Saturday 7 August 2010

We are Frank Chickens!

Frank Chickens has been voted best British Comedy Act in 30 years, thanks to some Anglo male artist trashing them because he didn't know who they were. This is a true Frank Chickens moment, thousands of people voted for them in protest. Now, after 25 years plus Frank Chickens is back in the limelight.

Frank Chickens were two radical feminist Japanese girls living iin London in the early 80's on the fringe of the alternative music underground. No-one else remotely was like them, they were true originals in those fairly uptight free improvisation art music circles, which included Pere Ubu, The Art Bears, Robert Wyatt, Fred Frith, The egg and I, Bang on a Can and a very young Heiner Goebbels. They were the zaniest of the lot! They paid for the first London Musicians Collective building, because they were the only ones who had any money.

I remember them singing the C&W hit "Four walls" where the walls call out to the singer "hello, hello" Nashville, completely subverted, the song made surreal and avant garde. Frank Chickens are still going strong. Here's their website.

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