___________________________________________

Graham Coxon is, in my eyes, a legend. He's one of my idols and i think it's about time i post about him. A shy and awkward man with many talents, a multi instrumentalist who favours the guitar, bass guitar, drums, piano, saxophone and clarinet as well as being able to sing, a striking artist with original ideas, a very underrated fashion sense and of course, the guitarist of Blur.

Of course it's a bit bias because i am a die hard Blur fan and therefore look up to graham, damon, dave and alex and appreciate all the side projects that come out if Blur- Grahams solo albums, Gorillaz, The Good The Bad and The Queen, Me Me Me, but there's just something about Graham.

He has contributed to some of my favourite songs- Good Song, Advert, Trimm Trabb and Tender (All by Blur) as well as Ribbons and Leaves (from Grahams Happiness In Magazines album) and created the Song 2 riff. He is a great guitarist, in Alex James' autobiography he writes along the lines of:

"Graham is the best guitar player of his generation. He never played a bum note"

Graham's solo career has actually panned out pretty well. if you want to hear it for yourself i will post some links to some of my favourite songs of his > here, here and here. He currently has seven solo albums but hasn't confirmed nor rejected the fact that he wouldn't be making any more. His most successful solo is Happiness in Magazines which was released in 2004 and recieved hugely possitive reviews. It may be his most successful, but The Spinning Top could give it a run for it's money. The Spinning Top his Grahams latest album, released in 2009 and is mostly acoustic. Graham said it is 'telling a stroy of man from birth through life and death'. I'm quite glad Graham kept things going after leaving Blur, i'm in love with his music and glad he released these master pieces. it's great considering they are all so different, too.


Grahams art is pretty cool. I like the stuff that's like doodles more though because it's so quick and it's usually of things that are mildly amusing. his paintings are great too. he has designed all the work for his album covers and the Blur album '13' was painted by Graham aswell. I don't usually like art like this but the more i look at it the more i love it. The thunder bolt is really cool- i like that it looks like he has painted it aimlessly. The doodling affect looks cool too, the pen scribbles make it look quick but it was probably well thought out. The 'Girl with Brown Hair' (as it's called) is probably my favourite by him. It's just so simple that i think it's great, the colours go beautifully together and i like the darker lines down the back. The fact he has missed out the tricky bits of drawing a person such as hands, feet and faces makes me smile too because it's exactly what i would do. 'I can't be bothered to try hard. I'll just leave them out'- he thinks like me. The third picture is the Happiness In Magazines album cover which i love, the bold colours look really great and i like the detail with the arrows in the shadow. I'm not completely sure what this one is about but it still looks great. Graham studied art at Goldsmiths college in London where he met Alex; Damien Hirst went there too but i don't really like his 'art'; but that's a different story.

His Blur days make me the happiest. Without Graham where would Blur be? Alex says in his book that he would be messing around on the bass and Graham would pick up the guitar and instantly make something up that fits with the bass perfectly right there and then. That is a gift/talent in itself. Dave was able to fit in the drums and hey presto, you have a wicked song. Coffee and TV was the first time i had ever heard him sing and i instantly fell in love with his voice; that song definately fits grahams voice better than Damons. The group effort between Graham and Damon on 'Tender' is also a good one, an amazing song. He comes across as such a shy man, always fidgeting, bitting his nails, talking quietly and looking around, never making eye contact but then he comes out with this insane music which blows our tiny minds. Even arch rivial Noel Gallagher from Oasis has said:

"Graham is one of the most gifted guitarists of his generation"

Considering Blur and Oasis were 'at war' throughout the 90's and the gallaghers are knob'eads, that is a huge compliment on Grahams part. I think Graham Coxon's best guitar work for Blur comes later on in the 90's, their less comercial albums- songs like You're So Great which was sung by him may not be 'mind blowing', it sounds fairly simple but it's just great. impossible to dislike or turn your nose up to. Graham left the band in 2002 after apparently having rows with the band, Damon inparticular about his alcohol problem. Damon says in the No Distance Left To Run film:

"I thought a kick in the teeth might sober him up- and it did..."

But all the guys, damon, graham, alex and dave have said that it has always been said that 'the door is wide open for him' whenever he wants to return and that's exactly what happened last year when the guys got back together for secret gigs, glastonbury and two massive shows at hyde park after their split in 2003 after recording the Think Tank album.

Graham has a massively underrated fashion sense which i look up to. Fairly simple but damn, it's just so great. The stripes and blazers are something i wish i could do every single day and don't even get me started on his hats and shoes. He says:

"I'm a big believer in quality never going out of style"

Graham Coxon is clearly a resevered man who 'lets go' through music, fashion and art. I like to think we are similar in that sense; expressing ourselves through visual things. I may not come across as reserved but i'm a lot more open in things you can see rather than things i would say or my actions. I let things out on this blog, doing art, attempting photography, having a love for fashion and trying to be my own person. Graham kind of spurred me on to change and think 'i can be a better person. i can be my own person. i can do better'. for this i love him. my idol. my hero.

Check this out for wardrobe/interview/personality