The Frank and Walters
The Frank and Walters are a pop/rock trio hailing from Cork City, in Ireland. They rose to prominence in the early '90s, achieving chart success as part of a movement of young, upbeat guitar pop bands that also included the likes of the Inspiral Carpets (with whom they toured extensively) and the Lightning Seeds, and would influence the burgeoning Brit-pop scene shortly afterward.
The Frank and Walters formed in 1990 in the Cork suburb of Bishopstown. The initial lineup consisted of brothers Paul (bass and vocals) and Niall Linehan (guitar), along with drummer Ashley Keating. They quickly gained a cult following in Cork and were picked up by independent Dublin label Setanta Records. The three relocated to London and began work on a pair of EPs entitled, imaginatively, EP1 and EP2. EP2 was produced by Dave Couse of A House and contained the minor hit "Fashion Crisis Hits New York." EP1 and EP2 were compiled and released as a stand-alone CD later in 1991. The initial success of the two EPs was enough to convince Polydor affiliate Go! Discs to upstream the band in 1992, and it wouldn't take long before they made their major breakthrough. Third single "After All" was produced by Ian Broudie of the Lightning Seeds and propelled the group, for the first time, to the U.K. Top 20, peaking at number 11. They also teamed up with Edwyn Collins of Orange Juice, who produced their third EP, entitled Happy Busman. They released their debut album Trains, Boats and Planes in 1993, a release which consisted mostly of material from the three previous EPs and single.
The next three years would see the group return to live in Cork before embarking upon an extended club tour of the U.S.. They parted ways with Go! Discs upon its dissolution in 1996, releasing the Indian Ocean in anticipation of their second studio album, Grand Parade, which was released the same year on Setanta Records (Sony Records in Japan). Three more years passed before the release of the Beauty Becomes More Than Life in 1999, a more mature album that saw the threesome experiment with loops and samples for the first time. It was followed by Glass in 2000, before a self-titled "best-of" collection brought an end to their contract with Setanta, from whom they bought back their master recordings. In 2004, Niall Linehan left the band to be replaced by longtime friend Kevin Pedreschi, and the band formed their own label, FIFA Records (a play on the initials of the soccer organization, standing for Fresh Indie Frontal Assault), with a similar D.I.Y. ethos to that of their former label. FIFA would release singles and albums by a number of young Irish bands, including Fight Like Apes and Hybrasil, as well as the band's own two-CD rarities package entitled Souvenirs. In 2006, the Frank and Walters released their fifth studio album, A Renewed Interest in Happiness. In 2007, the group released a DVD entitled Live at the Spiegeltent, recorded live over two nights in Dublin and Cork. The same year, the Who biographer "Irish" Jack Lyons published a biography of the group entitled A Renewed Interest in Reading.
© Dave Donnelly /TiVo
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Frank And Walters 'Best Of'
Alternative & Indie - Released by Fifa Records on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
City Lights
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 26 Oct 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Beauty Becomes More Than Life
Pop - Released by Setanta on 19 Jul 1999
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trains, Boats and Planes
Dance - Released by Setanta on 5 Apr 1993
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Trains, Boats And Planes (Remastered)
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 26 Oct 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Frank And Walters
Hip-Hop/Rap - Released by Setanta on 1 Jan 1991
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
A Renewed Interest In Happiness
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 27 Oct 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Greenwich Mean Time
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 9 Mar 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
We Are the Young Men
Pop - Released by FIFA Records on 25 Mar 2016
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Miles and Miles
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 29 Sep 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Let It Out
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 30 Jul 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Song For A Future Love
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 10 Dec 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Clock
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 22 Oct 2010
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Souvenirs
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 1 Jan 2006
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Fight
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 27 Apr 2007
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
That's Life
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 9 Nov 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Indie Love Song
Alternative & Indie - Released by FIFA Records on 14 Feb 2012
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Underground
Alternative & Indie - Released by Setanta on 27 Nov 2001
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo