Graham Coxon
 Guitar, backing vocals (1989-2002, 2007-)

Born: March 12th 1969, in a military hospital in Rinteln, Germany
Family: Parents, Bob and Pauline Coxon, sister Hayley
Height: 5' 11" (approx. 180 cm)

Graham Leslie Coxon was born in Germany because his dad worked as a army bandsman. They lived in Germany for five years, then they moved to Derbyshire to live with his grandfather and three years later they moved on to Colchester. It wasn't until he attended Stanway Comprehensive School that he developed his great interest for music. After discovering Two Tone and The Jam he taught himself to play the saxophone and the guitar, both with crediable ease and also played drums.

At Stanway he be-friended with an unusual character called Damon Albarn. They had the same taste when it came to fashion and their fascination with music was mutural. While the other boys ran over the football pitch, Damon and Graham went behind the music block and talked about bands. They were clearly aware of the fact that they were the school weirdos but it didn't bother them. Soon after, they both went on holiday with Graham's parents, cementing an already close friendship which would go on to form the foundation for the success of Blur. After Graham left the comprehensive he headed for Colchester Art College, but since Damon had left for London, Graham moved to Goldsmiths College where he enrolled on a Fine Arts Degree Course.

At Goldsmiths he became friends with Alex James and they shared interests in art and had their own art group called Nichtkunst. Once again Graham met Damon who then took a part-time course at Goldsmiths and they remained in daily contact. Graham often attended Damon's solo gigs and he played saxophone and drums on one of Damon's demos. He also knew Dave Rowntree since they had played together in bands called Hazel Dean And The Carp Enters From Hell, The Curious Band and Idle Vice.

Soon Graham was asked to play guitar in Circus (Damon, Dave, Eddie Deedigan and Dave Brolan). When the band had lost Eddie Deedigan and Dave Brolan, Graham introduced Alex as a potential bass player and they changed their name to Seymour. The rest is history...

Graham split-up with his Swedish girlfriend Anna Norlander in 2001. Their child, called Pepper Bäck Troy, was born on March 7, 2000.

Due to personal reasons, he left Blur in 2002, but reunited for a quick meeting in 2007.


Besides Blur
 

Solo albums

Graham has released six solo studio albums to date. The first five albums were released on his own (now de-funct) record label Transcopic.

Graham's debut solo album The Sky Is Too High was released in 1998. The Golden D followed in 2000 and introduced the heavy metal and experimental side of Graham.

The third album Crow Sit On Blood Tree was released in 2001. Like on previous albums, Graham played all the instruments and produced it himself. The album was recorded, mixed and mastered only in two weeks, making it feel very raw and honest.

Autumn 2002 saw the release of The Kiss Of Morning that featured guest musicians for the first time and introduced a range of new styles from Graham.

The last two Graham's albums have been produced by the former Blur producer Stephen Street. Happiness In Magazines, which hit the shops in 2004, has been his most successful and critically acclaimed album so far. Fuelled by the hit single "Freakin' Out", the album hit Top 20 in the UK. The latest album, entitled Love Travels At Illegal Speeds, was released in 2006 and scored two Top 40 hits.

Graham finished recording his seventh studio album in the spring 2008. Sadly, this album is currently without the publisher, as Graham has been dropped from EMI.


Miscellaneous

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