Chris Knox
{{Short description|New Zealand musician, composer, illustrator, writer}}
{{Use New Zealand English|date=November 2024}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2019}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Chris Knox
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| birth_date = {{birth date and age|df=y|1952|09|02}}
| birth_place = Invercargill, New Zealand
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| genre = Indie rock, punk rock
| occupation = Singer, songwriter, guitarist, multi-instrumentalist, producer, writer, reviewer, filmmaker, cartoonist, artist
| instrument = Vocals, guitar
| years_active = 1977–present
| label = Flying Nun
| associated_acts = The Enemy, Toy Love, Tall Dwarfs
| website =
}}
Chris Knox (born 2 September 1952) is a New Zealand rock and roll musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the punk rock era with his bands The Enemy and Toy Love. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the group Tall Dwarfs with guitarist Alec Bathgate. The Tall Dwarfs were noted for their unpolished sound and intense live shows. His 4-track machine was used to record most of the early Flying Nun singles.
He has also released a number of solo, self-produced albums which feature his Casiotone. Knox has also released an album under the pseudonym 'Friend'.
Career
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.Chris Knox, "Not Given Lightly", The Listener 194(3352), 7–13 August 2004. A love song written 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 (notably for Vogel's bread).
Knox 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.{{Cite book|title=From Earth's End: The Best of New Zealand Comics|last=Kinnaird|first=Adrian|publisher=Random House New Zealand|year=2013|isbn=9781869799953|location=Auckland, New Zealand|pages=55}} 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.
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.{{Cite news|url=https://www.nzherald.co.nz/nz/news/article.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10609980|title=Arts award brightens trying time|last=Herrick|first=Linda|date=2009-11-17|work=New Zealand Herald |access-date=2019-01-25|language=en-NZ|issn=1170-0777}}
On 11 June 2009 Knox was admitted to Auckland Hospital suffering from a stroke.{{cite web |url=http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/06/13/1245b5db98e0 |title= Radio New Zealand : News : Story Not Found|website=www.radionz.co.nz |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120222060714/http://www.radionz.co.nz/news/stories/2009/06/13/1245b5db98e0 |archive-date=22 February 2012}} 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.{{cite web|title=Jeff Mangum Announces Rare Performance at Chris Knox Benefit|url=http://pitchfork.com/news/38295-jeff-mangum-announces-rare-performance-at-chris-knox-benefit/|work=Pitchfork|date=26 March 2010|access-date=29 March 2010}} 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,{{cite web|last=Gilchrist |first=Shane |url=http://www.odt.co.nz/entertainment/music/83750/local-legends-rally-knox?page=0%2C0 |title=Local legends rally for Knox (page 1) | Otago Daily Times Online News : Otago, South Island, New Zealand & International News |work=Otago Daily Times |date=28 November 2009 |access-date=13 December 2012}} on 22 April 2012,{{cite web|author=Marika Hill |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/music/6786958/Chris-Knox-returns-to-the-stage |title=Rock Legend Chris Knox Returns to the Stage |date=21 April 2012 |publisher=Stuff |access-date=13 December 2012}} on 29 September 2012 in Auckland, with Rackets, as Knoxious{{cite web|url=http://www.undertheradar.co.nz/news/5777/Rackets-Announce-Auckland-Show-With-Chris-Knox.utr |title=Rackets Announce Auckland Show With Chris Knox – Music News at Undertheradar |publisher=Undertheradar.co.nz |date=18 September 2012 |access-date=21 November 2013}} and in support of Neutral Milk Hotel on 23 and 24 of November, 2013.{{Cite web|url=http://lumiere.net.nz/index.php/two-little-birds-jeff-mangum-chris-knox-neutral-milk-hotel/|title=Two Little Birds: Jeff Mangum, Chris Knox and how broken nerves get better|date=2013-12-16|website=The Lumière Reader|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-13}}
Discography
=LPs=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title ! rowspan="2" | Details ! Peak chart |
|---|
| NZ |
| 1981
| Songs for Cleaning Guppies |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1988
| Seizure |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1991
| Croaker |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1993
| Polyfoto, Duck-Shaped Pain and Gum |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1995
