 2002, 18 went to No. 1 in the UK and eleven other countries, and No. 4 in the US. It went on to sell over four million copies worldwide. Moby toured extensively for both Play and 18 , playing over 500 shows in the next four years. The tour included the Area2 Festival in the summer of 2002, featuring a line-up of Moby, David Bowie , Blue Man Group , Busta Rhymes , and Carl Cox . In December 2002, during a tour stop at Paradise Rock Club in Boston, Moby was punched in the face and sprayed with mace by two or three assailants while signing autographs outside the venue. The incident left him with multiple bruises and cuts.