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{{Short description|Welsh musician}}
{{For|the 1980s new wave musician|Falco (musician)}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{EngvarB|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Infobox musical artist
⚫
[[File:Andy "Falco" Falkous in Minneapolis 2012.jpg|thumb|300px|Falco playing at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, 6 November 2012.]]
| name = Andrew Falkous

| image = Andy "Falco" Falkous in Minneapolis 2012 (cropped).jpg
⚫
'''Andrew "Falco" Falkous''' is an English musician best known for being the founding member/frontman for seminal [[Cardiff]]-based punk rock outfit [[Mclusky]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Wales Music – Mclusky|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/mclusky/|publisher=BBC|accessdate=24 November 2015}}</ref> current lead singer/guitarist of the band [[Future of the Left]] and the sole member of Christian Fitness.
| landscape =
⚫
| caption = Falco playing at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, 2012
| birth_name =
| alias = Falco
| years_active = 1996–present
| label = {{hlist|[[Too Pure]]|[[4AD]]|[[Xtra Mile Recordings|Xtra Mile]]}}
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1975|04|05|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], England
| origin = [[Cardiff]], Wales
| genre = {{flatlist|
*[[Noise rock]]
*[[post-hardcore]]
*[[alternative rock]]
}}
| associated_acts = {{hlist|[[Mclusky]]|[[Future of the Left]]}}
}}
'''Andrew''' "'''Falco'''" '''Falkous''' (born 5 April 1975<ref>{{cite tweet|user=shit_rock|number=849580947506900992|date=5 April 2017|title=retweeting because it's my birthday and I can do what the hell I want}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://beta.companieshouse.gov.uk/officers/LLBIR0GeCW4TvhrFi65wM1LT83Q/appointments|
⚫
website=[[Companies House]]|title=Andrew FALKOUS - Personal Appointments|accessdate=2020-01-27}}</ref>) is a British musician best known for being the founding member/frontman for the [[Cardiff]]-based punk rock outfit [[Mclusky]],<ref>{{cite web|title=Wales Music – Mclusky|url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/wales/music/sites/mclusky/|publisher=BBC|accessdate=24 November 2015}}</ref> current lead singer/guitarist of the band [[Future of the Left]] and the sole member of Christian Fitness.


==Music career==
==Music career==
Falco's professional musical career began in 1996 with the band Best. After a few line-up changes and release of a 3-track single ''Huwuno'' on London-based label [[Seriously Groovy]], Best changed its name to [[Mclusky]] in 1999. The line-up consisted of Falco fronting the band, serving as its main songwriter along with Mat Harding on drums and Jon Chapple on bass/backing vocals.
Falco's professional musical career began in 1996 with the band Best. After a few line-up changes and release of a three-track single ''Huwuno'' on London-based label Seriously Groovy, Best changed its name to [[Mclusky]] in 1999. The line-up consisted of Falco fronting the band, serving as its main songwriter along with Mat Harding on drums and Jon Chapple on bass/backing vocals.


Falco and Mclusky released its first full-length album ''[[My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours]]'' in 2000 on the Fuzzbox imprint before drawing international attention with their critically praised second album ''[[Mclusky Do Dallas]]'' in 2002. Harding left the group in 2003 with Falco telling The Telegraph "It was due to differences on just about every imaginable level – personal, musical and professional.".<ref>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3600054/British-rocks-best-kept-secret.html British rock's best kept secret – Telegraph<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Mclusky recruited drummer Jack Egglestone for their 2004 album ''[[The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire]]''.<ref>[http://www.punknews.org/bands/mclusky Mclusky | Punknews.org<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Falco and Mclusky released its first album ''[[My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours]]'' in 2000 on the Fuzzbox imprint before drawing international attention with their critically praised second album ''[[Mclusky Do Dallas]]'' in 2002. Harding left the group in 2003 with Falco telling The Telegraph "It was due to differences on just about every imaginable level – personal, musical and professional.".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3600054/British-rocks-best-kept-secret.html|title=British rock's best kept secret|date=7 August 2003|accessdate=22 July 2020|website=Telegraph.co.uk}}</ref> Mclusky recruited drummer Jack Egglestone for their 2004 album ''[[The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.punknews.org/bands/mclusky|title=Mclusky|website=Punknews.org|accessdate=22 July 2020}}</ref>


