Graham Coxon

Graham Coxon (born Graham Leslie Coxon on 12 March 1969, in Rinteln, West Germany) is best known as the former guitarist in the British band Blur. He contributed to the band's first six albums, including their famous 1994 album Parklife. Apart from his onerous band duties, Coxon is gifted musician, capable of playing many instruments. He tends to make his solo records in a David Grohl-esque manner, recording the whole album singlehandedly. A little-known fact is that while he was in Blur, he shared drumming duties on some songs, including the hit single "Song 2". It's not a small fact that in one interview Radiohead chief artist Jonny Greenwood, himself considered one of Britain's best and most talented modern guitarists, praised Coxon's musicality and talent: "Anything that has more of Graham's guitar playing, I'm bound to like." Considering this acknowledgement of Greenwood and his incredible work behind Blur with the relative success of his solo records, combined with superb guitar playing, all had marked him as one of the best modern rock guitarists.

Contents

1 Biography 1.1 Work in Blur 1.1.1 Blur reunion 1.2 Solo work 2 Solo discography 2.1 Studio Albums 2.2 Compilations 2.3 Singles 2.4 DVD 3 External Links

Biography

Work in Blur

Graham Coxon studied Fine Arts at Goldsmiths College, London, for two years, until he chose to quit due to the increasing success of his band at the time, Seymour, that later changed its name and became Blur. Coxon's highly individual style is best showcased on songs such as "Beetlebum" and "You're So Great" (both from Blur's 1997 album Blur), the latter being his first solo record while in Blur (it is said that Graham sang it under the studio table with the lights off), and "Coffee & TV" (from Blur's 13). He left the band in 2002 following a dispute with the other members. His last contribution to Blur was a song called "Battery in Your Leg", the last song on Blur's 2003 album Think Tank and Coxon's only contribution to the album.

Blur reunion

Although Damon Albarn has frequently said that the door is always open for Coxon to rejoin the band it is unlikely that this will happen in the near future. In 2004 it was rumoured that he was rejoining Blur, but both sides have denied this. Coxon stated that although it was a good meeting (as they hadn't met for about two years), he would not be rejoining Blur and remains firm on his decision. It seems they may have patched-up some differences and continued their friendship, despite the turmoil, surrounding Coxon's departure. There may be a possible return or a collaborative work between Albarn and Coxon, but considering the recent activity of the latter and the relative inactivity Blur - it's rather unlikely within the next couple of years, as of 2005.

Solo work

Coxon had already released three solo albums whilst a member of Blur. His first, released on his own Transcopic label was The Sky Is Too High in 1998, a ramshackle mixture of English folk music and 1960s-style garage rock. This was followed by the more extreme The Golden D in 1999 and the thoughtful Dylan-Drakesque Crow Sit On Blood Tree (2001).

After going solo full time, he released The Kiss Of Morning in 2002. The album proved to be his most accessible to date and was promoted with the single "Escape Song" which proved to be an interesting hybrid of Syd Barrett's "Octopus" and progressive rock trail-blazers The Nice. In 2004, Coxon released his fifth solo album Happiness In Magazines, produced by ex-Blur producer Stephen Street and his most successful album to date, after which he received the NME Award for 'Best Solo Artist' in 2005. According to inteviews, Graham is preparing for a new album release, due in the autumn of 2005. Stephen Street is behind the knobs for the second time in Coxon's solo career, along with the same studios and engineers that worked with him for Happiness in Magazines.

Solo discography

Studio Albums

1. The Sky Is Too High (1998)- UK #31
2. The Golden D (2000)
3. Crow Sit On Blood Tree (2001)
4. The Kiss Of Morning (2002)
5. Happiness In Magazines (2004) - UK #19

Compilations

• Live at the Zodiac download only EP [1] (http://downloads.7digital.com/downloads/graham/default.asp?partner=0)

Singles

from Crow Sit on blood Tree

• "Thank God For The Rain" / "You Will Never Be" single (2001) - #92

from The Kiss Of Morning

• "Escape Song" / "Mountain Of Regret" single (2002) - #96

from Happiness In Magazines (See: Happiness In Magazines#Singles)

• "Freakin' Out" (2004) - #37
• "Bittersweet Bundle Of Misery" (2004) - #22
• "Spectacular" (2004) - #32
• "Freakin' Out" / "All Over Me" (2004) - #19

DVD

• Live at the Zodiac (2005)

External Links

• Official Label Website Transcopic Records (http://www.transcopic.com)
• Official Website Graham Coxon Dot Co Dot Uk (http://www.grahamcoxon.co.uk)
• Art Website www.grahamcoxonart.com
• Live Photos of Graham Coxon [2] (http://www.redpenguin.net/bandphotos/graham-coxon.php)
• Andrew Kendall's photographs of Graham [3] (http://www.andrewkendall.com/pages/gallery/musicphotography.php?band=grahamcoxon&viewby=all&Submit=Go)
• Unofficial Website: grahamcoxon.com (http://www.grahamcoxon.com)

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