David Francolini | |
---|---|
Born | Hamilton, Bermuda | 13 September 1969
Origin | Bristol, England |
Genres | Alternative rock, psychedelic rock |
Occupation(s) | Musician, record producer |
Instrument(s) | Drums, percussion, keyboards, synthesizer, piano |
Years active | late 1980s–present |
Website | twitter.com/davidfrancolini |
David Thomas Giuseppe Francolini [1] (born 13 September 1969) is an English rock drummer, songwriter and record producer, best known as the drummer in Dark Star and Levitation.
Prior to forming Levitation, Francolini played with several bands in Bristol in the late 1980s. He replaced the drummer in Something Pretty Beautiful, a band formed by Julian Cope's brother Joss, just before a nationwide tour with The House of Love, where he first met guitarist Terry Bickers. [2] Francolini and Bickers co-founded the psychedelic rock band Levitation in 1990. During this period, Francolini also co-founded the band Strangelove with Patrick Duff in 1991. Francolini only played two gigs with the band before being replaced by Jon Langley.
Levitation went on to release several singles and one album. The band continued until 1994 (despite the departure of Terry Bickers in 1993), and Francolini remained with the band until the final split. He reunited with former Levitation bandmates Christian Hayes and Laurence O'Keefe in 1996 to form Dark Star. The band released one album, Twenty Twenty Sound in 1999 before splitting in 2001.
Following the demise of Dark Star, Francolini returned to Bristol and set up recording studio Ohm Studios, where he began working on the debut album with his new band Dragons, as well as the "City Of The Dead" project. Initially a studio project with singer Anthony Tombling Jr (whom Francolini has previously worked with when producing Transambient Communications and Timo Maas), news of Francolini's new band was reported in 2003 [3] [ self-published source ] but the band didn't surface until 2007. [4] Early shows featured both Hayes and O'Keefe as part of the live band, with the band disbanding in 2009. A second album was recorded, but was left unmixed. In 2005, Francolini produced and played on the 2005 Julian Cope albums Rite Bastard and Citizen Cain'd under the pseudonym Mitch Razor. [5] [ unreliable source? ]
Francolini has more recently set up a new studio in Bristol called Komplex and has worked with artists including Mediæval Bæbes, Exit Calm and Client. [6]
Julian David Cope is an English musician and author. He was the singer and songwriter in Liverpool post-punk band The Teardrop Explodes and has followed a solo career since 1983 in addition to working on musical side projects such as Queen Elizabeth, Brain Donor and Black Sheep.
Levitation were an English psychedelic rock band, formed in 1990 in London. The band consisted of frontman Terry Bickers, drummer David Francolini, guitarist Christian Hayes, bassist Laurence O'Keefe and keyboardist Robert White.
Power Quest were an English power metal band from Southampton. Prior to the band's retirement in 2023, the line-up consisted of keyboardist Steve Williams, drummer Rich Smith, vocalist Ashley Edison, guitarists Glyn Williams and George "The Kid" Karafotis, and bassist Bradley Edison.
The House of Love are an English alternative rock band, formed in London in 1986 by singer-songwriter-guitarist Guy Chadwick and co-founder and lead guitarist Terry Bickers. They rose to prominence in 1987 with their first single "Shine On", released on the independent label Creation. The following year, the band released their critically acclaimed eponymous debut album and built their reputation over the next few years through subsequent releases, constant touring and the support of English press. They signed with Fontana Records in 1989 and met commercial success in 1990 with their second self-titled album, which peaked at number 8 in the UK albums chart. Their third album, Babe Rainbow, was favourably met by the critics in 1992 and also reached the top 40 in the UK.
Dark Star were an English psychedelic rock band, formed in 1996 in London. The band comprised vocalist/guitarist Christian Hayes, drummer David Francolini and bassist Laurence O'Keefe.
Strangelove were an English alternative rock band, formed in Bristol in 1991 comprising singer Patrick Duff, guitarists Alex Lee & Julian Poole, bassist Joe Allen and John Langley on drums. They released two EPs and three albums before disbanding in 1998.
Adorable were an English alternative rock band, formed in Coventry in 1990. The band consisted of vocalist and guitarist Pete Fijalkowski, guitarist Robert Dillam, bassist Stephen 'Wil' Williams and drummer Kevin Gritton.
Christian David "Bic" Hayes is an English rock guitarist, singer and songwriter. Best known as the frontman of Dark Star and guitarist with Levitation, he has also released solo material as Mikrokosmos, which was produced by Tim Smith.
Laurence O'Keefe is an English bassist, best known as a member of Dark Star and Levitation.
Terence "Terry" Robert Arthur Bickers is an English musician and songwriter. A guitarist and singer, he is best known for his work as the original lead guitarist with The House of Love and as the former frontman/guitarist for Levitation and Cradle. During the late 1980s and 1990s Bickers was hailed as one of Britain's leading young guitarists, as well as attracting plenty of press coverage due to his unconventional pronouncements.
Saint Julian is the third solo album by Julian Cope. It has a very strong pop sound, compared to other Cope releases, and spawned several of his best known tracks.
The House of Love is the second album by British alternative rock band the House of Love, released on Fontana Records in 1990. It should not be confused with the band's debut album, which is also called The House of Love. It is generally referred to either as Fontana or The Butterfly Album.
Dragons were an English rock band, formed in 2005 in Bristol by drummer David Francolini.
Citizen Cain'd is the twentieth solo album by Julian Cope, released in January 2005. The album was released as two CDs of 34 and 37 minutes respectively because Cope deemed several of the songs "too psychologically exhausting" for one single listen.
Dark Orgasm is the twenty-first solo album by Julian Cope, released in 2005. It contains eight songs of guitar-heavy hard rock split into two short CDs. Alexis Petridis of The Guardian described the album as "a roughly recorded Stooges-meets-prog concept album about atheism and feminism". It was dedicated to "Freedom and Equality for Women".
From A to B is the only album by the British alternative rock band Octopus, released on 30 September 1996 on Food Records. The album contained four singles, all of which charted within the British Top 100.
"World Shut Your Mouth" is a song by English singer-songwriter Julian Cope, released as the first single from his third album, Saint Julian (1987), on 15 September 1986. The title of the song is the same as the title of Cope's first solo album, World Shut Your Mouth, but the track does not appear on that album.
Authority is the fifth studio album by British electronic music group Client, released on 21 March 2014 through German electronic music label Out of Line Music.
Rome Wasn't Burned in a Day is the nineteenth solo album by Julian Cope, released in 2003.
Trip Advizer – The Very Best of Julian Cope 1999–2014 is a compilation album by Julian Cope, released in January 2015 on Cope's own Lord Yatesbury label.