Frank Chickens

Last updated

Kazuko Hohki (with Tomoko Minamazaki and Ray Hogan) in rehearsal with Frank Chickens in 1998 Frank Chickens.jpg
Kazuko Hohki (with Tomoko Minamazaki and Ray Hogan) in rehearsal with Frank Chickens in 1998

Frank Chickens are a Japanese musical group based in London, who have performed songs mainly in English since 1982. [1]

Contents

They were nominated for the 1984 Edinburgh Comedy Award for their performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe. In the same year, their single "Blue Canary" was number 42 in BBC DJ John Peel's Festive Fifty, a poll of his listeners' favourite tracks of the year. [2] The band recorded 28 songs over five sessions for Peel between 1983 and 1989. [3]

In 1989 they hosted a television chat show on Channel 4 entitled Kazuko's Karaoke Klub. [4]

One of the founders of the group, Kazuko Hohki performs as a theatre artist and performance artist. She also sang with the group Kahondo Style who released 'My Heart’s In Motion' (1985) and 'Green Tea and Crocodiles' (1987). She is married to record producer Grant Showbiz. [5]

In 2010 the group won the Foster's Edinburgh Comedy God Award, [6] after the public responded to an e-mail sent in anger by comedian Stewart Lee to the organisers of the award. [7] [8]

The band was named by Kazuko Hohki after a brand of Japanese pencil. [8]

Discography

Singles

Albums

Compilations

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coldcut</span> English electronic music duo

Coldcut are an English electronic music duo composed of Matt Black and Jonathan More. Credited as pioneers for pop sampling in the 1980s, Coldcut are also considered the first stars of UK electronic dance music due to their innovative style, which featured cut-up samples of hip-hop, soul, funk, spoken word and various other types of music, as well as video and multimedia. According to Spin, "in '87 Coldcut pioneered the British fad for 'DJ records'".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Peel</span> English DJ and radio presenter (1939–2004)

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stewart Lee</span> British stand-up comedian, screenwriter and television director

Stewart Graham Lee is an English comedian. His stand-up routine is characterised by repetition, internal reference, and deadpan delivery.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Galaxie 500</span> American rock band

Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: Today, On Fire and This Is Our Music.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mr. Scruff</span> English record producer and DJ (born 1972)

Andrew Carthy, known professionally as Mr. Scruff, is an English record producer and DJ. He lives in Stretford, Greater Manchester and studied fine art at the Psalter Lane campus of Sheffield Hallam University. Before he could make a living from his music alone, he worked as a shelf stocker in the Hazel Grove branch of Kwik Save.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Delgados</span> Scottish indie rock band

The Delgados are a Scottish indie rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. The band is composed of Alun Woodward, Emma Pollock, Stewart Henderson, and Paul Savage (drums).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wreckless Eric</span> Musical artist

Eric Goulden, known as Wreckless Eric, is an English rock and new wave singer-songwriter, best known for his 1977 single "Whole Wide World" on Stiff Records. More than two decades after its release, the song was included in Mojo magazine's list of the best punk rock singles of all time. It was also acclaimed as one of the "top 40 singles of the alternative era 1975–2000".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Superior Software</span>

Superior Software Ltd is a video game publisher. It was one of the main publishers for the BBC Micro and Acorn Electron computers in the 1980s and early 1990s, and occasionally published software to the Commodore 64, Amiga, ZX Spectrum and Amstrad CPC. It currently releases games for Microsoft Windows, iOS and Android, mostly updates of its original games.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bearsuit</span>

Bearsuit are an English art-rock/indie pop band from Norwich, England, active from 2001.

Shop Assistants were a Scottish indie pop band from Edinburgh, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as 'Buba & The Shop Assistants'. After achieving success with independent releases they signed to Chrysalis Records sublabel Blue Guitar, releasing their only album in 1986. After splitting in 1987, with singer Alex Taylor moving on to The Motorcycle Boy, they reformed for two further singles in 1990.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Hanging Garden (song)</span> 1982 single by the Cure

"The Hanging Garden" is a song by English rock band the Cure, released as the sole single from their fourth studio album, Pornography. The release is sometimes referred to as A Single. The single reached No. 34 on the UK Singles Chart.

