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The Pixies biography
THE PIXIES BIOGRAPHY
On paper, The Pixies should never have worked as a going musical concern. They weren't accomplished musicians. Frontman Black Francis wailed and thrashed at the chords, and then there were the songs - freakish, squalling things with weird flamenco tinged influences and lyrics that seemed to be about village idiots and er, rural incest. But while the meaning of the UFO obsessed Francis' bizarre lyrics may have been impenetrable, the music was visceral and highly effective.
The Pixies would become the flagship band for '90s alt rock arriving at a time when REM were moving off into the mainstream. Their signature stop-start dymanics and lurching guitar solos would form the blueprint for Nirvana's grunge domination in later years.
The Pixies were formed in 1986 by LA born Black Francis (real name, deep breath, Charles Michael Kitridge Thomspon IV) along with guitarist Joey Santiago. The eccentric Francis, a born again Christian at 17, had just returned from Puerto Rico where he'd been studying Spanish. The pair placed a newspaper ad requesting musicians with a love of Husker Du and Peter, Paul and Mary. The only taker was Kim Deal, who subsequently brought in drummer David Lovering. The band started making waves on the local Boston music scene and were soon signed to indie label 4AD together with fello Bostonians Throwing Muses.
The Pixies stuck out immediately,their savage punk sound at odds with the wistful indie abounding at the time. Their mini album debut in 1987, Come On Pilgrim, was a bizarre hybrid of manic vocals, (often sung in Spanish), searing melodic noise and neo-latin rhythms. But it wasn't until the release of their their full-length debut, 1988's Surfer Rosa that the band were hailed as indie saviours. It was a primitive, gloriously abrasive sound - like David Lynch's Eraserhead flick set to music. Francis howled compellingly through Where Is My Mind and Something Against You while Deal was equally compelling on the breathily sung Gigantic.
Following their first headlining UK tour the band went back into the studio to record the follow up album, Doolittle. Previewed by the melancholy, eco-anthem Monkey Gone To Heaven, the album was the sound of the Pixies stepping out of their weird enclave into the wider world of a cleaner, pop-friendly sound. The album's stand out track, the single Here Comes Your Man, was an effortless pop tune, guaranteed to put a smile even on the face of the most miserable Smiths fan. Debaser infused sunny surf rock with something darker and demented. The Pixies scary music had been given a friendly, atmospheric polish (thanks to Echo & The Bunnymen producer Gil Norton) and suddenly, the band were accessible.
As well as a mammoth world tour, Kim Deal found time to set up side project The Breeders with ex-Throwing Muses guitarist Tanya Donelly. The pair released the acclaimed POD album in 1990. Later that year came the Pixies new album, Bossanova. Steeped in the surfing instrumental music of guitarists like Dick Dale, the album again had the music press in rapture as the band raged and charmed in equal measure. The album reached No.3 in the UK charts and The Pixies could do no wrong. But the critical tide turned with the release of 1991 album Trompe Le Mode. In keeping with the times it was a decidedly grungier affair. Producer Norton managed to scare up a brutal, metallic sound that worked on the riffing single Planet Of Sound but also caused critics to level accusations of 'heavy metal.' Francis was allowed to indulge his UFO fixation on tracks like Space (I Believe In) and Motorway To Roswell. But by this time, things were falling apart within the band. Kim Deal was spending more time with her Breeders side project and no longer singing new Pixies songs and Francis grew more intolerant of her contributions. A stint as support act to U2 on their Zoo tour only served to highlight the band factions. Meanwhile, as the Pixies squabbled, alt-rock kids had found a new flagship band - Nirvana.
Francis changed his name to Frank Black for the release of his eponymous debut solo album in 1993 and its follow up, 1994's Teenager Of The Year while Kim Deal went on to make another album with The Breeders, the highly successful Last Splash. The album became a surprise hit, going gold in the U.S. and spawning the hit single Cannonball. Occasionally brief glimpses of Francis' genius could be found in three further solo albums, The Cult Of Ray (1996), Frank Black And The Catholics ((1998) and Pistollero (1999) but essentially they were only for a shrinking cult fanbase. So no surprise then that after Francis once said the band would only reunite, "If I was penniless or a family member needed a kidney transplant,", the Pixies reformed in 2004. They made no bones that it was strictly about the cash (Pixies Sellout was the slogan for the official tour T-shirts).
The band soon confirmed that they would reunite for U.S. tours; an appearance at that year's Coachella festival; and gigs in Europe and the UK, including performances at the T in the Park, Roskilde, and the V festivals. The week after the Pixies' Coachella appearance, the long-awaited DVD retrospective and revamped best-of CD, Wave of Mutilation: The Best of the Pixies, were released by 4AD, a timely reminder that the Pixies rocked, in a decidedly freak show fashion...
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