Joel Pott

Joel Pott
Background information
Born	(1979-01-20) 20 January 1979 Spilsby, Lincolnshire, England
Genres	Indie
Instruments	Vocals, guitar
Years active	1999 - present
Labels	Fiction Records (UK) Parlophone (UK) Astralwerks (US)
Associated acts	Athlete

Joel Laslett Pott (born 20 January 1979 in Spilsby, Lincolnshire) is an English musician. He is currently the lead vocalist and guitarist of the indie band Athlete.

Biography

While a child, he was bought some drums by his parents. These ultimately "didn't work out" and he was then given a nylon string guitar at the age of six. In his teenage years, he listened to British bands such as Blur, Radiohead and Oasis. He has cited Blur guitarist Graham Coxon as an influence on his own playing of the instrument.^[1]

Pott went to Trinity school in Stalybridge Greater Manchester and then to Hillcrest School in Bellingham, near Catford in London, later studying graphic design, photography and English for his A levels at the Brit School of Performing Arts and Technology.^[2]

He considered attending the University of Edinburgh, but decided to move to Deptford, London, where he formed Athlete with childhood friends Carey Willets, Steve Roberts and Tim Wanstall in 1999. Pott appeared on the BBC panel gameshow Never Mind the Buzzcocks on 15 November 2007.

Personal life

Pott married in 2003.^[3] From the relationship he has three children including a daughter called Myla.^[2] Although now healthy, she was born prematurely and is the subject of the Athlete song Wires.^[4][5] He is currently expecting his third child. Pott also wrote a song Black Swan Song after the death of his grandfather in 2005, who fought in World War II.

References