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Frank Fish and the Fins

 
Frank Fish and the Fins

Zappa-esque, psychedelic, rock pranksters from Oxford. Gibbering mad professor front man with 1001 surreal costume changes. Abstract fish-obsessed lyrics.

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41 songs
25.0K plays
1
Picture for song 'The Living World of Sea Creatures' by artist 'Frank Fish and the Fins'

The Living World of Sea Creatures

Frank Fish and the Fins 1980's hip-thrusting whistling anthem originally released as a 7 inch single which rocketed to the top of Planet Klennaar's hit parade. Recorded by Rich Haines on analogue 8-track at Dungeon Studio in 1985.
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Picture for song 'English Fishing Man' by artist 'Frank Fish and the Fins'

English Fishing Man

Is this 'alternative country'? There's a lot of people who wish FF & the Fs would MOVE to an alternative country as soon as possible! This was the B-side of FF& the Fs 7" vinyl single released in 1985. Recorded on 8-track at Dungeon Studio.
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3
Picture for song 'Too Much Salt'n'Vinegar on my Dead Cod' by artist 'Frank Fish and the Fins'

Too Much Salt'n'Vinegar on my Dead Cod

Frank Fish & Mick Stickleclack reached the Carlsberg fuelled peak of their combined lyric-writing skills with the passionately yet profoundly bellowed vocal intro of "La la la-la la-la-la...la la la la la la". Recorded at Dungeon Studio in 1986.
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4
Picture for song 'Secrets Of The Deep' by artist 'Frank Fish and the Fins'

Secrets Of The Deep

Bug eyed monsters on the beach & eerie ghost ships give little Frank nightmares! This rollicking FF and the Fs classic was originally available on a vinyl compilation album called 'Mad Hatters Club Vol 1' featuring 4 Oxford bands.
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Picture for song 'Jacques Cousteau' by artist 'Frank Fish and the Fins'