Bogshed were an Indie band formed in Hebden Bridge, West Yorkshire, England, in 1985 by Phil Hartley (vocals), Mark McQuaid (guitar), Mike Bryson (bass) and Tristan King (drums). They released two albums, two EPs and two singles before splitting up in 1987.

Grant Showbiz is a British record producer principally known for his work with The Fall, The Smiths, and Billy Bragg plus as an artist in his own right with Moodswings. He has worked on more albums by both The Fall (15) & Billy Bragg (14) than any other producer, and continues to work with Bragg. Showbiz has been awarded Gold Records for The Smiths' Rank, Billy Bragg's Don't Try This At Home and The Wilco/Bragg collaboration Mermaid Vol.1, and received Grammy nominations for both Mermaid Avenue Vols 1 & 2.

BOB were an indie pop band from North London, England, formed in 1986.

Bernthøler was a pop/avant garde band formed in Brussels, Belgium, active between 1981 and 1985.

Swan Arcade were a British folk music vocal group formed in 1970. "A leading light of the British folk revival" they sang a wide variety of songs, including blues, pop and rock and roll, as well as traditional folk music, mostly performed a cappella. Swan Arcade also performed with The Watersons as the Boggle Hole Chorale, and The Watersons and Martin Carthy as Blue Murder. They finally disbanded in 1988, but one of their members, Jim Boyes, still performs as part of Coope Boyes and Simpson.

...And the Native Hipsters was an English experimental group formed in London, England in 1979. Centred on the nucleus of musicians William Wilding and Blatt, they are best known for their 1980 single, "There Goes Concorde Again", which attracted the attention of BBC Radio 1 DJ John Peel, and reached number five on the UK Independent Charts. The song was listed by New Musical Express in their "NME Writers 100 Best Indie Singles Ever" in 1992.

Kazuko's Karaoke Klub is a Channel 4 chat show, hosted by Japanese performance artist Kazuko Hohki of the Frank Chickens in which she interviewed celebrity guests who then had to sing karaoke versions of hit songs of the time.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Paul Rooney (artist)</span> English artist

Paul Rooney is an English artist who works with music and words, primarily through installations and records.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rooney (UK band)</span> British DIY lo-fi band

Rooney were a British DIY band that released three albums between 1998 and 2000, including the debut album Time on Their Hands which received much support from John Peel, who booked them for a session in 1999. They reached number 44 in Peel's Festive Fifty of 1998. The lo-fi music incorporated sometimes humorous — but often unsettling — spoken-sung lyrics describing everyday, mundane activities and observations, an approach which was consistent across all Rooney releases.

References

  1. "Frank Chickens performance schedule". Frank Chickens. Archived from the original on 13 April 2010. Retrieved 26 July 2010.
  2. "Keeping it Peel, John Peel, Peel, Festive 50, 1984". BBC. Retrieved 21 July 2010.
  3. "Keeping it Peel Artist A-Z (archived content)". BBC. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
  4. Guardian Media Monkey Archived September 18, 2016, at the Wayback Machine . Retrieved 23 November 2013
  5. TitleThe Good Wife of Tokyo”. British Film Institute. Retrieved 20 March 2022
  6. "Frank Chickens win 'Comedy God' award". BBC. 30 August 2010. Retrieved 30 August 2010.
  7. Lee, Stewart (3 August 2010). "Frank Chickens: Edinburgh gods". The Guardian . Retrieved 29 February 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Frank Chickens have last laugh as Stewart Lee's rant goes viral". the Guardian. 6 August 2010.
  9. "Kat's Karavan: The History of the John Peel Show - Various Artists Archived April 3, 2016, at the Wayback Machine ". Allmusic. Retrieved 2 Dec 2016.