Graham Coxon

Biography

Graham Coxon (born 12.3.1969) Graham Coxon is an English singer, songwriter and musician, as well as a painter.

Childhood: Graham Coxon was born in West Germany and later moved to England. As a child, he met Damon Albarn at school in Colchester. Coxon appeared twice on the children's TV show Blue Peter, playing the clarinet.

Music: Graham Coxon met Alex James at Goldsmiths College in London, where he was studying Fine Arts (a number of his contemporary students, such as Damien Hirst and Sam Taylor-Wood went on to become prominent British artists). They formed Blur (originally called Seymour) with Dave Rowntree and Damon Albarn. Blur went on to find huge success in the 1990s with the Britpop movement, which included bands such as Suede, Elastica, Menswear and Oasis.

Graham's lo-fi sound became more prominent towards the end of Blur's original career and he even provided vocals to the single 'Coffee and TV' as well as the chorus of 'Tender'.

In 2002, Coxon had a major fall-out with the other members of Blur and he left the band. In December 2008, though, Damon Albarn announced that Blur would be reuniting with Coxon. The band went on to play at Glastonbury Festival 2009.

Graham Coxon released three solo albums whilst still a member of Blur. The Sky Is Too High was his debut solo release, on his own label Transcopic. The lo-fi garage rock sound was reportedly influenced by Billy Childish. His next release was The Golden D, followed by an album more akin to the music of Bob Dylan and Nick Drake, entitled Crow Sit On Blood Tree. After leaving Blur, he released The Kiss of Morning. Coxon enlisted the help of Blur's producer Stephen Street for his fifth album Happiness in Magazines. Street and Coxon then worked together once more for Love Travels at Illegal Speeds.

In July 2007, Graham Coxon and Paul Weller collaborated on a single entitled 'This Old Town'.

Following the reunion of Blur in late 2008, Graham Coxon released his seventh solo album, The Spinning Top, in May 2009. The album features a number of guest musicians, including Robyn Hitchcock, Jas Singh, Danny Thompson, Gurjit Sembhi and Jaskase Singh.

Graham Coxon was also involved in Peter Doherty's 2009 album Grace/Wasteland.

Noel Gallagher has named Graham Coxon as one of the most talented guitarists of his generation, despite the animosity between Blur and Gallagher's band, Oasis.

Personal Life: Graham Coxon has a daughter, by his ex girlfriend Anna Norlander. Pepper Coxon was born in 2000.

Biography by Contactmusic.com

Blur Prove They're Well And Truly Back With Hit Packed BST Hyde Park Set

By Stephanie Chase in Music / Festivals on 22 June 2015

Blur Damon Albarn Graham Coxon Alex James

Frontman Damon Albarn even handed out ice creams to the crowd, as Phil Daniels made a surprise appearance.

Blur showed they haven't missed a beat since their BritPop heyday on Saturday night when they played a hit packed set at the BST festival in London’s Hyde Park. The gig began with singer Damon Albarn handing out ice cream cones to fans in the front row, in celebration of the band’s comeback album The Magic Whip.

blur Damon Albarn during Blur’s BST Hyde Park gig.

The band opened their set with ‘Go Out’ from their latest record, with Albarn telling the crowd, "Let's have it.” "Thanks so much for coming back to see us again," the singer added later. "It's great to be back in Hyde Park. It's like home - well, it is home really. I love it here. I really love it here.”

Continue reading: Blur Prove They're Well And Truly Back With Hit Packed BST Hyde Park Set

Blur To Play Free Show In New York On Friday

By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 29 April 2015

Blur Damon Albarn Graham Coxon Alex James David Rowntree

The band will showcase 'The Magic Whip' in full at a free show in Brooklyn this Friday (May 1st).

To support the release of their new album The Magic Whip, Blur have announced that they’ll be playing a free concert in New York later this week on May 1st.

The British group, promoting their first album in over a decade, will appear at the Music Hall of Williamsburg in Brooklyn in an event sponsored by Converse Rubber Tracks, and will play the record in full alongside a selection of their greatest hits.

Blur Blur at the Q Awards

Continue reading: Blur To Play Free Show In New York On Friday

Early Reviews Show Blur's Comeback Album 'The Magic Whip' Is A Tasty Treat For Fans

By Stephanie Chase in Music / Festivals on 01 April 2015

Blur Damon Albarn Graham Coxon

There’s still over three weeks to go until ‘The Magic Whip’s’ release, but the critics are already welcoming Blur back with open arms.

The countdown until the release of Blur’s much anticipated comeback album is on and the early reviews are showing this one will be well worth the wait for fans. The Magic Whip is the band’s first release in 12 years and was produced by Stephen Street, the man in the studio behind the group’s most successful period.

blur magic whip The Magic Whip is Blur's first album in 12 years

The album was recorded in May 2013 when the band found themselves with five free days in Hong Kong after the cancellation of the Tokyo Rocks Music festival. While singer Damon Albarn was skeptical that any of the music would ever see the light of day, guitarist Graham Coxon opted to work further on the recordings with Street back in Britain.

