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Frank Black

NME.com feature on Frank Black including news, reviews, biography, youtube video, audio, concerts, tour dates, photos, pictures, commentary, album reviews and live reviews and cool facts.

Frank Black News

Watch Frank Black's secret gig online now

NME.COM has exclusive footage from star's tiny London show

  • Feb 14, 2008

Ipso Facto announce live dates

London girl group play Shockwaves NME Awards Show

Pixies man to release retrospective

Frank Black also announces one-off gig

  • Apr 27, 2007

Frank Black reveals details of two new albums

He'll use the Black Francis moniker once again

  • Apr 12, 2007

FRANK-LY AMAZING!

The Pixies star teams up with legendary musicians…

  • Mar 30, 2005

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Frank Black Pictures

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Frank Black Videos

Ibiza Rocks Launch Party with The Ting Tings and Frankmusik

Ibiza Rocks Launch Party with The Ting Tings and Frankmusik

We catch-up with The Ting Tings and Frankmusik at the Ibiza Rocks launch party.

Download 2009 - The Blackout

Download 2009 - The Blackout

Sean and Gavin from The Blackout talk to NME backstage before their gig at Download 2009.

Pixies Interview

Pixies Interview

We meet Frank Black and co at their intimate London show at the Village Underground in Shoreditch, before they performed at a exhibition showcasing artwork from their forthcoming box set, 'Minotaur' .

NME Video: Walk onstage with The Blackout

NME Video: Walk onstage with The Blackout

NME follows The Blackout as they prepare to open the main stage on Sunday at Leeds Festival 2008..

Little Boots - 'New In Town'

Little Boots - 'New In Town'

The Blackpool-based songstress performs 'New In Town' live from the NME studio.

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Frank Black Reviews

Frank Black

Frank Black

93-03

  • Jun 18, 2007

Black, Frank : Honeycomb

“This is the best thing I’ve ever done. No really, it is”

  • Jul 27, 2005

Frank Black And The Catholics: Charlottesville Starr Hill Music Hall

Promoting latest album 'Dog In The Sand', ex-Pixies frontman Black still proves formidable...

  • Jan 31, 2001

Black, Frank : London Camden Underworld

Frank Black looks exactly the same...

  • Dec 1, 2000

London WC2 LA2

Mista [B]Black[/B] doesn't scream like he used to, but he ain't ready to give up the good ol' boy yells just yet...

  • May 11, 1999

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Frank Black Biography

Black Francis (born Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV on April 6, 1965) is an American singer, songwriter and guitarist. He is best known as the frontman of the influential alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two albums with 4AD, he left the label and formed a backing band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He reformed the Pixies in 2004 and continues to release solo records and tour as a solo artist, having re-adopted his current stage name in 2007.

His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of the Pixies to a more measured and melodical style in his solo career. In a recent interview on CBC's The Hour, Black described his musical transformation: "Pixies were quite abstract in their repertoire, it was kind of surrealist, kind of drop-out lyrics, but instinctively I knew I wasn't going to sing about all of my 'hard times' or whatever because it wouldn't have rang true. Now I've had a good life, I've had some ups and downs like everybody and so you feel you could be a little more Leonard Cohen or something." His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, incest and Biblical violence, along with dam collapses, science fiction and surf culture. His use of atypical meter signatures, loud-quiet dynamics and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording in his career as a solo artist give him a more specific style in alternative rock.

As frontman of the Pixies, his songs (such as "Where Is My Mind?" and "Debaser") received praise and citations from contemporaries, including Radiohead's Thom Yorke and Nirvana's Kurt Cobain. Cobain once said that "Smells Like Teen Spirit" was his attempt at trying to "rip off the Pixies." However, in his solo work and records with the Catholics, he received fewer popular and critical accolades.

From Wikipedia

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Frank Black's Best Songs

  • 1. Headache
  • 2. Los Angeles
  • 3. Calistan
  • 4. (I Want to Live on an) Abstract Plain
  • 5. I Burn Today
  • 6. Thalassocracy
  • 7. Speedy Marie
  • 8. Hang on to Your Ego
  • 9. Freedom Rock
  • 10. The Vanishing Spies
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Frank Black Discography

Frank Black albums.

  • The Cult of Ray - 30/01/1996 (American Recordings/US)
  • Teenager of the Year - 23/05/1994 (4AD/GB)
  • Frank Black - 08/03/1993 (4AD/GB)

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