Chris Knox (born 2 September 1952) is a New Zealand

rock and roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock-n-roll, and rock 'n' roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from African ...

musician, cartoonist and movie reviewer who emerged during the

punk rock Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

era with his bands The Enemy and

Toy Love Toy Love were a New Zealand New wave music, new wave and punk rock band that originated in Dunedin and was active from 1978 to 1980. Members included Chris Knox, Alec Bathgate and Paul Kean. History Chris Knox was the band's front man and ot ...

. After Toy Love disbanded in the early 1980s, he formed the group

Tall Dwarfs Tall Dwarfs are a New Zealand rock band formed in 1981 by Chris Knox and Alec Bathgate, who helped pioneer the lo-fi style of rock music. The duo were former members of Toy Love. The band lacked a drummer, but would use household objects and ...

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 Casiotone was a series of home electronic keyboards made by Casio in the early 1980s. Casio promoted the Casiotone 201 (CT-201) as "the first electronic keyboard with full-size keys that anyone could afford". The name "Casiotone" disappeared from ...

. Knox has also released an album under the pseudonym 'Friend'.

Career

At the 2001

New Zealand Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

Knox's ballad "

Not Given Lightly "Not Given Lightly" is a song by New Zealand singer-songwriter Chris Knox. It was released in 1989 and is among Knox's best known songs. While the song did not chart when originally released in 1989, it has since become well known from its use ...

" (1990) was announced as New Zealand's thirteenth best song of all time, as voted by APRA members. 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 The Crocodile (formerly the Crocodile Cafe, and sometimes called The Croc) is a music club at 2505 1st Avenue at Wall Street in the Belltown neighborhood of Seattle, Washington, United States. Opened by Stephanie Dorgan as the "Crocodile Ca ...

. His minimalist, DIY sound played well to ears then-focused on

grunge Grunge (sometimes referred to as the Seattle sound) is an alternative rock Music genre, genre and subculture that emerged during the in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington, particularly in Seattle and Music of Olympia, Washington, O ...

, with its retro-punk stylings. A long-time resident of

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, 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''. Starting in 1987, his satirical comic strip ''Max Media'' appeared in ''

The New Zealand Herald ''The New Zealand Herald'' is a daily newspaper published in Auckland, New Zealand, owned by New Zealand Media and Entertainment, and considered a newspaper of record for New Zealand. It has the largest newspaper circulation in New Zealand, ...

'' every week until 2009. He has also been an occasional television film reviewer, hosted a

Television New Zealand Television New Zealand (, "Te Reo Tātaki" meaning "The Leading Voice"), more commonly referred to as TVNZ, is a New Zealand state-owned media company and Crown entity. The company operates a television network, TVNZ+, streaming service, and 1N ...

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 Heineken Light (labelled as ''Heineken 3'' in Australia) is a light beer brewed by Heineken International, Heineken for the United States market. It was introduced in 2005. Heineken light reportedly has: 90 calories per 12 oz. bottle and 6.8&nb ...

commercial directed by

Todd Haynes Todd Haynes (; born January 2, 1961) is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. His films span four decades with themes examining the personalities of well-known musicians, dysfunctional and dystopian societies, and blurred gender ...

and cinematographed by

Edward Lachman Edward Lachman (born March 31, 1948) is an American cinematographer and director. He has primarily worked in independent film, and has served as director of photography on films by Todd Haynes, Pablo Larrain, Ulrich Seidl, Wim Wenders, Steven S ...

. In 2009 Knox was awarded a New Zealand Arts Foundation Arts Laureate Award. On 11 June 2009 Knox was admitted to Auckland Hospital suffering from a stroke. 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 James Lee Lindsey Jr. (May 1, 1980 – January 13, 2010), known professionally as Jay Reatard, was an American musician from Memphis, Tennessee. He was signed to Matador Records. He released recordings as a solo artist and as a member of the Rea ...

David Kilgour David William Kilgour (February 18, 1941 – April 5, 2022) was a Canadian human rights activist, author, lawyer, and politician. He also served as a senior fellow to the Raoul Wallenberg Centre for Human Rights. Kilgour earned a degree in ...

The Mint Chicks The Mint Chicks were a New Zealand noise rock and art punk group (the band began to refer to their style of music as "troublegum" and have been referred to as anything from neo-punk to schizo-pop to the only half-serious genre definition of shi ...