On 7 January 2005 Mclusky announced its break-up. Falco released this announcement on the band's website on three days later:
On 7 January 2005, Mclusky announced its break-up. Falco released this announcement on the band's website on three days later:


:The three piece rock band known as mclusky have disbanded, as of Friday 7 January 2005. The reason for this parting is private, though probably not as entertaining as you'd imagine. Personally, I would like to thank all the people, places and times that occurred on or near us. I'm grateful for the love and to a lesser degree, the hate. There'll be more music soon, from all of us.
:The three piece rock band known as mclusky have disbanded, as of Friday 7 January 2005. The reason for this parting is private, though probably not as entertaining as you'd imagine. Personally, I would like to thank all the people, places and times that occurred on or near us. I'm grateful for the love and to a lesser degree, the hate. There'll be more music soon, from all of us.
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Little was said of the reasons behind Mclusky's split, but it later emerged that tensions had arisen between Falco and Chapple.
Little was said of the reasons behind Mclusky's split, but it later emerged that tensions had arisen between Falco and Chapple.


Falco didn't stay silent for long, in 2006, he announced the formation of [[Future Of The Left]] with [[Mclusky]] drummer Jack Egglestone and former [[Jarcrew]] frontman Kelson Mathias assuming bass duties. Their first release was a single, "Fingers Become Thumbs". It came out to minimal fanfare but paved the way for their first CD release [[Curses (Future of the Left album)|Curses]] on [[Too Pure]] Records in September 2007. They followed-up with [[Travels With Myself And Another]] on June 2009 on 4AD.<ref>[http://shopusa.4ad.com/artists/view/name/future-of-the-left 4AD Store<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> [[NME]] ranked [[Future of the Left]]'s 2009 live album [[Last Night I Saved Her from Vampires]] at No. 42 on their list of 50 Greatest Live Records of all Time.<ref>[http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=the_50_greatest_live_albums_of_all_time&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 NME's 50 Greatest Live Albums Of All Time – What Are Yours? | The latest music blogs, free MP3s, best new bands, music videos, movie trailers and news analysis<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> and '''Pedestrian TV''' calling [[Future of the Left]] one of the greatest live bands of all time.<ref>[http://www.pedestrian.tv/music/features/meredith-music-festival-2011-highlights/60201.htm Meredith Music Festival 2011 Highlights – Pedestrian TV<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
Falco did not stay silent for long, in 2006, he announced the formation of [[Future Of The Left]] with [[Mclusky]] drummer Jack Egglestone and former [[Jarcrew]] frontman Kelson Mathias assuming bass duties. Their first release was a single, "Fingers Become Thumbs". It came out to minimal fanfare but paved the way for their first CD release ''[[Curses (Future of the Left album)|Curses]]'' on [[Too Pure]] Records in September 2007. They followed-up with ''[[Travels with Myself and Another]]'' in June 2009 on 4AD.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://shopusa.4ad.com/artists/view/name/future-of-the-left|title=4AD Store<!-- Bot generated title -->|website=Shopusa.4ad.com|accessdate=22 July 2020}}</ref> ''[[NME]]'' ranked [[Future of the Left]]'s 2009 live album [[Last Night I Saved Her from Vampires]] at No. 42 on their list of 50 Greatest Live Records of all Time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=the_50_greatest_live_albums_of_all_time&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1|title=NME's 50 Greatest Live Albums Of All Time – What Are Yours?|website=Nme.com|accessdate=22 July 2020}}</ref> and Pedestrian TV calling [[Future of the Left]] one of the greatest live bands of all time.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/music/meredith-music-festival-2011-highlights/|title=Meredith Music Festival 2011 Highlights|website=Pedestrian.tv|date=12 December 2011|accessdate=22 July 2020}}</ref>