Jacques Cousteau

FF & the F's eco-anthem dedicated to the late great Monsieur Cousteau & featuring a pollution battle between Mr. Clean & Mr. Filth. The winner decides the future of the planet earth!(Full lyric sheet included)- Dungeon Studio, 1986.
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6 necked guitar
Zappa-esque, psychedelic, rock pranksters from Oxford. Gibbering mad professor front man with 1001 surreal costume changes. Abstract fish-obsessed lyrics and systematic tremolo-arm abuse.
Band/artist history
Notorious in the 1980s for their high energy, over the top live performances combining bizarre theatrical costumes with a mental fusion of bluesy funk-rock, fish obsessed psychedelia. Rumoured to be reforming to promote their surreal CD album 'FRANK FISH and the FINS - live Volume 1'. Frank Fish and Mick 'Stickle' Clack have an ongoing recording project entitled 'NIGE & TREV'....Here's their MySpace site: Click on this 'Soundclick' logo to visit NIGE and TREV's Soundclick website... FRANK FISH has his own My Space site too. MICK CLACK has his own My Space site To hear two songs by ruggedly handsome, buck-toothed FRANK FISH & the FINS tribute band 'FRANK RABBIT and the BOBTAILS'...click on the Soundclick logo below...(if you dare!!) Mick 'Stickle' Clack and Dale 'Whale' Marshall occaisonally record together as improvising 'jazz'n'roll' no-rules combo 'GURZUNZ'. Click on the Soundclick logo below to hear some of their abominable audio adventures... Mick has written some country songs with vocalist/ keyboard player PAUL GIBBON. Click on the Soundclick logo below to visit their 'Mechanics Of Sorrow' website...
Have you performed in front of an audience?
Lots of chaotic gigs in Oxford/London/Holland during the 80s and early 90s.
Your musical influences
Zappa/Beefheart/Miles Davis/Mario Lanza/Hendrix/Johnny Winter/Lord Buckley/Little Feat/Hawkwind/Allman Brothers/Magma/Earth Wind and Fire/Bonzo Dog Band/Patto/Clark Hutchinson/King Crimson/Crying Wind
What equipment do you use?
Flipper Hat, Hair Gel, Tiger Balm, and a picture of a horse.
Anything else?
FRANK FISH AND THE FINS featured in the November 2011 issue of 'Nightshift', Oxford's music magazine. Here is the article: 'Whatever happened to those heroes...FRANK FISH AND THE FINS?' WHO? Formed in 1982 in the Radcliffe Arms in Jericho, initially to play blues covers in the pub, Frank Fish & The Fins have a reasonable claim to be Oxford’s wackiest band. Original members Frank Fish (vocals, guitar); Mick Clack (guitars, vocals); Dale Marshall (drums) and Jerry Soffe (bass) would play for beer until the landlord Bob Moore decided paying them cash was cheaper. This was the spur for the band to “stop playing blues and start writing high energy, riff-laden comedy rock songs about aquatic life instead.” Each member adopted a fish-related moniker, apart from Frank who was already called Fish. Mick even went as far as changing his name by deedpoll to Mick Stickleclack. Bizarre costume changes were a central feature of gigs, as was the traditional mid-set tinned fish raffle and a hoover wig-testing display. Dale was replaced by Simon Mills on drums while Nick Moorbath joined on keyboards (“solely to reduce the band’s average age”). A debut single, The Living World Of Sea Creatures (Makes Me Want To Whistle)’ was recorded at Dungeon Studios and the band contributed three songs to the 1986 Oxford compilation album, The Mad Hatter’s Club, Volume 1’, while they also toured regularly in Holland. WHAT? Frank Fish & The Fins were a self-consciously eccentric, in-yer-face collision of blues, funk, rock and chaos, chiefly inspired by Frank Zappa, but also by the highly-individualistic talents of Captain Beefheart and the madcap humour of The Marx Brothers. Gigs were a brightly-coloured riot of abstract fish-related lyrics, surreal costume changes, frenzied wahwah guitar solos, manic, improvised verbal diarrhoea and plenty of (usually forced) audience participation. Cool was never on the menu but they had plenty of fans, including the late, great Rich Haines who declared them the best band he’d ever witnessed in an interview with Nightshift many years ago, while legendary audio genius Michael Gerzon recorded a number of their shows, which now form part of the British Library Sound Archive. WHEN? The band’s one and only single and the Mad Hatter’s Club compilation were released in 86. In 83 the band, accompanied by two pet dogs, were interviewed live on Radio Oxford, unsurprisingly never to be asked back, while the band turned up to an A&R meeting at Virgin Records in full aquatic get-up, even more unsurprisingly to leave without a deal. A Dutch tour apparently found the band haunted by a ghost that would bang on the wall of their third-floor apartment in the middle of the night. The band split in 1988 when Mick became ill and Frank moved to Holland. They reformed for one gig in 1993 for which Frank performed stark naked; obviously he was mellowing with age. WHY? While they never particularly left a lasting legacy, everyone who saw FF&TF remembers it well. Some possibly still have nightmares about it. Their aim was simply to entertain, to put on an imaginative live show and make people laugh. In each of these aims, they were a resounding success and as such a lesson to plenty of bands who have come since. WHERE? Frank still lives in Dordrecht in Holland and plays in a band called Creature Feature, while studying UFOs. He returns to Oxford regularly to jam and record with Mick under the guise 'Nige & Trev' in Mick’s Rooftop Studio, situated in his basement. Dale, Jerry and Nick all still live in Oxford Jerry playing regularly with myriad bands, while Nick, of course, opened and ran the Zodiac for many years and now runs his own studio, composes musicals and promotes gigs in Thailand. HOW? There’s loads of Fish stuff online, either at www.soundclick.com/frankfishandthefins or www.youtube.com/klennaar, while there is also a Frank Fish & The Fins Facebook page.
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