Graham Coxon

Graham Leslie Coxon (born 12 March 1969) is an English musician, singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and painter who came to prominence as a founding member of the rock band Blur. As the group's lead guitarist and secondary vocalist, Coxon was featured on seven of Blur's studio albums, from 1991's Leisure to 2015's The Magic Whip, despite being absent from the group from 2002 to 2008 owing to a dispute with the other members during the recording of 2003's Think Tank. He has also led a solo career since 1998. As well as being a musician, Coxon was a visual artist: he designed the cover art for all his solo albums as well as Blur's 13 (1999). Coxon played several instruments and records his albums with little assistance from session musicians. Q magazine critic Adrian Deevoy has written: "Coxon is an astonishing musician. His restless playing style – all chord slides, rapid pulloffs, mini-arpeggios and fractured runs – seems to owe more to his saxophone training than any conventional guitar tuition." An innovative lead guitarist, he has been described by Oasis bandleader Noel Gallagher as "one of the most talented guitarists of his generation." Coxon was voted the 15th greatest guitarist of the last 30 years in a 2010 BBC poll.