In a 2010 interview with [[NME]] Falco stated that Mathias was no longer in the band and bassist Julia Ruzicka (also his then girlfriend, now wife) and guitarist Jimmy Watkins have joined the group as a quartet.<ref>[http://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=future_of_the_left_new_line_up_new_inter&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1 Future Of The Left – New Line-Up, New Interview | The latest music blogs, free MP3s, best new bands, music videos, movie trailers and news analysis<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> In late 2011, the band announced they signed to '''Xtra Mile Records''' and released the EP [[Polymers Are Forever]] and the album The Plot Against Common Sense.<ref>http://www.punkrockistnichttot.com/news-future-of-the-left-sign-to-xtra-mile-and-announce-ep/</ref> In 2013, the band released the album ''How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident'' and in 2016 they released the album ''The Peace and Truce of Future of the Left''.
In a 2010 interview with [[NME]] Falco stated that Mathias was no longer in the band and bassist Julia Ruzicka (also his then girlfriend, now wife) and guitarist Jimmy Watkins have joined the group as a quartet.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=future_of_the_left_new_line_up_new_inter&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1|title=Future Of The Left – New Line-Up, New Interview|website=Nme.com|accessdate=22 July 2020}}</ref> In late 2011, the band announced they signed to '''Xtra Mile Records''' and released the EP ''Polymers Are Forever'' and the album ''The Plot Against Common Sense''.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.punkrockistnichttot.com/news-future-of-the-left-sign-to-xtra-mile-and-announce-ep/ |title=Archived copy |website=www.punkrockistnichttot.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075854/http://www.punkrockistnichttot.com/news-future-of-the-left-sign-to-xtra-mile-and-announce-ep/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2013, the band released the album ''How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident'' and in 2016 they released the album ''The Peace and Truce of Future of the Left''.


In 2014, Falco released an album under the moniker Christian Fitness titled ''I Am Scared of Everything That Isn't Me'', and in 2015 the follow-up album, ''Love Letters in the Age of Steam''. Christian Fitness's third album, ''This Taco Is Not Correct'', was released on [[Bandcamp]] on 12 September 2016. A title revealed on an appearance on Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal to be random placeholder text from the designer (Aesthetic Apparatus) that he felt made a fitting title. "...that appealed to me that (the random text) would become meaningful and the silhouetted angel is pondering something that is ridiculous, racked with anguish over nothing. As much as all value tacos in their correct context, it just seemed perfect".<ref>[http://www.radioneutron.com/2016/09/29/ep089-andrew-falco-falkous-future-of-the-left-mclusky-christian-fitness/ Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal: Episode 89: Andrew "Falco" Falkous]</ref> Christian Fitness's fourth album, [https://christianfitness.bandcamp.com/album/slap-bass-hunks ''Slap Bass Hunks''], was released - also via Bandcamp and the label Prescriptions Music - on 19 April 2017.
In 2014, Falco released an album under the moniker Christian Fitness titled ''I Am Scared of Everything That Isn't Me'', and in 2015 the follow-up album, ''Love Letters in the Age of Steam''. Christian Fitness's third album, ''This Taco Is Not Correct'', was released on [[Bandcamp]] on 12 September 2016. A title revealed on an appearance on Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal to be random placeholder text from the designer (Aesthetic Apparatus) that he felt made a fitting title. "...that appealed to me that (the random text) would become meaningful and the silhouetted angel is pondering something that is ridiculous, racked with anguish over nothing. As much as all value tacos in their correct context, it just seemed perfect".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioneutron.com/2016/09/29/ep089-andrew-falco-falkous-future-of-the-left-mclusky-christian-fitness/|title=Ep089: Andrew "Falco" Falkous (Future of the Left, mclusky, christian fitness)|website=Radioneutron.com|date=29 September 2016|accessdate=22 July 2020}}</ref> Christian Fitness's fourth album, ''Slap Bass Hunks'', was released - also via Bandcamp and the label Prescriptions Music, on 19 April 2017.


==Falco vs. illegal music downloading==
==Falco vs. illegal music downloading==
Falco became a surprise player in the debate over illegal musical file sharing when the second Future of the Left album ''[[Travels With Myself And Another]]'' was leaked online in late April 2009, more than two months before its official release. Falco took to the web and released a seething open letter to those that chose to leak the album, stated that continuing to illegally share music will make it harder for legitimate musicians to continue to make music.<ref name=autogenerated1>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120626021024/http://www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft/blog/485944356 Myspace Blog – Jim Fork – Apr 28, 2009]</ref>
Falco became a surprise player in the debate over illegal musical file sharing when the second Future of the Left album ''[[Travels with Myself and Another]]'' was leaked online in late April 2009, more than two months before its official release. Falco took to the web and released a seething open letter to those that chose to leak the album, stated that continuing to illegally share music will make it harder for legitimate musicians to continue to make music.<ref name=autogenerated1>{{Cite web|url=http://www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft/blog/485944356|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626021024/http://www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft/blog/485944356|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-06-26|title=jim fork by future of the left on Myspace|date=26 June 2012|accessdate=22 July 2020}}</ref>{{better source needed|reason=Social media sites are [[WP:RS|not reliable sources]]|date=November 2023}}


