"Frank Black" redirects here. For other uses, see Frank Black (disambiguation).
Black Francis
Francis playing at Positivus Festival 2017
Background information
Birth name
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV
Also known as
Frank Black
Born
(1965-04-06) April 6, 1965 (age 59) Boston, Massachusetts, U.S.
Genres
Alternative rock
Occupation(s)
Singer, musician, songwriter
Instrument(s)
Vocals, guitar
Years active
1986–present
Labels
4AD
American
Cooking Vinyl
Sonic Unyon
spinART
Demon
Member of
Pixies
Frank Black and the Catholics
Grand Duchy
Paley & Francis
Pigface
Website
blackfranc.is
Musical artist
Charles Michael Kittridge Thompson IV (born April 6, 1965) is an American singer, guitarist, and songwriter.[1] He is the frontman of the alternative rock band Pixies, with whom he performs under the stage name Black Francis.[2] Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black.[3] After releasing two albums with record label 4AD and one with American Recordings, he left the label and formed a new band, Frank Black and the Catholics. He re-adopted the name Black Francis in 2007.
His vocal style has varied from a screaming, yowling delivery as lead vocalist of Pixies to a more measured and melodic style in his solo career.[4] His cryptic lyrics mostly explore unconventional subjects, such as surrealism, UFOs, and biblical violence, along with science fiction and surf culture.[5] His use of atypical meter signatures, loud–quiet dynamics, and distinct preference for live-to-two-track recording during his time with the Catholics, give him a distinct style within alternative rock.[6]
Thompson regrouped Pixies in early 2004, but continued to release solo records and tour as a solo artist[7] until 2013, when he declared his solo career to be over.[8]
^Trucks, Rob (August 9, 2006). "Death to the Pixies (Again?!)". Riverfront Times. Archived from the original on September 13, 2007. Retrieved October 24, 2006.
^When Pixies reunited in 2004, he did not specify whether he was adopting his Black Francis pseudonym again.
^"FrankBlack". Retrieved June 20, 2013.
^Sisario, 2006. p. 80
^Sisario, 2006. p. 30
^Keibel, Jeff (November 22, 1997). "Pixies/Frank Black". Rocktropolis. Retrieved October 24, 2006.
^"Pixies to begin work on new album". NME. October 24, 2006. Retrieved May 4, 2024.
^Greene, Andy (October 3, 2013). "The Pixies Keep Rolling, Minus One". Rolling Stone. Retrieved August 18, 2019. This is what we do, and my solo career is over. I have no interest in making solo records. For me, this is it.
under the stage name BlackFrancis. Following the band's breakup in 1993, he embarked on a solo career under the name Frank Black. After releasing two...
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Frank BlackFrancis is a 2-CD set released in 2004 by Frank Black, roughly coinciding with the Pixies reunion tour. Disc 1 consists of a March 1987 solo...
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filtered BlackFrancis' voice through a guitar amp for "a totally ragged, vicious texture." The recording of a conversation held between Francis and Albini...
BlackFrancis McHugh, also known as "Proinsías Dubh", was a notorious highwayman, or Rapparee, who 'robbed the rich to give to the poor' at the end of...
Profile: Francis Bouillon". National Hockey League. Retrieved 15 March 2016. "Madison Bowey Stats and News". NHL.com. Retrieved 2021-05-05. "Black hockey...
"U-Mass" is a song about the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where BlackFrancis met Joey Santiago before dropping out to form Pixies. In a 2001 interview...
girlfriend, Deborah Edgeley, a secretary for 4AD. According to frontman BlackFrancis, the Purple Tape was recorded "with the intention of releasing it as...
their 1989 album Doolittle. The song was written and sung by frontman BlackFrancis and was produced by Gil Norton during Doolittle's recording sessions...
frontman BlackFrancis. Produced by Gil Norton, it was released as the second single from the group's second album Doolittle in June 1989. Written by Black Francis...
Feldman performed live with BlackFrancis at the San Francisco International Film Festival at the Castro Theatre. BlackFrancis and his band performed the...
series Black Mirror. In 2023, he played Bren Kinsella in the Irish gangster family series Kin, alongside Aidan Gillen and Maria Doyle Kennedy. "Francis Magee...
released a month later in April. The song was written and sung by frontman BlackFrancis and was produced by Gil Norton. Referencing environmentalism and biblical...
members' parts are). The complete "Black Francis Demos" were released as the first disc of 2004's Frank BlackFrancis 2-CD compilation. The vinyl release contained...
during the writing and recording process, with vocalist and guitarist BlackFrancis stating: "I wanted to intermingle with the spirit world, with life and...
Francis Marion Black (July 24, 1836 – May 24, 1902) was a justice of the Supreme Court of Missouri from 1885 to 1894. Born in Champaign County, Ohio, Black...
terms with bandmate BlackFrancis (who soon adopted the name Frank Black). Black, who was recording his 1993 debut album, Frank Black, contacted Santiago...
John Francis Daley (born July 20, 1985) is an American filmmaker and actor. He is best known for playing high school freshman Sam Weir on the NBC comedy-drama...
Francis Scott Key (August 1, 1779 – January 11, 1843) was an American lawyer, author, and poet from Frederick, Maryland, best known as the author of the...
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