Knox (born Ian Milroy Carnochan, 4 September 1945) also known as I.M. Carnarchan is a British musician and founding member of the seminal

punk Punk or punks may refer to: Genres, subculture, and related aspects * Punk rock, a music genre originating in the 1970s associated with various subgenres * Punk subculture, a subculture associated with punk rock, or aspects of the subculture s ...

band

the Vibrators The Vibrators are a British punk rock band that formed in 1976. Early career The Vibrators were founded by Ian ' Knox' Carnochan, bassist Pat Collier, guitarist John Ellis, and drummer John 'Eddie' Edwards. They first came to public notice ...

Biography

Born in London, he spent his formative years in

Cricklewood Cricklewood is an area of London, England, which spans the boundaries of three London boroughs: Barnet to the east, Brent to the west and Camden to the south-east. The Crown pub, now the Clayton Crown Hotel, is a local landmark and lies north ...

, (

North West London The NW (North Western) postcode area, also known as the London NW postcode area, is a group of 13 postcode districts covering around 13,895 live postcodes within part of northwest London, England. It is the successor of the NW sector, originally ...

) and then

Watford Watford () is a town and borough in Hertfordshire, England, 15 miles northwest of Central London, on the River Colne. Initially a small market town, the Grand Junction Canal encouraged the construction of paper-making mills, print works, and ...

, where he became interested in the guitar at the age of thirteen. He was in various school bands, based at

Watford Grammar School for Boys Go Forward with Preparation , established = 1884 ( Single-sex) , type = partially selective academy , religious_affiliation = , president = , head_label = Headmaster , head = Ian A. Cooksey , r_head_label = , ...

, including The Renegades and Knox and the Knight Ryders. Knox's budding musical development was gradually put on hold when he went to art school (in Watford, and in the

West of England West of England is a combined authority area in South West England. It is made up of the Bristol, South Gloucestershire, and Bath and North East Somerset unitary authorities. The combined authority is led by the Mayor of the West of England Dan ...

), where he developed an interest in painting. In 1972, Knox returned to playing music and in early 1976 was a founder member of the Vibrators, a Pub Rock band that cut its hair, changed its wardrobe, and jumped on the post-Sex Pistols punk bandwagon, despite its members being 10 years older than most of the originator bands. The Vibrators' blatant careerism was held up by Melody Maker writer

Caroline Coon Caroline Coon (born 1945) is an English artist, journalist and political activist. Her artwork often explores sexual themes from a feminist standpoint. Coon had her first solo painting exhibition at The Gallery Liverpool entitled "Caroline Coon: ...

as an example of the downside of the "punk explosion". As well as being the

frontman The lead vocalist in popular music is typically the member of a group or band whose voice is the most prominent melody in a performance where multiple voices may be heard. The lead singer sets their voice against the accompaniment parts of the ...

, he was the main songwriter for the band, writing such songs as "Baby Baby", "London Girls" and "Automatic Lover" (the latter a top 40

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

hit Hit means to strike someone or something. Hit or HIT may also refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Fictional entities * Hit, a fictional character from '' Dragon Ball Super'' * Homicide International Trust, or HIT, a fictional organization ...

). The band played the legendary

100 Club Punk Festival The 100 Club Punk Special (sometimes referred to as the 100 Club Punk Festival) was a two-day event held at the 100 Club venue in Oxford Street, London, England on 20 and 21 September 1976. The gig showcased eight punk rock bands, most of which ...

with guitar legend

Chris Spedding Christopher John Spedding (born Peter Robinson, 17 June 1944) is an English musician, singer, guitarist, songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, composer, and record producer. In a career spanning more than 50 years, Spedding is best known for his st ...

, who produced the single, "Pogo Dancing". After the Vibrators broke up, Knox worked as a solo artist, recording an album ''Plutonium Express'', which came out on the Razor record label in 1983. He also played guitar on

Robyn Hitchcock Robyn Rowan Hitchcock (born 3 March 1953) is an English singer-songwriter and guitarist. While primarily a vocalist and guitarist, he also plays harmonica, piano, and bass guitar. After leading the Soft Boys in the late 1970s and releasing the ...

's solo debut album, '' Black Snake Diamond Role''. He did two gigs with

Alex Chilton William Alexander Chilton (December 28, 1950 – March 17, 2010) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer best known as the lead singer of the Box Tops and Big Star. Chilton's early commercial success in the 1960s ...