In his letter, Falco stated:
In his letter, Falco stated:
⚫
:Please be careful, or we'll get the world we all deserve. Hobby bands who can tour once every few years if they're lucky, and the superstars, freed from such inconvenient baggage as integrity and conscience, running the corporate sponsored marathon of £80-a-ticket arena tours and television adverts til their loveless hearts explode in an orgy of oppressive branding and self-regard. Some of us, in all honestly, just want to make the music we love and play it around the world without living in poverty. <ref name=autogenerated1 />


⚫
{{blockquote|Please be careful, or we'll get the world we all deserve. Hobby bands who can tour once every few years if they're lucky, and the superstars, freed from such inconvenient baggage as integrity and conscience, running the corporate sponsored marathon of £80-a-ticket arena tours and television adverts til their loveless hearts explode in an orgy of oppressive branding and self-regard. Some of us, in all honesty, just want to make the music we love and play it around the world without living in poverty.<ref name=autogenerated1 />}}
⚫
[[UK Music]] decided to take out a full-page advert in The Guardian, reprinting Falco's letter making him an advocate for bands and sparking further debate on behalf of artists.<ref>[https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/sep/28/advert-filesharing Would this advert stop you filesharing? | Music | theguardian.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>


⚫
[[UK Music]] decided to take out a full-page advert in ''[[The Guardian]]'', reprinting Falco's letter, making him an advocate for bands and sparking further debate on behalf of artists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/sep/28/advert-filesharing|title=Would this advert stop you filesharing?|first=Alexis|last=Petridis|date=28 September 2009|accessdate=22 July 2020|website=The Guardian}}</ref>
⚫
Later, in an interview during a 2011 Australian tour, Falco stated that his "problem comes when people try to say it's a fight against the oppressor", a mentality of sticking it to some faceless entity. He continued to say he's encountered people complaining about paying money to see a band and the cost of an album, but would then turn around and spend more money on a round of drinks at the show.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/30893/Future-of-the-Left?page=2 |title=Archived copy |access-date=22 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224032509/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/30893/Future-of-the-Left?page=2 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>


⚫
Later, in an interview during a 2011 Australian tour, Falco stated that his "problem comes when people try to say it's a fight against the oppressor", a mentality of sticking it to some faceless entity. He continued to say he has encountered people complaining about paying money to see a band and the cost of an album, but would then turn around and spend more money on a round of drinks at the show.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/30893/Future-of-the-Left?page=2 |title=Future of the Left |access-date=22 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224032509/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/30893/Future-of-the-Left?page=2 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
⚫
==Discography==


== Personal Life ==
Falco is married to Future of the Left bassist Julia Ruzicka, with whom he has a daughter, Ella.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Moores |first=J. R. |date=2022-03-17 |title=‘I don’t believe in half-conviction’: Andrew Falkous on the return of Mclusky |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/17/i-dont-believe-in-half-conviction-andrew-falkous-on-the-return-of-mclusky |access-date=2024-11-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Interviews |first=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & |last2=ClashMusic |date=2020-01-28 |title=Note To Self: Andrew Falkous On The Return Of mclusky* |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/note-to-self-andrew-falkous-on-the-return-of-mclusky/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews |language=en-GB}}</ref>

⚫
==Discography==
===Mclusky===
===Mclusky===
* ''[[My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours]]'' (2000)
* ''[[My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours]]'' (2000)
Line 55: Line 78:
* ''Nuance - The Musical'' (2018)
* ''Nuance - The Musical'' (2018)
* ''You Are the Ambulance'' (2019)
* ''You Are the Ambulance'' (2019)
* ''Hip Gone Gunslingers'' (2021)


