Violinist
Graham was born and brought up in inner city Manchester. He went to Manchester Grammar School, and formed his first band, Aqua, in 1977. Most of Aqua’s set comprised pieces by Gong, Virgin records’ second biggest-selling artist in the seventies. Other members were Graham Massey, who went on to success with 808 State, and Alan Hempsall and Gary Madeley who were half of Factory band Crispy Ambulance. In 1978 Graham went to Sussex University to study biology and experimental psychology. It was during his time in Brighton that he began to explore jazz on violin, guitar and double bass.
He moved to Bristol in 1982 to began his career as a jazz violinist working with such luminaries as Andy Sheppard and Tim Richards. Then it was on to London in ‘85 where he stayed at the house of Paz’s Dick Crouch for a couple of years and through Dick met some of the top players on the London jazz scene. He played with many musicians including Keith Tippett and Brian Godding. Graham also busked in the Underground from ‘86-’89. He played with a Mariarchi band as well as various straight ahead combos and other groups that were much more avant-garde.
He met Daevid Allen of Gong in May 1988 and began to work with him a month later. The following year he moved down to Somerset, mainly to live with his long-term partner Viv who was living in Wells, but also to build on the musical relationship he was developing with Allen. It wasn’t long before ex-Gong sax-player Didier Malherbe joined the band, and Gongmaison was born with the addition of Shyamal Maitra on tablas and Daevid’s partner Wandana on harmonium. Thus began a twenty-five year musical relationship that took him to many other countries.
In 1990, Graham began postgraduate study at Bristol University to investigate the cognitive bases of music perception and musical improvisation with Richard Gregory as his supervisor. He didn’t finish this work, as he had other matters to deal with after both of his parents died within nine months of each other in 1993 and ‘94.
Graham moved back to the North West in 1996, settling in Buxton. He played and recorded with his old colleague and friend Graham Massey, as well as more recent bands like Elbow and Lamb, and made many other contacts in Manchester. . He has also recorded on several albums for Martin Archer’s Discus label based in Sheffield. He brought out two freely improvised albums of his own. When Jean Claude Vannier performed his two great works ’ and L’enfant Assassin des Mouches, at the Barbican (2006) and Paris’ Cité de la Musique (2008) it was Graham who played the electric violin solos. He was part of a salsa band for a few years and also maintained a weekly jazz duo gig in Buxton for the last twenty years.