Biography
Tony Cox commands the 12-string acoustic guitar with rare mastery, an instrument he first picked up as a child. Though he ranks among those South African performers who sustain steady visibility on the domestic circuit, international recognition has largely bypassed him. The situation reflects less on artistic merit than on the abundance of undiscovered musical riches scattered across Southern Africa. Cox draws from the region’s wide stylistic range and fuses those elements into a personal sound.
He entered the world in a modest mining settlement in what was then Southern Rhodesia, later Zimbabwe. Guitar instruction began at age nine, and he routinely covered the twelve-mile distance to his teacher’s house on foot, a regimen that reinforced his determination. When the instructor returned to Portugal, lessons ended and the Cox family relocated to Salisbury, now Harare. The tutor’s Hawaiian-guitar background prompted the youngster to cultivate a distinctive fingerpicking and sliding approach that still defines his technique.
The family departed Zimbabwe in 1970 and established itself in Cape Town, South Africa. Three years afterward Cox began to treat music as a vocation. There he encountered guitarist Steve Newman, who would later establish the band Tananas. Their partnership proved durable; the pair became the country’s most prominent guitar duo and continue to appear together from time to time. Their 1981 presentation, 101 Ways to Use an Acoustic Guitar, enjoyed nationwide success.
Seeking new stimulus, Cox journeyed across the continent to England, where he again shared stages with Steve Newman and undertook extensive tours. The spectrum of sounds he absorbed, combined with his own African background, reshaped his musical outlook and laid the groundwork for the hybrid style he would refine upon returning home.
Back in South Africa in 1986, he worked with South African singer Lesley Rae Dowling and Malawian singer-songwriter Wambali Mkandawire while also composing for television and film. Because the local industry showed scant interest in homegrown artists, sustained touring and live performances became essential. His debut album, In-to-Nation, appeared in 1991, yet Cool Friction (1996) brought the widest praise and stands as a landmark recording in South African guitar music. In 1998 Cox retraced his roots with a journey to Zimbabwe; the experience yielded the album Looking for Zim that same year, featuring guest contributions from Wambali Mkandawire and South African singer Wendy Oldfield. Matabele Ants (2000), a project with percussionist Barry van Zyl, further traced the African essence within Cox’s distinctive guitar work.
He entered the world in a modest mining settlement in what was then Southern Rhodesia, later Zimbabwe. Guitar instruction began at age nine, and he routinely covered the twelve-mile distance to his teacher’s house on foot, a regimen that reinforced his determination. When the instructor returned to Portugal, lessons ended and the Cox family relocated to Salisbury, now Harare. The tutor’s Hawaiian-guitar background prompted the youngster to cultivate a distinctive fingerpicking and sliding approach that still defines his technique.
The family departed Zimbabwe in 1970 and established itself in Cape Town, South Africa. Three years afterward Cox began to treat music as a vocation. There he encountered guitarist Steve Newman, who would later establish the band Tananas. Their partnership proved durable; the pair became the country’s most prominent guitar duo and continue to appear together from time to time. Their 1981 presentation, 101 Ways to Use an Acoustic Guitar, enjoyed nationwide success.
Seeking new stimulus, Cox journeyed across the continent to England, where he again shared stages with Steve Newman and undertook extensive tours. The spectrum of sounds he absorbed, combined with his own African background, reshaped his musical outlook and laid the groundwork for the hybrid style he would refine upon returning home.
Back in South Africa in 1986, he worked with South African singer Lesley Rae Dowling and Malawian singer-songwriter Wambali Mkandawire while also composing for television and film. Because the local industry showed scant interest in homegrown artists, sustained touring and live performances became essential. His debut album, In-to-Nation, appeared in 1991, yet Cool Friction (1996) brought the widest praise and stands as a landmark recording in South African guitar music. In 1998 Cox retraced his roots with a journey to Zimbabwe; the experience yielded the album Looking for Zim that same year, featuring guest contributions from Wambali Mkandawire and South African singer Wendy Oldfield. Matabele Ants (2000), a project with percussionist Barry van Zyl, further traced the African essence within Cox’s distinctive guitar work.
Albums
Padkos
2026
The Summer Comes My Loves
2025
Enormous Flowers
2025
China - African Guitar Collaborations
2024
The World Went Quiet
2024
Relax and Do It
2018
China
2002
Cool Friction
1996
Singles
Live
