Graham Coxon talks early Blur, Colchester, and squats on DIY’s Before They Knew Better podcast

This week on the podcast, we’re joined by a true titan of British alternative music - the one and only Graham Coxon. From being one quarter of Blur, to one half of The Waeve (who have just announced their second album, ‘City Lights’), to a solo artist in his own right, his storied career is one for the ages, and it was a pleasure to welcome him as the latest guest on Before They Knew Better.

As always with the podcast, we asked Graham to bring in a photo, an object, and a song from his formative years, which led to a chat that digs back into some early Blur memories, revisits the tribal pubs of ’80s Colchester, and unveils more about Graham’s squatting days…

“You really had to be careful about which pub you went into”, he shares during the episode. “I don’t think I would have been able to go into a squaddie pub in what I was wearing; I’d have an old tweed jacket on that might be stinking of turp, some corduroy trousers, and some hush puppies that were probably splashed with oil paint. There were a few pubs that only people like me could go in, and ALL the alternative people would be in there - art students, the hardcore punks, the goths, anyone who wasn’t mainstream.”

Before They Knew Better - available to listen now on Spotify, Apple, Amazon, YouTube, and all major podcast platforms - is DIY’s podcast digging into the wins, woes and wtfs of your favourite musicians’ early years, with a new episode landing every Tuesday morning.

Listen to our new episode with Graham Coxon in full below.