Frazier Chorus were an English pop group from Brighton, England.[1] They were known for their unconventional instrumentation, including synthesizers, trumpets, flutes and clarinets, as well as frontman Tim Freeman's "soft, heavily accented ... talk-singing" and sarcastically witty lyrics.[2]
Frazier Chorus | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Brighton, England |
| Genres | Pop, dream pop |
| Years active | 1986–1996 |
| Labels | 4AD Virgin Pinkerton |
| Past members | Tim Freeman Kate Holmes Chris Taplin Michéle Allardyce |
| Website | http://frazierchorus.co.uk |
History
editFrazier Chorus was formed in Brighton, England, by Tim Freeman (the brother of actors Martin Freeman and Jamie Freeman,[3][4] on vocals and keyboards), Michéle Allardyce (percussion), Kate Holmes (flute) and Chris Taplin (clarinet, programming).[5] Original names for the band included both Fishing For Clouds and Plop!,[5] but the band eventually settled on Frazier Chorus, a phrase they'd seen on a jacket for the Frazier College football team's cheerleaders in the United States.[6]
The band first signed to British indie record label 4AD[7] and released the single "Sloppy Heart" in 1987.[8] Shortly afterwards, they moved to Virgin Records and achieved chart success with a string of melodic pop songs taken from their 1989 debut album, Sue.[7] Allardyce was eventually dismissed from the band.[5]
Their second album, Ray, followed in 1991, and its singles were remixed by a number of top remixers, including Paul Oakenfold,[7] Chad Jackson and Youth. Following the album's release, the band was let go from Virgin after the label was purchased by EMI and began purging a number of its artists; subsequently, Holmes and Taplin fired Freeman before ultimately disbanding entirely.[6] Holmes later moved into electronica via the bands Sirenes, Technique, and Client.
Freeman took several years off and re-emerged in the mid-1990s, resurrecting the band name with permission from Holmes and Taplin.[6] In 1995, Freeman released a mini-album as Frazier Chorus, Wide Awake, which did not reach the UK Albums Chart. He later released Monkey Spunk, a collection of five demos recorded prior to the sessions for Wide Awake, available exclusively via the band's website.[9]
After leaving the band, Holmes became a member of the synthpop band Technique, before joining Dubstar's Sarah Blackwood in the electronic band CLIEͶT in the 2000s.[10][11]
Discography
editStudio albums
edit| Year | Album | UK Albums Chart[12] |
Label | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Sue | 56 | Virgin | |||||||||
| 1991 | Ray | 66 | Virgin | |||||||||
| 1995 | Wide Awake | - | Pinkerton | |||||||||
| "-" denotes releases that did not chart. | ||||||||||||
Singles
edit| Year | Song | Peak chart positions | Album | Label | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UK Singles Chart[12] | US Alternative Songs[13] | US Dance/Club Play Songs[14] | ||||||||||
| 1987 | "Sloppy Heart" | - | - | - | Non-album release | 4AD | ||||||
| 1988 | "Dream Kitchen" | 57 | - | - | Sue | Virgin | ||||||
| 1989 | "Typical!" | 53 | - | - | ||||||||
| "Sloppy Heart" | 73 | - | - | |||||||||
| 1990 | "Cloud 8" | 52 | 17 | 14 | Ray | |||||||
| "Nothing" | 51 | - | 28 | |||||||||
| 1991 | "Walking on Air" | 60 | - | - | ||||||||
| 1996 | "Driving" | - | - | - | Wide Awake | Pure | ||||||
| "Wide Awake" | - | - | - | Seedy Singles | ||||||||
| "-" denotes releases that did not chart or were not released in that country. | ||||||||||||
Compilations
edit| Year | Album |
|---|---|
| 1998 | Monkey Spunk |
References
edit- ^ "Frazier Chorus - Sue". Cherry Red Records. Archived from the original on 21 January 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ Sutton, Michael. "Frazier Chorus - Sue Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Frazier Chorus". 16 March 2010.
- ^ "Sue".
- ^ a b c Ankeny, Jason. "Frazier Chorus Biography, Songs & Albums". AllMusic. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ a b c Gourley, Bob (1996). "1996 Interview with Frazier Chorus". Chaos Control Digizine. Retrieved 11 December 2022.
- ^ a b c Colin Larkin, ed. (1992). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music (First ed.). Guinness Publishing. p. 913. ISBN 0-85112-939-0.
- ^ "Frazier Chorus". 4AD. Archived from the original on 16 November 2010. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
- ^ "New release from Frazier Chorus...Monkey Spunk!". Frazier Chorus. Archived from the original on 13 December 2003. Retrieved 12 December 2022.
- ^ "Kate Holmes - Read Her Story".
- ^ "Kate Holmes starts her own fashion revolution". 16 July 2011.
- ^ a b "The Official Charts Company: Frazier Chorus". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 18 January 2011.
- ^ "Frazier Chorus: Billboard Chart History - Alternative Songs". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
- ^ "Frazier Chorus: Billboard Chart History - Dance/Club Play Songs". Prometheus Global Media. Retrieved 19 January 2011.
External links
edit- Frazier Chorus discography at Discogs
- Frazier Chorus at IMDb