Jonny Buckland | |
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.jpg) Buckland at theWorthy Farm in 2024 | |
| Born | Jonathan Mark Buckland (1977-09-11)11 September 1977 (age 48) London, England |
| Alma mater | University College London |
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| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Awards | Full list |
| Musical career | |
| Origin | London, England |
| Genres | |
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| Labels | |
| Member of | Coldplay |
Musical artist | |
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Jonathan Mark Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is a British musician and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist and co-founder of therock bandColdplay. Raised inPantymwyn, he started to play guitar at an early age, taking inspiration from groups such asMy Bloody Valentine,the Stone Roses andU2. His compositions are noted for being sparse and delicate, usingdelay pedals andslide bars with a timbre that led to comparisons tothe Edge.
Buckland has a 2:1 degree inmathematics andastronomy fromUniversity College London, where he formed Coldplay along withChris Martin,Guy Berryman andWill Champion. The band signed withParlophone in 1999, finding global fame withParachutes (2000) and subsequent albums. He received a total of sevenGrammy Awards and nineBrit Awards as part of Coldplay. Having sold more than 160 million records worldwide,[1] they are the most successful group of the 21st century.[2]
Jonathan Mark Buckland was born on 11 September 1977 inIslington,London, England.[3] He is the second child of John Buckland, a former teacher atHolywell High School, and his wife Joy.[4] The family headed toPantymwyn,Flintshire, Wales when he was four years old.[5] His primary education was fulfilled atYsgol y Waun and he learned the basics of guitar there.[6] Other activities involved football, rugby and starring inplays.[7] Buckland also earned the Ron Bishop Trophy while in the Year 5 sports team.[7] Studies continued atAlun School, where he took A-level music lessons.[5] Former teacher Margaret Parr said he has particular talent for composition.[8]
During his youth, the guitarist listened toJimi Hendrix andEric Clapton records owned by his parents.[6] He was encouraged to acquire further experience on the guitar by his brother Tim, who shared works fromGeorge Harrison,My Bloody Valentine,Ride,Sonic Youth,the Stone Roses andU2 with him.[6] The former's debut album is what motivated Buckland to choose his instrument,[9] though the first chords he learned were from "Kinky Afro" (1990) byHappy Mondays.[10]
He used to have piano lessons when he was seven years old, but did not enjoy them.[11] At 10 years old, the guitarist was part of arap group and experimented withcomputer music by using beats consisted of dog barks.[11] Buckland then joined theScouts when he was 11 years old and mentioned still liking the uniform in 2008.[12] Moreover, the guitarist stated that one night when his friends were playing in a field, they had an encounter with an angry sheep which attacked him multiple times.[12] The experience has led him to avoid wearing wool and eating lamb ever since.[12] In 2019, he recalled taking a holiday job at theDaily Post, adding photos of houses for sale to the pressings.[13] His education was continued atUniversity College London, where he attained a 2:1 degree inmathematics andastronomy and formed Coldplay withChris Martin,Guy Berryman andWill Champion.[14]
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Buckland co-founded the band along with Martin. They met each other duringUniversity College London'sorientation week in 1996.[15] Both resided at the university'sRamsay Hall,[16] where Champion mentioned there were "a lot of musicians and a lot of show-offs", but "Jonny was not one of those show-offs", he further added that "the bloke who turned out to be the best guitarist out of all of us was the bloke who had his guitar hidden in his cupboard and who never got it out or was pushy about his guitaring".[17] Martin stated meeting Buckland was "like falling in love".[6] They began to practise and write songs together in early 1997.[6] Berryman had already joined them by November of that year, with the trio being called Big Fat Noises.[18] Champion then completed the performing line-up in 1998.[a]
