Chris Knox
Template:Short description Template:Use New Zealand English Template:Use dmy dates Template:Infobox musical artist
Christopher Alexander Knox (born 2 September 1952) is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the 1970s punk rock era with his bands the Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, Knox formed the duo Tall Dwarfs with guitarist, Alec Bathgate. The Tall Dwarfs delivered unpolished sound and intense live shows. His 4-track machine was used to record most of the Flying Nun label's early singles.
He has also released a number of solo, self-produced albums which feature his Casiotone, and an album under the pseudonym Friend.
Biography
Knox began his musical career in 1977 as a "local version (not copy) of Iggy Pop", as lead vocalist, fronting New Zealand's punk rockers the Enemy, which formed in Dunedin.<ref name="Nimmervoll">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="Schmidt 1">Template:Cite web</ref> He has played live in front of audiences all around New Zealand, winning a reputation for his sometimes confrontational style, and performed annually at Wellington's Bar Bodega. He has also extensively toured internationally. His swing through the US in 1995 included, among others, stops in Seattle to play the Crocodile Cafe. His minimalist, DIY sound played well to ears then-focused on grunge, with its retro-punk stylings.
A long-time resident of Auckland, Knox spent time as a newspaper columnist and film reviewer for Real Groove. In 1986-1987, he edited and published three issues of a New Zealand comics anthology Jesus on a Stick.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Starting in 1987, his satirical comic strip Max Media appeared in The New Zealand Herald every week until 2009. He has also been an occasional television film reviewer, hosted a Television New Zealand season of classic movies 'The Vault', and presented two seasons of arts series New Artland.
At the 2001 New Zealand Music Awards Knox's ballad "Not Given Lightly" (1990) was announced as New Zealand's thirteenth best song of all time, as voted by APRA members.<ref>Chris Knox, "Not Given Lightly", The Listener 194(3352), 7–13 August 2004.</ref><ref name="APRA Not Given">Template:Cite web</ref> Knox wrote it for "John and Liesha's mother"—his then-partner Barbara—this track never scaled commercial heights though it has belatedly generated some income for the songwriter through its use in TV advertising (including for Vogel's bread).
Knox launched his own label 'A Major Records' in 2006 to release the album Chris Knox and the Nothing. This was the first album Knox recorded in a professional studio, rather than in his trademark DIY style, since his time with Toy Love.
Knox's "It's Love", from the 2000 album Beat, has been used in "Share the Good", a Heineken Premium Light commercial directed by Todd Haynes and cinematographed by Edward Lachman.
In 2009 Knox was awarded a New Zealand Arts Foundation Arts Laureate Award.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
On 11 June 2009 Knox was admitted to Auckland Hospital suffering from a stroke.<ref name="radionz">Template:Cite web</ref> The album Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox was released in New Zealand on 16 November 2009. It features 33 artists performing Knox's songs. The album is a way for Knox's fans to contribute to the costs of his rehabilitation. All artists contributed their time and talent without charge. Artists include Jay Reatard, David Kilgour, The Mint Chicks, Shayne Carter, Yo La Tengo, Bonnie 'Prince' Billy, Bill Callahan, The Mountain Goats, The Bats, The Chills, The Verlaines, Jeff Mangum, The Nothing (including Chris), Tall Dwarfs and Lou Barlow.
The Greenwich Village arts venue Le Poisson Rouge hosted a benefit concert for Knox on 6 May 2010.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Artists included Jeff Mangum and Yo La Tengo, who both participated in the 2009 benefit album for Knox.
Since his stroke, Knox has done a very small number of live appearances, for instance at the presentation of Stroke – Songs For Chris Knox in November 2009,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> on 22 April 2012,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> on 29 September 2012 in Auckland, with Rackets, as Knoxious<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and in support of Neutral Milk Hotel on 23 and 24 of November, 2013.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
Discography
LPs
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | |||
| 1981 | Songs for Cleaning Guppies |
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— |
| 1988 | Seizure |
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— |
| 1991 | Croaker |
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| 1993 | Polyfoto, Duck-Shaped Pain and Gum |
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— |
| 1995 | Songs of You And Me |
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— |
| 1997 | Yes!! |
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— |
| 2000 | Beat |
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| 2002 | Inaccuracies & Omissions |
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| 2005 | Chris Knox & The Nothing |
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| 2008 | A Warm Gun |
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— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Compilations
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | |||
| 1993 | Meat |
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— |
| 1999 | Almost |
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— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Tribute albums
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | |||
| 2009 | Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox |
|
— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
Singles and EPs
| Year | Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NZ | |||
| 1989 | "Not Given Lightly" / Guppiplus |
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— |
| 1990 | "Not Given Lightly" |
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| 1990 | Song For 1990 |
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| 1993 | "Under The Influence" |
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| 1993 | Chris Knox/Tall Dwarfs split |
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| 1993 | "Not Given Lightly" |
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| 1995 | One Fell Swoop |
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| 1996 | Songs From 1990 |
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| 1996 | 15th Anniversary Etching |
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| 1998 | "Not Given Lightly" |
|
— |
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||
See also
Template:Mainlist Template:Mainlist
Awards
Aotearoa Music Awards
The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously known as New Zealand Music Awards (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in New Zealand music and have been presented annually since 1965.
Template:Awards table ! Template:Abbr |- | 1993 || Chris Knox for Duck Shaped Pain and Gum || Album Cover of the Year|| Template:Nom ||rowspan="4"| <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |- | 1994 || Chris Knox for 3 EPs by Tall Dwarfs || Album Cover of the Year|| Template:Nom |- | 1995 || Chris Knox for Songs of You and Me || Album Cover of the Year|| Template:Nom |- | 2006 || Chris Knox for As Sweet As Sin (Bleeders) || Album Cover of the Year|| Template:Won |- | 2012 || Chris Knox (as part of Toy Love) || New Zealand Music Hall of Fame || Template:Yes2 || <ref>Template:Cite web</ref> |- Template:End
References
External links
- NZ Listener Interview with Chris Knox ()
- Audio Culture Profile on Chris Knox including artwork and video collection
- Chris Knox + 0 – official MySpace site
- NZOnScreen collection of Chris Knox's music videos
- NZOnScreen biography
- Interview with Knox by Roger Shepherd Part 1 and Part 2
- Chris Knox master tape archive at the Alexander Turnbull Library
Template:Tall Dwarfs Template:Arts Foundation Laureate Award Template:Authority control
- 1952 births
- APRA Award winners
- New Zealand comics artists
- New Zealand comic strip cartoonists
- New Zealand male guitarists
- New Zealand male singer-songwriters
- New Zealand singer-songwriters
- 20th-century New Zealand male singers
- 20th-century New Zealand male artists
- 21st-century New Zealand male singers
- 21st-century New Zealand male artists
- Flying Nun Records artists
- Dunedin Sound musicians
- Living people
- People from Invercargill