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If you want to be successful, do you have to dress up?


xilddx
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[quote name='steve-bbb' timestamp='1388424256' post='2321845']
after you recommended frankenstein monster t'other day Nige I just checked out more of his stuff on spotify and just listened right through 'Lets Go Do What Happens' - bloody lovely :)
[/quote]

That's a great album! So glad you enjoyed it mate!

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[quote name='Alfie' timestamp='1388427044' post='2321878']


I have no idea. Wikipedia also left me none the wiser.
[/quote]

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Dunnery

He formed It Bites in the 80s. The band had/has a close niche following. But you don't get famous wearing a black faded t-shirt playing 80s prog rock.

There's a fair few arguments that go on in the It Bites forum concerning him.

Edited by TimR
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[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1388428331' post='2321892']
[url="http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francis_Dunnery"]http://en.m.wikipedi...Francis_Dunnery[/url]

He formed It Bites in the 80s. The band had/has a close niche following. But you don't get famous wearing a black faded t-shirt playing 80s prog rock.

There's a fair few arguments that go on in the It Bites forum concerning him.
[/quote]

He's worn all sorts of outfits, I like the pastel suit and long blonde hair he was wearing in his Robert Plant days.

I bet there are plenty of arguments about him on the current 'It Bites' forum but I haven't bothered looking. I'm not keen on the current line up, they're ok though, but they are not It Bites. Dunnery is considered a bit of a weirdo by his ex bandmates, but he was the real personality of the band and his voice is gorgeous IMO, rock n roll and very emotional. I've met him a few times, he is an odd chap, been through a lot of sh*t with his past addictions, and I like him, although he has some very strong and contentious views on stuff, and I think he finally got his PhD in psychology too.

He's a bit of an unsung national treasure in my opinion.

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[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1388429379' post='2321914']


He's worn all sorts of outfits, I like the pastel suit and long blonde hair he was wearing in his Robert Plant days.
[/quote]

That's what he alludes to in your other post about changing ego over time.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1388429379' post='2321914']

I bet there are plenty of arguments about him on the current 'It Bites' forum but I haven't bothered looking. I'm not keen on the current line up, they're ok though, but they are not It Bites.
[/quote]

That's pretty much how they go.

[quote name='xilddx' timestamp='1388429379' post='2321914']

Dunnery is considered a bit of a weirdo by his ex bandmates, but he was the real personality of the band and his voice is gorgeous IMO, rock n roll and very emotional. I've met him a few times, he is an odd chap, been through a lot of sh*t with his past addictions, and I like him, although he has some very strong and contentious views on stuff, and I think he finally got his PhD in psychology too.

He's a bit of an unsung national treasure in my opinion.
[/quote]

Yes. I saw him at Bush Hall a couple of years ago. Fantastic venue and fantastic gig. With a girl who could really sing too and he had some amazing players with him.

Edited by TimR
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[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1388430274' post='2321935']
That's what he alludes to in your other post about changing ego over time.



That's pretty much how they go.



Yes. I saw him at Bush Hall a couple of years ago. Fantastic venue and fantastic gig. With a girl who could really sing too and he had some amazing players with him.
[/quote]

Ah you were there too! Top night that. Tony Beard on drums and David Sanctious on keys. Dorie Jackson is a lovely vocalist, she usually does the house concerts with him, just the two of them with Dunnery playing acoustic, their vocals are almost telepathic.

Bush hall is a lovely venue and the people who run it are lovely too.

Did you go the Frankenstein Monster gig at the Tabernacle a couple of months ago?

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No, I didn't but his whole style of relaxed and informal presentation together with his house concerts fits with his faded black t-shirt

Dress to fit with your audience's expectation. That has served me well over the years. Especially playing in pub, function and wedding bands.

Edited by TimR
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It's the old packaging versus content argument, isn't it. To be fair, we have now reached the point where content is simply not enough and the packaging has to be exceptional [i]as well[/i]. A lot of great musicians make it because they sound good AND look good, whereas sounding good is just not enough. Looking good and being surrounded by credible musicians in order to create the illusion that you sound good has always allowed people to 'get away with it' for a few albums (look at the Motown back catalogue), as has the increased use of auto-tune, but, in my experience, those acts tend to fade quite quickly. Sounding good but not 'looking good' (what does that mean anyway?) usually condemns artist to a long career as a 'cult figure', carving a niche market like, say, IQ or Marillion do in prog. But 'success' is a subjective term and a lot of 'successful' artists i.e. artist whose ART is successful (as opposed to those whose PRODUCT is successful), make their mark in ways that cannot be measured in unit sales. Van Goch was unsuccessful during his lifetime but does that mean his work lacked merit? Of course not.

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[quote name='Geek99' timestamp='1388484405' post='2322420']
The keys player is cute
[/quote]

Unfortunately, if you look at her posture in that photo the way she is clenching her thighs together suggests to me that she is in the midst of a cripplingly painful bout of cystitis.

Francis Dunnery is a classic example of someone who has failed to achieve sustained mainstream success because he is a bit [i]too[/i] talented for his own good. He has so much creative energy and effortless musical ability that he has never ploughed one furrow long enough to achive his full commercial potential, but that has been his own choice and entirely of his own making. I'm sure he would be the first to acknowledge that, too.

Edited by Dingus
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[quote name='Dingus' timestamp='1388509395' post='2322873']


...

He has so much creative energy and effortless musical ability that he has never ploughed one furrow long enough to achive his full commercial potential, but that has been his own choice and entirely of his own making. I'm sure he would be the first to acknowledge that, too.
[/quote]

That's a quite a good point. Pretty common thing to happen to geniuses and true musicians. Get frustrated and bored.

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You can polish a turd - if you freeze it.

Dunnery is a stunning guitarist, much underrated.

If you go to the Globe theatre and the actors are not in costume does it matter? A stage is a stage, and a band is putting on a performance so dressing up matters.

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