The drummer scheduled their debut live performance atLondon's Laurel Tree only a few days after he became part of the band, changing the group's name to Starfish in a panic.[20] Within Coldplay, Buckland described as quiet, friendly, unassuming and "the wise owl".[21] Martin said that he spent his "entire life trying to drag him out of the shadows, because I know that he is a guitar hero".[22] The band used his bedroom for rehearsals in their early years, being near the neighbors who "were able to tolerate the noise".[23] In 2019, it was mentioned that Buckland is usually the first to either disapprove or give his input on initial song ideas.[24] However, he has written tracks such as "Adventure of a Lifetime" on his own as well, which was released as the lead single ofA Head Full of Dreams (2015).[25] Despite not being Coldplay's most prominent backing vocalist, he can be heard in multiple works and has lead vocals in "Don't Panic", the opening track ofParachutes (2000).[26]
Buckland guest starred onIan McCulloch's third album,Slideling (2003), by playing guitar in the songs "Sliding" and "Arthur".[27] In the following year, he made a cameo appearance on thecomedy horror filmShaun of the Dead (2004) along with Martin.[28] They later recorded "Beach Chair" forJay-Z's ninth album,Kingdom Come (2006),[29] and were featured inSlashed (2010), an independenthorror film directed byAsh.[30] He supports food and wine magazineNoble Rot, becoming an investor in its namesake restaurants.[31] Philanthropic activities include being a Kitchen Club trustee.[32] In 2019, the guitarist joined Champion to assistJodie Whittaker in her cover of "Yellow" forBBC'sChildren in Need album.[33]
Buckland plays aFender Telecaster Thinline (1972), which is recognised for having fuller sounds compared to other guitars.[34] He is occasionally seen usingJazzmaster,Jaguar andGibson ES-335 models as well, the latter being integral toA Rush of Blood to the Head (2002).[35] On theMusic of the Spheres World Tour (2022–2025), his equipment consisted of 14 guitars and the Telecasters were actually delivered by Nash, rather than Fender.[36] Buckland has at least twoHot Rod DeVille amplifiers, but reports describing their exact version are inconsistent.[37] His pedals include theFulltone OCD for boost; theElectro-Harmonix Micro POG,Pro Co RAT (vintage model) and TS9Ibanez Tube Screamer for distortion; theBOSS RV-3 for reverb; and the BOSS TR-2 for tremolo.[37] He also makes extensive use of theStrymon Timeline,Line 6 DL4 andMXR Phase 90 units.[37]
Noted for sparse and delicate arrangements,[38] Buckland affirmed that "I've never gone in much for the solos. I was always more interested in atmospherics. Listening to bands likeMercury Rev,My Bloody Valentine, or eventhe Verve, the way those guitarists played. There's noVan Halen in me".[6] His use ofslide bar have a stylistic chiming and ringing timbre which has led to comparisons tothe Edge,[39] who commented during an interview atGlastonbury that "Jonny is an inspiration to guitar players everywhere, I am proud to know that I was one of his main influences. It makes me feel like a real rock star".[6] In 2020, he shared playlists with his favourite tracks and artists from each decade on social media, featuringthe Velvet Underground,Joy Division,Kate Bush,Donna Summer andBjörk.[40] His favourite Coldplay guitar riff is "Hurts Like Heaven" (2011).[41]
According toThe Times, Buckland has an estimated wealth of £113 million as of May 2022.[42] He is a lifelongTottenham Hotspur F.C. supporter.[43] After beingvegetarian for several years, he gave it up while visiting Japan, where he struggled to communicate his food preferences and ended up being served beef.[44] This led him to discover that he actually liked carnivorous products,[44] but he still doesMeatless Monday.[45] His brother Tim was part ofthe Domino State, which opened for Coldplay on theViva la Vida Tour (2008–2010).[4] He married jewellery designer Chloe Lee-Evans in 2009 and has two children with her.[46]
The family reside inLondon'sBelsize Park area, but they also own two apartments inNew York City.[47] Buckland purchased the first for $3.4 million, while the second was bought for $5.1 million and made available for rent.[47] He is godfather to Martin's daughterApple, along with English actorSimon Pegg.[48] He said during an interview forBBC Radio 2 that his favourite activity beyond music is reading books.[49] His great-grandfather formed a band named Vic Buckland's Dance Orchestra between the late 1910s and early 1920s.[50] One of their photographs inspired the album cover and vintage aesthetic that was used on the marketing campaign forEveryday Life (2019).[50]
With Coldplay[edit]Main articles:Coldplay discography andsongs
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