Jonny Buckland
Background information
Born	(1977-09-11) 11 September 1977 (age 35) Islington, London, England
Genres	Alternative rock
Occupations	Guitarist, musician, saxophone player
Instruments	electric guitar, acoustic guitar, sitar, lute, mandolin, vocals, piano, keyboards, saxophone
Years active	1995-present
Labels	Parlophone, Capitol
Associated acts	Coldplay
Notable instruments
Fender Thinline Telecaster, Gibson ES-335, Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Les Paul, Fender Jazzmaster, Fender Jaguar

Jonathan Mark "Jonny" Buckland (born 11 September 1977) is an English musician and multi-instrumentalist, best known as the lead guitarist of the band Coldplay.

Early life [edit]

Buckland was born in Islington, London, and lived there until the age of four, when his family moved to Pantymwyn, North Wales.^[1] Jonny started playing the guitar at the age of eleven, after being spurred on by The Stone Roses, Ride, George Harrison, U2, and My Bloody Valentine, while being encouraged by his older brother Tim.^[1] He was a student at Ysgol y Waun and Alun School, the latter located in the Welsh town of Mold; moving on to study astronomy and mathematics at University College London, where he also met his future band mates—Chris Martin, Guy Berryman Will Champion and Phil Harvey —and formed Coldplay. While at University College London, Buckland, along with Martin, worked as a school janitor.^[1]

Buckland is noted for his sparse arrangements and use of slide. His stylistic chiming and ringing sound have led to some comparisons with the playing of U2's The Edge.^[2][3]

Solo work [edit]

Buckland has guested on Ian McCulloch's solo album Slideling and made a cameo appearance with band mate Chris Martin in the film Shaun of the Dead.

Guitar style [edit]

Buckland largely uses the Telecaster Thinline 72' as his primary electric guitar, as seen mainly in the albums Viva La Vida or Death and All His Friends, X&Y, and Mylo Xyloto. Buckland uses the Fender Stratocaster for his secondary guitar , but he has made clear that the Telecaster series is his favorite. Buckland's guitar style is mainly based on U2's The Edge's guitar sound, which consists mainly of ringing, conservative notation, various amps and distorters, and musical rawness. Buckland once played U2's "Where the Streets Have No Name" at a sound-check in Oslo, Norway on Coldplay's A Rush of Blood to the Head tour and didn't even have to change his guitar to play it seemingly exactly like The Edge's version. Buckland's guitar-playing style has inspired many other bands to adopt a similar technique, such as The Fray's Joe King, The Killers, and Pat Monahan from Train on some songs. The Edge himself stated in an interview at Glastonbury: "[Jonny Buckland] is an inspiration to guitar players everywhere, and I am proud to know that I was one of his main influences. (laughs) It makes me feel like a real rock star."

Personal life [edit]

Chris Martin often refers to him as "Jonny Boy" during live concerts, particularly if Buckland is about to do a solo or a long riff. Martin has said, "There would be no Coldplay music without Jonny Buckland."^[4] The affection between Martin and Buckland is often evident during live concerts and interviews. Buckland is the godfather to Martin's daughter, Apple. He is a fan of Tottenham Hotspur F.C.^[5]

Buckland was a vegetarian for some time, but eventually gave up after spending some time in Japan and, after not being able to communicate that he didn't eat meat, was served beef and found that he really liked it.^[6]

Buckland's brother Tim and his band The Domino State supported Coldplay at the O2 in December 2008.^[7]

Buckland married Chloe Evans in 2009. They had a daughter, Violet, in 2007, and a son named Jonah in 2011.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Coldplay.com