Masterclass with Blur icon comes as UK celebrates 20 years of Britpop
Budding musicians received some tips from the top on Friday (9th May) when Blur lead guitarist Graham Coxon held an intimate masterclass at BIMM Brighton.
Coxon, who has gone on to a critically acclaimed solo career since his influential Britpop beginnings with Blur, spoke to music students from across the region who took time out from the Great Escape festival to attend the once-in-a-lifetime session.
Speaking about his first steps to success, Coxon said:
“I first picked up a guitar when I was 4 years old but it really started when I was 14 and I was bored! I thought I’d learn a couple of chords and that was it.”
“I wish I was technical. I was never taught anything apart from the saxophone. I didn’t think anything about it, I just thought that if I could play this Jam song or this Who song I’d be fine.
“The reason I started playing the guitar was because I used to be alone quite a lot. Music, painting, and poetry are all projects of solitude and I think that’s why a lot of people who go on to be musicians struggle with the spotlight.”
Lauded as “one of the most talented guitarists of his generation” by Noel Gallagher, Coxon has recorded 7 studio albums with Blur and 8 solo albums, while also venturing into art that features prominently on various album covers.
“My solo music is all a bit shambolic, I’d been part of such an organised machine with Blur that I think I just needed to make some chaos.
“When I joined Blur I only played that type of music and only played it to fit with that band. Then I started to want to play other types. Some really good things came out of my obsession with what the Americans were doing.
I don’t think Blur had any pretentions of thinking we were cool. We were up for making fools of ourselves and trying what we wanted to. There was always this thing when we started out about ‘who was going to be the new Beatles’ and ‘who is going to make the new Revolver’. Why would you want to make the new Revolver, it’s already there!”
When asked by Matt Hodson, Head of Music Production at BIMM Brighton if he still experiences pre-performance nerves 20 years on, Coxon said:
“Before gigs I used to get really, really nervous. But that stopped when I accepted that if something goes wrong you can’t do anything about it and the audience usually quite likes it. I make sure my shoelaces are tied and I stay quiet for a while before we go on and that’s about it.”
For more information on careers in music visit www.bimm.co.uk