| Songs of You And Me |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1997
| Yes!! |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 2000
| Beat |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 2002
| Inaccuracies & Omissions |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 2005
| Chris Knox & The Nothing |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 2008
| A Warm Gun |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| colspan="4" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
=Compilations=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title ! rowspan="2" | Details ! Peak chart |
|---|
| NZ |
| 1993
| Meat |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1999
| Almost |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| colspan="4" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
=Tribute albums=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title ! rowspan="2" | Details ! Peak chart |
|---|
| NZ |
| 2009
| Stroke: Songs for Chris Knox |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| colspan="4" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
=Singles and EPs=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" |
| rowspan="2" | Year
! rowspan="2" | Title ! rowspan="2" | Details ! Peak chart |
|---|
| NZ |
| 1989
| "Not Given Lightly" / Guppiplus |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1990
| "Not Given Lightly" |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1990
| Song For 1990 |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1993
| "Under The Influence" |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1993
| Chris Knox/Tall Dwarfs split |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1993
| "Not Given Lightly" |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1995
| One Fell Swoop |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1996
| Songs From 1990 |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1996
| 15th Anniversary Etching |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| 1998
| "Not Given Lightly" |
| style="text-align:center;"| — |
| colspan="4" style="font-size:90%; text-align:center;"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
=See also=
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.
{{awards table}}
! {{Abbr|Ref.|Reference}}
|-
| 1993 || Chris Knox for Duck Shaped Pain and Gum || Album Cover of the Year|| {{nom}} ||rowspan="4"| {{cite web|url=https://aotearoamusicawards.nz/award-history/|title=Aotearoa Music Awards|website=aotearoamusicawards.nz|access-date=18 August 2021|archive-date=25 October 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201025201023/https://aotearoamusicawards.nz/award-history/|url-status=dead}}
|-
| 1994 || Chris Knox for 3 EPs by Tall Dwarfs || Album Cover of the Year|| {{nom}}
|-
| 1995 || Chris Knox for Songs of You and Me || Album Cover of the Year|| {{nom}}
|-
| 2006 || Chris Knox for As Sweet As Sin (Bleeders) || Album Cover of the Year|| {{won}}
|-
| 2012 || Chris Knox (as part of Toy Love) || New Zealand Music Hall of Fame || {{yes2|inductee}} || {{cite web|url=https://www.musichall.co.nz/home/inductees/|title=HOME INDUCTEES|website=www.musichall.co.nz|access-date=16 August 2021}}
|-
{{end}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20051129214112/http://www.listener.co.nz/default,2247.sm NZ Listener Interview with Chris Knox] ()
- [https://www.audioculture.co.nz/people/chris-knox Audio Culture Profile on Chris Knox including artwork and video collection]
- [https://www.myspace.com/chrisknoxandthenothing Chris Knox + 0] – official MySpace site
- [http://www.nzonscreen.com/collection/chrisknox NZOnScreen collection of Chris Knox's music videos]
- [http://www.nzonscreen.com/person/chris-knox/biography NZOnScreen biography]
- Interview with Knox by Roger Shepherd [http://screentalk.nzonscreen.com/interviews/roger-shepherd-talks-to-chris-knox Part 1] and [http://screentalk.nzonscreen.com/interviews/roger-shepherd-talks-to-chris-knox-part-2 Part 2]
- [https://tiaki.natlib.govt.nz/#details=ecatalogue.1006724 Chris Knox master tape archive] at the Alexander Turnbull Library
{{Tall Dwarfs}}
{{Arts Foundation Laureate Award}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Chris}}
Category:New Zealand comics artists
Category:New Zealand comic strip cartoonists
Category:New Zealand male guitarists
Category:New Zealand male singer-songwriters
Category:New Zealand singer-songwriters
Category:20th-century New Zealand male singers
Category:20th-century New Zealand male artists
Category:21st-century New Zealand male singers
Category:21st-century New Zealand male artists
Category:Flying Nun Records artists