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Regular Fries
History - "The past is the future"
In 1997 the Regular Fries formed in London. The concept may have seemed a bit dodgy,
an eight piece psychedelic rock 'n' roll dance band that start out by sending out a
'manifesto' to the press. What should've happened is, that after an explosion of hype,
the band fall apart under their own hefty ambitions and contrasting lack of talent.
One problem though, the Fries just happened to be brilliant; one of the best, most
innovative, exciting, and, fuck it, the most fun band to come out of England in the
nineties.
The first single 'Dust It, Don't Bust It', is a funky laidback groove that grabs hold of you,
doesn't let go, and just forces you to get up and dance! Signed to JBO off the back of
the single, the Fries released two breathtaking EPs that blew much of 1998 out of the
water.
'Free the Regular Fries' and 'Fries Entertainment', sounded like nothing else I'd ever
heard. From the noisy, psychedelic swagger of 'The Prayer' and 'Cyanide', to the
soothing chill-out of 'New Moon' the Fries showed that they were on to something.
The band then went on to release their first LP 'Accept the Signal', in the summer of
1999. An amazingly coherent album, which, despite being that bit more together than
previous releases, still had beautiful touches of madness, including a sleazy cover of
'The Pink Room', from David Lynch's 'Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me' movie. The lead-
off single was the catchy-as-fuck 'King Kong'. Both the single and album went Top 40,
and the band capitalised on this success with what was arguably their best tour yet.
Whilst the Fries are undeniably brilliant on record, the madness is only really let loose on
stage. The band are amazingly tight, you wouldn't think it'd be possible for a band as
much into drugs & alcohol as the Fries seem to be to be that impressive live, but, hell,
they are! The band look like their having as good a time as the people watching, and the
songs become sprawling masterpieces, layer-upon-layer of instruments building up the
insanity, always sounding right, and never overdone.
After impressing at loads of festival appearances, the band went on to record their
second album, 'War on Plastic Plants', preceded by the 'Smokin' Cigars With the
Pharaohs EP'. With these releases the band showed that musically, they could try their
hand at almost anything; the riff-heavy rock 'n' roll singalong noise of 'Africa Take Me
Back', to the danciest things the band had recorded to date, 'Brainticket' and 'Blown A
Fuse. More importantly, the band showed that they could pull off such attempts.
After releasing the single 'Supersonic Waves (Coke 'n' Smoke)', featuring Kool Keith
and backed by a James Dean Bradfield remix, the Fries left JBO on bad terms, and
formed their own record label, Soft City.
In 2001 the band went into the studio to record an EP, and came out with the mini-LP
'Blueprint for a Higher Civilization'. This mini-album featured three classic Fries tracks;
'Big Bang', 'Sister Universe', and the extremely pissed-off 'Soft City', dedicated to their
ex-record label at a gig a few months before. The accompanying tour showed that, big
record company behind them or not, the band still most definitely still had it.
Now - "War on the dancefloor"
The Regular Fries are currently recording their fourth album, and arranging a tour to
coincide with its release. The band have been keeping busy DJing occasionally at 'The
Social', a free club on Little Portland Street. What the next LP will sound like, only they
know for now, but I for one can't wait to find out...
'People in general are too damn miserable - people get out more often. Take
drugs. Have A Good Time All The Time. Viva optimism! Embrace the future!'
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