Continue reading: Early Reviews Show Blur's Comeback Album 'The Magic Whip' Is A Tasty Treat For Fans

Blur's Graham Coxon Recalls 'Powerful' Performance Of 'The Magic Whip'

By Holly Williams in Music / Festivals on 30 March 2015

Blur Graham Coxon

The band unveiled their first material in over a decade at a small London nightclub.

A limited crowd of very lucky Blur fans landed the ultimate prize of hearing the fans comeback album 'The Magic Whip' live for the first time in a London club; and it was an event that had a profound effect on lead guitarist Graham Coxon.

Blur promo
Blur performed 'The Magic Whip' live in London

The show took place in London's 300-capacity Mode nightclub and was exclusively streamed online by Beats by Dr. Dre. Blur were performing their first studio album in 12 years from start to finish, having recorded the record in secret alongside producer Stephen Street. It was an album that everyone had been waiting for, and Coxon admits he was certainly aware of the pressure.

Continue reading: Blur's Graham Coxon Recalls 'Powerful' Performance Of 'The Magic Whip'

Blur Guitarist Graham Coxon Talks About 'The Magic Whip' Recording Sessions

By Ed Biggs in Music / Festivals on 26 March 2015

Graham Coxon Blur Damon Albarn Alex James

Coxon spoke to Uncut magazine about the sense of guilt he had about his exile from the group in 2002, and how it motivated him to work on their forthcoming LP 'The Magic Whip'.

Blur guitarist Graham Coxon revealed that he agreed to record the new Blur album partly out of guilt left over from his original departure from the band in 2002.

Coxon left the group during the first sessions for the band’s seventh album Think Tank, because he was still in rehab at the time receiving treatment for his addiction to alcohol, but didn’t tell anyone. When he didn’t turn up to the sessions as expected, the group was frustrated at the lack of communication and barred him from the process.

Blur
Coxon (far left) with his Blur bandmates in 2012

Continue reading: Blur Guitarist Graham Coxon Talks About 'The Magic Whip' Recording Sessions

Blur Debut New Album 'The Magic Whip' In Full During Intimate Fanclub Gig

By Stephanie Chase in Music / Festivals on 21 March 2015

Blur Damon Albarn Graham Coxon Alex James

The band’s first album in 12 years is set for release next month.

Blur played their upcoming The Magic Whip album in its entirety last night, during a special fanclub-only gig at London club Mode. 300 of the band’s most dieheard fans were in attendance for the intimate show, as the band showcased their first LP in 12 years track by track.

Cover art for Blur's The Magic Whip

Opening the gig singer Damon Albarn addressed the crowd saying, "So obviously, we're going to play our new record The Magic Whip in sequence from beginning to end. Are you ready?” The band then launched into opening track 'Lonesome Street’.

Continue reading: Blur Debut New Album 'The Magic Whip' In Full During Intimate Fanclub Gig

Blur Stage Mini Reunion At Latitude, Delight Audiences

By Hannah Woodhead in Music / Festivals on 21 July 2014

Blur Damon Albarn Graham Coxon Latitude Festival

Blur alumni Damon Albarn and Graham Coxon reunited on Saturday night at Latitude Festival.

The weather over the weekend may have been unpredictable, but there was one nice surprise in store for revellers at Latitude Festival when Damon Albarn was joined onstage by Blur bandmate Graham Coxon.

With a storm raging overheard, Damon Albarn began his encore with a solo rendition of Blur track 'End of a Century', before introducing his former bandmate and writing partner to the stage. Crowds stayed to watch the reunion despite heavy rainfall and the pair then sang classic Blur song 'Tender' to raptuous applause.

Blur
Fans were in for a treat when Albarn (Second from Right) and Coxon (Far Right) Reunited this weekend

Continue reading: Blur Stage Mini Reunion At Latitude, Delight Audiences

Graham Coxon, A&E Album Review

By Joe Wilde in Music Reviews on 15 May 2012

According to Damon Albarn, the Olympics' closing mini-festival at Hyde Park will be the last public outing for Blur and this time he means it (maybe). Still, the four-piece hardly went into hiding after their initial split in 2003, with the darling of budding English indie guitarist throughout the country, Graham Coxon, hardly stopping for breath after the group's initial break. A&E is his eighth solo record; his fifth to come after initial ties with Blur had been severed. With A&E, Coxon show us that you really are as old as you feel and despite being 43, the album still heaps on the feeling of teenage angst and pent up aggression with the typical punk-garage aesthetics he has so often generated in the past although, once you scratch away the surface, you soon see that there is much more than your average garage band set up on show on the album.