Colin Greenwood facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Colin Greenwood
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Greenwood at Bonnaroo, 2006
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Colin Charles Greenwood |
| Born | 26 June 1969 Oxford, England |
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| Years active | 1985–present |
Colin Charles Greenwood (born June 26, 1969) is an English musician. He is famous as the bassist for the rock band Radiohead. Besides playing the bass guitar, Colin also plays the upright bass and electronic instruments.
Colin and his younger brother, Jonny Greenwood, went to Abingdon School in England. There, they formed the band that would become Radiohead. Radiohead has become very successful, selling over 30 million albums worldwide. In 2019, Colin was welcomed into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as a member of Radiohead.
Greenwood has also worked on music projects with other Radiohead members. He has played with artists like Tamino, Gaz Coombes, and Nick Cave. In 2024, he released a book of his own photographs of Radiohead.
Contents
Early Life and Music Beginnings
Colin Greenwood is the older brother of Radiohead's guitarist, Jonny Greenwood. Their father was a bomb disposal expert in the British Army. As a child, Colin lived in Germany and learned to speak German fluently.
His older sister, Susan, introduced him and Jonny to different bands. Colin said they felt a bit different at school because they liked these bands. He met Thom Yorke, who would become Radiohead's singer, when he was 12. He also met future bandmates Ed O'Brien and Philip Selway at school.
Colin bought his first guitar when he was 15 years old. He learned classical guitar from his music teacher, Terence Gilmore-James. This teacher helped the band learn about different music styles. Colin said he started playing bass because the band needed a bassist. He taught himself by playing along to songs by bands like New Order.
He explained that the band members chose their instruments to play music together. It was more about working as a team. From 1987 to 1990, Colin studied English at Peterhouse, Cambridge university. After college, he worked at a record shop in Oxford.
Joining Radiohead and Success
In late 1991, a sales person from EMI records visited the shop where Colin worked. Colin gave him a demo tape of his band, then called On a Friday. This led to the band signing a six-album deal with EMI. They then changed their name to Radiohead.
By 2011, Radiohead had sold more than 30 million albums around the world. In March 2019, they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Colin has said that he respects his brother Jonny as both a person and a musician.
Colin mostly plays bass using his fingers, not a plectrum (pick). He mainly uses Fender basses and Ampeg amplifiers. He also plays double bass on some songs, like "Pyramid Song". While he is the bassist, Colin says every member of Radiohead helps create the songs. He sees himself as part of a band, not just a bass player.
Magazines have praised Colin's playing. In 2008, Mojo magazine called him and Philip Selway a very creative rhythm section. In 2014, NME readers voted Colin one of the 40 best bassists ever. In 2024, Far Out named him one of the most underrated bassists. They called him a "master of rhythm and space."
Other Musical Projects
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In 1997, Colin took part in a campaign for his old university, Cambridge University. He posed for a poster to encourage more students from different schools to apply.
Colin has played bass on soundtracks created by his brother, Jonny. These include Bodysong (2003) and Inherent Vice. He also played on albums by other musicians. He worked with Tamino on his albums Amir (2018) and Sahar (2022). He also played on Gaz Coombes' album World's Strongest Man (2018).
Colin contributed to "Brasil" from his Radiohead bandmate Ed O'Brien's solo album Earth (2020). He also helped with songs by Thom Yorke, including "Hearing Damage" and "Guess Again!".
In 2013, Colin performed a solo bass guitar show for a fashion event by Dries van Noten. In late 2022, he toured Australia with Nick Cave and Warren Ellis's band. He also joined Nick Cave's North American tour in 2023. Colin played bass on the 2024 album Wild God by Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds. He joined the Bad Seeds on their 2024 tour when their usual bassist was ill. In October 2024, Colin published a book of his photographs called How to Disappear: A Portrait of Radiohead. The book features his pictures of Radiohead from 2003 to 2016.
Personal Life
In December 1998, Colin Greenwood married Molly McGrann. She is an American writer and literary critic. They have three sons: Jesse, born in 2003; Asa, born in 2005; and Henry, born in 2009. The family lives in Oxford, England.
Colin enjoys reading books by writers such as Thomas Pynchon and V.S. Naipaul.
See also
In Spanish: Colin Greenwood para niños
- List of Old Abingdonians
