Tony Cox is a British record producer and arranger. As such he was influential in late 1960s and 1970s folk rock developments and the fledgling progressive rock scene, and has since worked primarily as a composer and orchestrator.
He entered the music business as a performer in 1966, and as a duo with Douglas MacRae-Brown released The Young Idea LP in 1967, [1] and had a UK top ten hit single with a cover version of the Lennon-McCartney song " With a Little Help from My Friends". [2] (The album was re-issued on CD in 2009 with previously unreleased tracks.) He continued performing in the studio with various acts he produced such as Trees [3] and Mick Softley. [4] He was an early adopter of the EMS VCS 3 synthesizer and in 1971 played on the Spirogyra album St. Radigunds, [5] and Mike Heron's album Smiling Men With Bad Reputations.[ citation needed] In 1972 he played piano with The Bunch alongside Sandy Denny on vocals, [6] and in 1976 he played synth on Martin Carthy's Crown Of Horn LP. [7]
In 1974 he founded Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, [8] one of the first residential recording studios in the UK. [9]
In 1978 he married the singer-songwriter Lesley Duncan, [10] and produced her single "The Magic's Fine". [11] In 1979 produced and arranged the charity single "Sing Children Sing" for the International Year of the Child. [10] In 1982 he produced Duncan's cover version of Bob Dylan's ' Masters of War' single. [10] In 1996 they moved to the Isle of Mull, Scotland. [12]
From 1988 to 1990 he worked for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group as music supervisor, overseeing various shows. [12]
Recently Cox has been composing 'Protomodal' music for instrumental ensemble, creating a uniquely distinctive sound by utilizing unusual modal scales and unorthodox harmonies, mixing rigid composition rules with John Cage like chance elements. [13]
Tony Cox is a British record producer and arranger. As such he was influential in late 1960s and 1970s folk rock developments and the fledgling progressive rock scene, and has since worked primarily as a composer and orchestrator.
He entered the music business as a performer in 1966, and as a duo with Douglas MacRae-Brown released The Young Idea LP in 1967, [1] and had a UK top ten hit single with a cover version of the Lennon-McCartney song " With a Little Help from My Friends". [2] (The album was re-issued on CD in 2009 with previously unreleased tracks.) He continued performing in the studio with various acts he produced such as Trees [3] and Mick Softley. [4] He was an early adopter of the EMS VCS 3 synthesizer and in 1971 played on the Spirogyra album St. Radigunds, [5] and Mike Heron's album Smiling Men With Bad Reputations.[ citation needed] In 1972 he played piano with The Bunch alongside Sandy Denny on vocals, [6] and in 1976 he played synth on Martin Carthy's Crown Of Horn LP. [7]
In 1974 he founded Sawmills Studios in Cornwall, [8] one of the first residential recording studios in the UK. [9]
In 1978 he married the singer-songwriter Lesley Duncan, [10] and produced her single "The Magic's Fine". [11] In 1979 produced and arranged the charity single "Sing Children Sing" for the International Year of the Child. [10] In 1982 he produced Duncan's cover version of Bob Dylan's ' Masters of War' single. [10] In 1996 they moved to the Isle of Mull, Scotland. [12]
From 1988 to 1990 he worked for Andrew Lloyd Webber's Really Useful Group as music supervisor, overseeing various shows. [12]
Recently Cox has been composing 'Protomodal' music for instrumental ensemble, creating a uniquely distinctive sound by utilizing unusual modal scales and unorthodox harmonies, mixing rigid composition rules with John Cage like chance elements. [13]