Shayne Carter Shayne P. Carter is a New Zealand musician best known for leading Straitjacket Fits from 1986 to 1994, and as the only permanent member of Dimmer (1995–2012). Carter is a member of the New Zealand Music Hall of Fame, and has been awarded the ...

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (Spanish language, Spanish for "I've got it"; also abbreviated as YLT) is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley ...

Bonnie 'Prince' Billy Joseph Will Oldham (born January 15, 1970) is an American singer-songwriter and actor. From 1993 to 1997, he performed and recorded in collaboration with dozens of other musicians under variations of Palace (Palace, Palace Brothers, Palace Son ...

, Bill Callahan,

The Mountain Goats The Mountain Goats are a United States band formed in Claremont, California, Claremont, California, by singer-songwriter John Darnielle. The band is currently based in Durham, North Carolina, Durham, North Carolina. For many years, the sole me ...

, The Bats,

The Chills The Chills are a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band were fronted by founding mainstay singer-songwriter, guitarist Martin Phillipps (singer), Martin Phillipps (2 July 1963 – 28 July 2024). During the mid-1 ...

The Verlaines The Verlaines are a New Zealand rock band from Dunedin. Formed in 1981 by Graeme Downes, Craig Easton, Anita Pillai, Phillip Higham and Greg Kerr, the band went through multiple line-ups. Formed at the beginning of Dunedin sound, The Verlaine ...

Jeff Mangum Jeffrey Nye Mangum (born 24 October 1970) is an American singer, songwriter, and musician who gained prominence as the founder, songwriter, vocalist and guitarist of Neutral Milk Hotel, as well for his co-founding of The Elephant 6 Recording Comp ...

, The Nothing (including Chris), Tall Dwarfs and

Lou Barlow Louis Knox Barlow (born July 17, 1966) is an American alternative rock musician and songwriter. A founding member of the groups Dinosaur Jr., Sebadoh and The Folk Implosion, Barlow is credited with helping to pioneer the lo-fi style of rock ...

. The

Greenwich Village Greenwich Village, or simply the Village, is a neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 14th Street (Manhattan), 14th Street to the north, Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway to the east, Houston Street to the s ...

arts venue Le Poisson Rouge hosted a benefit concert for Knox on 6 May 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, on 22 April 2012, on 29 September 2012 in Auckland, with Rackets, as Knoxious and in support of

Neutral Milk Hotel Neutral Milk Hotel was an American band formed by Jeff Mangum in Ruston, Louisiana, in 1989. They were active until 1998, and then from 2013 to 2015. The band's music featured a deliberately low-quality sound, influenced by indie rock and psy ...

on 23 and 24 of November, 2013.

Discography

LPs

Compilations

Tribute albums

Singles and EPs

Awards

Aotearoa Music Awards

The

Aotearoa Music Awards The Aotearoa Music Awards (previously called the New Zealand Music Awards), conferred annually by Recorded Music NZ, honour outstanding artistic and technical achievements in the recording industry. The awards are among the most significant that ...

(previously known as ''New Zealand Music Awards'' (NZMA)) are an annual awards night celebrating excellence in

New Zealand music The music of New Zealand has been influenced by a number of traditions, including Māori music, the music introduced by European settlers during the nineteenth century, and a variety of styles imported during the twentieth century, including ...

and have been presented annually since 1965. ! , - , 1993 , , Chris Knox for ''Duck Shaped Pain and Gum'' , , Album Cover of the Year, , , , rowspan="4", , - , 1994 , , Chris Knox for ''

3 EPs ''3 EPs'' is a full-length CD by New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, ...

'' by

, , Album Cover of the Year, , , - , 1995 , , Chris Knox for ''Songs of You and Me'' , , Album Cover of the Year, , , - , 2006 , , Chris Knox for ''As Sweet As Sin'' (Bleeders) , , Album Cover of the Year, , , - , 2012 , , Chris Knox (as part of Toy Love) , ,

New Zealand Music Hall of Fame The New Zealand Music Hall of Fame , Te Whare Taonga Puoro o Aotearoa is a figurative hall of fame dedicated to noteworthy New Zealand musicians. The hall was created in 2007 by Recorded Music NZ (then known as the Recording Industry Associati ...

, , , , , -

References

Alexander Turnbull Library The National Library of New Zealand () is charged with the obligation to "enrich the cultural and economic life of New Zealand and its interchanges with other nations" (National Library of New Zealand (Te Puna Mātauranga) Act 2003). Under the ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox, Chris 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