Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969 in Rinteln, West Germany) is an English singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter. He came to prominence as the lead guitarist, backing vocalist and occasional lead vocalist of rock band Blur, and is also a critically acclaimed solo artist, having recorded seven solo albums. His artistic and musical contribution is featured on all seven of Blur's studio albums, from 1991's Leisure to 2003's Think Tank. Although credited as a songwriter on most Blur tracks, his most significant lyrical contributions appeared on the hit singles "Tender" and "Coffee & TV"; a number of tracks in the band's catalogue were also penned mainly by Coxon. The cover of 1999's 13 was designed by Coxon.
In 2002, he left Blur, following a bitter dispute with the other members, notably Damon Albarn. As a result, he played guitar and was credited as a songwriter on only the final track for the following year's Think Tank. In September 2007, Graham Coxon rejoined the band and in late 2008 Damon Albarn announced that the band would reunite 2009 for a number of shows.
Of Coxon's seven solo albums, four of them were recorded while a member of the band. Coxon is capable of playing several other instruments, besides guitar, and is famous for recording his albums single-handedly, without much help from session musicians. Other notable British guitarists such as Jonny Greenwood and Noel Gallagher have praised Coxon's musicality and talent, with the latter calling him "one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation."[1][2]
Coxon recently released his most critically revered album to date, The Spinning Top, on new label Transgressive Records.
Blur Era 1989 - 2009[]
Graham Coxon studied Fine Arts at Goldsmiths College, London, for two years, where early on he met bassist Alex James, until he quit due to the increasing success of his band at the time, Seymour, who later changed its name to Blur because the recording company, Food Recording, thought 'Seymour' sounded unprofessional. As well as providing all guitars and backing vocals, Graham's low-fi and alternative musical style and tastes highly influenced the band's less commercial music in the late 90's. He also sang lead vocals on You're So Great, Coffee and TV and the chorus of Tender.
He left the band in 2002 following a dispute with the other members and his alleged alcohol problems. As he stated in an interview in 2006; “I had a breakthrough, I think my life just became calmer, I gave up drinking. My priorities changed as I had a young daughter. The group didn’t want me to record for the Think Tank album, so I took it as a sign to leave". His last contribution to Blur was a song called "Battery in Your Leg", the closing song on Blur's 2003 album Think Tank, before leaving the line-up.
Damon Albarn has frequently said that the door is always open for Coxon to rejoin the band. In 2004 it was rumoured that he was rejoining Blur, but both sides denied this. Coxon stated that although a reunion meeting was a good one, he would not be rejoining Blur and remained firm on his decision. It seems they patched-up some differences and continued their friendship, despite the turmoil surrounding Coxon's departure. However, at the time Coxon seemed adamant and refused to rejoin the band.
After Damon Albarn's revealing that he and Coxon have rebuilt their relationship, on 9 December 2008, Blur announced that the whole band will reunite for a show at Hyde Park on 3 July 2009. [3] More dates have been announced and the band will play festival dates at Glastonbury, T in the Park and Oxegen 2009 as well as headlining shows in Manchester, Newcastle, Wolverhampton, Goldsmiths College and the East Anglian Railway Museum in Colchester. Blur also played one show in Lyon, France
Music Rep[]
In his solo albums Coxon plays nearly all of the instruments. Radiohead's Jonny Greenwood praised Coxon's musicality and talent: "Anything that has more of Graham's guitar playing, I'm bound to like."[1] Noel Gallagher of Oasis has described Coxon as one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation.[2]
During his days in Blur, Graham was mostly seen using a Fender Telecaster guitar. In earlier years (such as the Leisure era) he was better known for using a Gibson Les Paul, which he would also use for later songs such as "Trimm Trabb" (although he used different guitars for songs such as "Sing" or "Oily Water" which he would originally have used a Les Paul for). He also made considerable use of effects pedals such as distortion (most notably "Song 2") and delay (a significant example being "Essex Dogs"). Graham himself has admitted that he got a bit greedy with Telecasters.[citation needed] These days, Graham often uses more than one guitar whilst performing his solo work, Gibson SGs being one of them, and a Burns London Sonic.