==References==
==References==
{{Reflist|2}}
{{Reflist}}


==External links==
==External links==
⚫
* [https://allmusic.com/artist/andy-falkous-p528873 Andrew "Falco" Falkous on Allmusic]
* {{twitter|shit_rock}}
⚫
* [http://allmusic.com/artist/andy-falkous-p528873 Andrew "Falco" Falkous on Allmusic]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131224032515/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/26897/Future-of-The-Left-Blacklevel-Embassy-The-Corner-Hotel-Melbourne-02012011 Future of the Left gig review, Blacklevel Embassy @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (02/01/2011)]
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20131224032515/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/26897/Future-of-The-Left-Blacklevel-Embassy-The-Corner-Hotel-Melbourne-02012011 Future of the Left gig review, Blacklevel Embassy @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (02/01/2011)]


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{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkous, Andrew}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkous, Andrew}}
[[Category:1975 births]]
[[Category:Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne]]
[[Category:Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne]]
[[Category:Musicians from Cardiff]]
[[Category:Musicians from Cardiff]]
[[Category:English musicians]]
[[Category:English rock singers]]
[[Category:English guitarists]]
[[Category:English rock guitarists]]
[[Category:English male guitarists]]
[[Category:English male guitarists]]
[[Category:English male singers]]
[[Category:English male singers]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:Living people]]

Latest revision as of 22:53, 10 November 2024

For the 1980s new wave musician, see Falco (musician).

Andrew Falkous
Falco playing at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, 2012
Falco playing at the Triple Rock Social Club in Minneapolis, 2012
Background information
Also known asFalco
Born (1975-04-05) 5 April 1975 (age 49)
Newcastle upon Tyne, England
OriginCardiff, Wales
Genres
Years active1996–present
Labels

Andrew "Falco" Falkous (born 5 April 1975[1][2]) is a British musician best known for being the founding member/frontman for the Cardiff-based punk rock outfit Mclusky,[3] current lead singer/guitarist of the band Future of the Left and the sole member of Christian Fitness.

Music career

[edit]

Falco's professional musical career began in 1996 with the band Best. After a few line-up changes and release of a three-track single Huwuno on London-based label Seriously Groovy, Best changed its name to Mclusky in 1999. The line-up consisted of Falco fronting the band, serving as its main songwriter along with Mat Harding on drums and Jon Chapple on bass/backing vocals.

Falco and Mclusky released its first album My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours in 2000 on the Fuzzbox imprint before drawing international attention with their critically praised second album Mclusky Do Dallas in 2002. Harding left the group in 2003 with Falco telling The Telegraph "It was due to differences on just about every imaginable level – personal, musical and professional.".[4] Mclusky recruited drummer Jack Egglestone for their 2004 album The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire.[5]

On 7 January 2005, Mclusky announced its break-up. Falco released this announcement on the band's website on three days later:

The three piece rock band known as mclusky have disbanded, as of Friday 7 January 2005. The reason for this parting is private, though probably not as entertaining as you'd imagine. Personally, I would like to thank all the people, places and times that occurred on or near us. I'm grateful for the love and to a lesser degree, the hate. There'll be more music soon, from all of us.

Little was said of the reasons behind Mclusky's split, but it later emerged that tensions had arisen between Falco and Chapple.

Falco did not stay silent for long, in 2006, he announced the formation of Future Of The Left with Mclusky drummer Jack Egglestone and former Jarcrew frontman Kelson Mathias assuming bass duties. Their first release was a single, "Fingers Become Thumbs". It came out to minimal fanfare but paved the way for their first CD release Curses on Too Pure Records in September 2007. They followed-up with Travels with Myself and Another in June 2009 on 4AD.[6] NME ranked Future of the Left's 2009 live album Last Night I Saved Her from Vampires at No. 42 on their list of 50 Greatest Live Records of all Time.[7] and Pedestrian TV calling Future of the Left one of the greatest live bands of all time.[8]

In a 2010 interview with NME Falco stated that Mathias was no longer in the band and bassist Julia Ruzicka (also his then girlfriend, now wife) and guitarist Jimmy Watkins have joined the group as a quartet.[9] In late 2011, the band announced they signed to Xtra Mile Records and released the EP Polymers Are Forever and the album The Plot Against Common Sense.[10] In 2013, the band released the album How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident and in 2016 they released the album The Peace and Truce of Future of the Left.

