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Graham Coxon on Blur, Brexit and his back catalogue
In this edition of arts24, we meet a musical polymath and an icon of British popular music. Graham Coxon is one of the founding members of Blur, pioneers of the Britpop movement that dominated the 19โฆ
France 24 โ 16 June 2026
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In this edition of arts24, we meet a musical polymath and an icon of British popular music. Graham Coxon is one of the founding members of Blur, pione
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Graham Coxonโs return to the cultural conversationโthis time reflecting on Blurโs legacy, Brexit, and his solo careerโis more than a nostalgic glance at a bygone era of Britpop. Itโs a reminder that the bands we canonize are never static, their meanings shifting with the political and social landscapes they once soundtracked. Coxon, as both a founding architect of Blurโs sound and a figure who carved out a distinct solo identity, embodies the tension between artistic reinvention and the weight of history. The timing of this reflection is telling: Britpopโs heyday in the mid-1990s was as much a product of post-Thatcher Britain as it was a musical rebellion, and its resurgence in retrospection now invites uncomfortable parallels with the cultural fragmentation of Brexit. Coxonโs perspective on both erasโone of unity through music, the other of division through politicsโoffers a rare vantage point on how art and identity evolve, or ossify, in the public imagination.
What makes Coxonโs perspective particularly resonant is his distance from the mythmaking. Unlike Damon Albarn, his bandmate and the groupโs primary voice, Coxon has often operated in the marginsโboth musically and culturally. His solo work, from the raw punk energy of *The Sky Is Too High* to the introspective *Battle* trilogy, has been a counterpoint to Blurโs more polished, media-savvy moments. This duality speaks to a broader tension in British music: the push and pull between commercial success and underground authenticity, between national identity and personal expression. Coxonโs willingness to engage with these questions now suggests a reckoning with legacy that many of his peers have avoided.
The open question, of course, is whether Blurโs legacy can survive another generationโs scrutiny. The bandโs reunion tours have been met with both reverence and skepticism, and Coxonโs reflections hint at an unresolved debate: Can a band that defined an era remain vital without becoming a parody of itself? Meanwhile, the shadow of Brexit looms over any discussion of British cultureโs future. Coxonโs observations on the political climate may seem tangential, but they underscore a deeper anxietyโwhether the Britain that birthed Britpop still exists, or if itโs been irrevocably reshaped by forces even its most iconic artists couldnโt foresee.
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