Nation 12
| John Foxx | |
|---|---|
John Foxx in 2008
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Dennis Leigh |
| Born |
26 September 1948 Chorley, Lancashire, England |
| Genres | Art rock, synthpop, new wave, ambient, post-punk, electronic |
| Instruments | Vocals, keyboards, guitars, percussion |
| Years active | 1970–present |
| Associated acts | Tiger Lily, Ultravox, Nation 12, Blitz, Louis Gordon, Harold Budd, Benge, John Foxx and the Maths, The Belbury Circle, Gazelle Twin, Anne Clark |
| Website | http://www.metamatic.com |
John Foxx (born Dennis Leigh, 26 September 1948) is an English singer, artist, photographer and teacher. He was the original lead singer of the band Ultravox, before leaving to embark on a solo career (with Midge Ure eventually taking his place in Ultravox). Primarily associated with electronic synthesizer music, he has also pursued a parallel career in graphic design and education.
Andy Kellman of AllMusic noted that Foxx "was one of those cult figures known more through the recordings of others rather than those of his own making. His detached, jolting vocal style inspired mainstream and underground artists across the decades, from synth pop superstar Gary Numan to electro-techno duo Adult".
Leigh was born in Chorley, Lancashire, England. His father was a coal miner and pugilist, his mother a millworker. He attended St Mary's Primary and St Augustine's Secondary schools. During his youth in the 1960s he embraced the lifestyle of a mod and a hippy. He experimented with tape recorders and synthesisers while on a scholarship at the Royal College of Art in London.
His first band, formed whilst at art college in Preston, was called Woolly Fish.
Prior to 1973, he was singing and playing a 12-string guitar and occasionally supported Stack Waddy in Manchester, from which he later moved to London in order to escape what he saw as a lack of musical stimulus.
In 1973, Foxx formed a band that would eventually be called Tiger Lily, composed of bassist Chris Allen and guitarist Stevie Shears, with Canadian drummer Warren Cann joining shortly afterwards, in early 1974. The band played their first gig at the Marquee club in August 1974, after which Billy Currie was recruited as violinist.
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