, one of which was recorded and released as the album, ''Live in London''. Also in 1983, Knox played guitar and wrote material for the Urban Dogs, a band with Charlie Harper from the

U.K. Subs U.K. Subs are an English punk rock band, among the earliest in the first wave of British punk. Formed in 1976, the mainstay of the band has been vocalist Charlie Harper, originally a singer in Britain's R&B scene. They were also one of the f ...

and produced an album of the same name.''Trouser Press''
"UK Subs" He also played guitar on the U.K. Subs' 1988 album, ''Japan Today''. In 1984, Knox formed the band Fallen Angels with members of

Hanoi Rocks Hanoi Rocks was a Finnish rock band formed in 1979. They were the first Finnish band to chart in the UK and they were also popular in Japan. The band broke up in June 1985 after drummer Nicholas "Razzle" Dingley died in a drunk driving accide ...

.''Fallen Angels biography''
Knox's official website They recorded one eponymous album ('' Fallen Angels'' on Fall Out Records, 1984) but never played live. Knox continued the Fallen Angels project for two more albums, along with occasional gigs, with a new line-up and occasional guest appearances from Hanoi Rocks members: ''In Loving Memory'' (

Jungle Records Jungle Records is a British independent record label formed in 1982, specialising in punk rock, post punk, gothic and alternative releases. From 1982 to 1986 they were also active as a record distributor and were associate members of the C ...

, 1986) and ''Wheel of Fortune'' (Jungle Records, 1988). With the renewed interest in punk the original line-up of The Vibrators re-formed in 1982, and, with Knox as a constant notwithstanding various line-up changes, has continued working since doing several tours a year."Vibrators biography"
Vibrators' official website Knox also wrote a book on the Vibrators, ''The Vibrators – 21 Years Of Punk Mania'',
stating "nobody else seemed interested in doing it, so I did it". Knox's painting is inspired by both classical artists, and

contemporary artists This is a list of artists who create contemporary art, i.e., those whose peak of activity can be situated somewhere between the 1970s (the advent of postmodernism) and the present day. Artists on this list meet the following criteria: *The person ...

Salvador Dalí Salvador Domingo Felipe Jacinto Dalí i Domènech, Marquess of Dalí of Púbol (; ; ; 11 May 190423 January 1989) was a Spanish Surrealism, surrealist artist renowned for his technical skill, precise draftsmanship, and the striking and bizarr ...

, Peter Blake and Richard Hamilton."Interview with Knox"
''Sugarbuzz Magazine'' He has painted numerous portraits of punk icons, including

Joe Strummer John Graham Mellor (21 August 1952 – 22 December 2002), known professionally as Joe Strummer, was a British singer, musician and songwriter. He was the co-founder, lyricist, rhythm guitarist and co-lead vocalist of punk rock band the Clash, f ...

and

Joey Ramone Jeffrey Ross Hyman (May 19, 1951 – April 15, 2001), known professionally as Joey Ramone, was an American musician, best known as the lead singer and a founding member of the punk rock band Ramones. His image, voice, and his tenure with the R ...

, as well as Leatherface, plus paintings of

landscape A landscape is the visible features of an area of land, its landforms, and how they integrate with natural or man-made features, often considered in terms of their aesthetic appeal.''New Oxford American Dictionary''. A landscape includes the ...

s and

buildings A building, or edifice, is an enclosed structure with a roof and walls standing more or less permanently in one place, such as a house or factory (although there's also portable buildings). Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and func ...

. (About eighty of Knox's paintings can be seen at the second external link shown below). Knox is currently running a music memorabilia store called Rock 'N' Roll Rescue in Camden next to the

Dublin Castle, Camden The Dublin Castle is a pub and live music venue in Camden Town, London. It was built for Irish navvies working on railways in London, but gained prominence as a venue in the late 1970s after the band Madness established a live reputation there. ...

, with cash raised being given to local charities.Rock 'N' Roll Rescue article
''Camden New Journal''

References

External links

Knox's official websiteThe Vibrators websiteDesert Hearts publishers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Knox 1945 births Living people English songwriters English punk rock guitarists English punk rock singers 20th-century English painters English male painters 21st-century English painters People educated at Watford Grammar School for Boys People from Cricklewood People from Watford Musicians from Hertfordshire The Vibrators members 20th-century English male artists 21st-century English male artists