In 2014, Falco released an album under the moniker Christian Fitness titled I Am Scared of Everything That Isn't Me, and in 2015 the follow-up album, Love Letters in the Age of Steam. Christian Fitness's third album, This Taco Is Not Correct, was released on Bandcamp on 12 September 2016. A title revealed on an appearance on Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal to be random placeholder text from the designer (Aesthetic Apparatus) that he felt made a fitting title. "...that appealed to me that (the random text) would become meaningful and the silhouetted angel is pondering something that is ridiculous, racked with anguish over nothing. As much as all value tacos in their correct context, it just seemed perfect".[11] Christian Fitness's fourth album, Slap Bass Hunks, was released - also via Bandcamp and the label Prescriptions Music, on 19 April 2017.

Falco vs. illegal music downloading

[edit]

Falco became a surprise player in the debate over illegal musical file sharing when the second Future of the Left album Travels with Myself and Another was leaked online in late April 2009, more than two months before its official release. Falco took to the web and released a seething open letter to those that chose to leak the album, stated that continuing to illegally share music will make it harder for legitimate musicians to continue to make music.[12][better source needed]

In his letter, Falco stated:

Please be careful, or we'll get the world we all deserve. Hobby bands who can tour once every few years if they're lucky, and the superstars, freed from such inconvenient baggage as integrity and conscience, running the corporate sponsored marathon of £80-a-ticket arena tours and television adverts til their loveless hearts explode in an orgy of oppressive branding and self-regard. Some of us, in all honesty, just want to make the music we love and play it around the world without living in poverty.[12]

UK Music decided to take out a full-page advert in The Guardian, reprinting Falco's letter, making him an advocate for bands and sparking further debate on behalf of artists.[13]

Later, in an interview during a 2011 Australian tour, Falco stated that his "problem comes when people try to say it's a fight against the oppressor", a mentality of sticking it to some faceless entity. He continued to say he has encountered people complaining about paying money to see a band and the cost of an album, but would then turn around and spend more money on a round of drinks at the show.[14]

Personal Life

[edit]

Falco is married to Future of the Left bassist Julia Ruzicka, with whom he has a daughter, Ella.[15][16]

Discography

[edit]

Mclusky

[edit]

Future of the Left

[edit]

Christian Fitness

[edit]
  • I Am Scared of Everything That Isn't Me (2014)
  • Love Letters in the Age of Steam (2015)
  • This Taco is Not Correct (2016)
  • Slap Bass Hunks (2017)
  • Nuance - The Musical (2018)
  • You Are the Ambulance (2019)
  • Hip Gone Gunslingers (2021)

References

[edit]
  1. ^ @shit_rock (5 April 2017). "retweeting because it's my birthday and I can do what the hell I want" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Andrew FALKOUS - Personal Appointments". Companies House. Retrieved 27 January 2020.
  3. ^ "Wales Music – Mclusky". BBC. Retrieved 24 November 2015.
  4. ^ "British rock's best kept secret". Telegraph.co.uk. 7 August 2003. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  5. ^ "Mclusky". Punknews.org. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  6. ^ "4AD Store". Shopusa.4ad.com. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  7. ^ "NME's 50 Greatest Live Albums Of All Time – What Are Yours?". Nme.com. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  8. ^ "Meredith Music Festival 2011 Highlights". Pedestrian.tv. 12 December 2011. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  9. ^ "Future Of The Left – New Line-Up, New Interview". Nme.com. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  10. ^ "Archived copy". www.punkrockistnichttot.com. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 17 January 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  11. ^ "Ep089: Andrew "Falco" Falkous (Future of the Left, mclusky, christian fitness)". Radioneutron.com. 29 September 2016. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  12. ^ a b "jim fork by future of the left on Myspace". 26 June 2012. Archived from the original on 26 June 2012. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  13. ^ Petridis, Alexis (28 September 2009). "Would this advert stop you filesharing?". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2020.
  14. ^ "Future of the Left". Archived from the original on 24 December 2013. Retrieved 22 January 2012.
  15. ^ Moores, J. R. (17 March 2022). "'I don't believe in half-conviction': Andrew Falkous on the return of Mclusky". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 November 2024.
  16. ^ Interviews, Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews &; ClashMusic (28 January 2020). "Note To Self: Andrew Falkous On The Return Of mclusky*". Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews. Retrieved 10 November 2024.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
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