Frankie & The Heartstrings are a Sunderland-based

indie rock Indie rock is a subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the music they produc ...

band formed in 2008. The band's debut album, ''

Hunger In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is defined as a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic Human nutrition, nutritional needs for a sustaine ...

'' was released on 21 February 2011, and debuted at No. 32 on the UK albums chart. Known for their partying, they were labelled as the indie Mötley Crüe.

History

Singer Frankie Francis and guitarist Michael McKnight were at college together. Drummer Dave Harper and McKnight had played in local bands for years. McKnight and Harper met Francis at a calypso night in a pub the singer was running at the time in Sunderland and formed the band in December 2008. Singer Francis had intended to play bass in the band, but Harper said that "He was the worst bassist ever". The band made their live debut in Christmas 2008 after friend Steven Dennis joined on bass. Former

Kenickie Kenickie were an English four-piece pop punk band from Sunderland. The band was formed in 1994 and consisted of lead vocalist, guitarist and lyricist Lauren Laverne (b. Lauren Gofton), drummer Johnny X (real name Pete Gofton, Lauren's brother) ...

drummer, Johnny X, now known by his real name

Pete Gofton Peter Gofton (born 26 September 1975) is a Penge-based musician and record producer, who is well known on the music scene of the North East of England and has been involved with many artists either playing with them or producing. He is the form ...

, joined as a keyboardist. Pete Gofton has since left (in 2010) and was replaced with Soundtracks for a B-Movie and Minotaurs guitarist Mick Ross. It has been said that Mick "adds steel, bite and panache to their musicianship". Other band names that were considered included Pop Sex and The New Groomers, but they settled on Frankie & The Heartstrings. The band's debut release was a 10" 7 track live EP ''12.09.09'', released on their own Pop Sex Ltd records in a limited edition of 500 in November 2009. The following month they followed it up with a double A side 7" single ''Hunger/Fragile'' released on Rough Trade. That month they played their first major tour supporting

Florence & The Machine Florence and the Machine (stylised as Florence + the Machine) are an English indie rock band that formed in London in 2007, consisting of lead vocalist Florence Welch, keyboardist Isabella Summers, guitarist Rob Ackroyd, harpist Tom Monger, and ...

. In April 2010, the band released their second single "Tender / I Want You Back". "Tender" was written by McKnight and was originally called "Tender Is the Night". It was recorded with James Ford of

Simian Mobile Disco Simian Mobile Disco are an English electronic music duo and production team, formed in 2003 by James Ford and Jas Shaw of the band Simian. Musically, they are known for their analogue production. Ford is also known for his production work. ...

. Further gigging continued throughout 2010 including slots at the Glastonbury Festival, Summer Sundae and Latitude Festival, overseas shows in Europe, New York and Tokyo and support slots across the UK supporting

The Futureheads The Futureheads are an English post-punk band from Sunderland, formed in 2000. The band consists of Ross Millard (vocals and guitar), David "Jaff" Craig (vocals and bass guitar) and brothers Barry Hyde (vocals and guitar) and Dave Hyde (drums ...

and

Edwyn Collins Edwyn Stephen Collins (born 23 August 1959) is a Scottish musician, producer and record label owner from Edinburgh, Scotland. Collins was the lead singer for the 1980s post-punk band Orange Juice, which he co-founded. After the group split in ...

, who produced the band's debut album in the late summer and early Autumn at his West Heath Studios in London. The band released their third single "Ungrateful" in October 2010. The band's sound has drawn comparisons to

Orange Juice Orange juice is a liquid extract of the orange tree fruit, produced by squeezing or reaming oranges. It comes in several different varieties, including blood orange, navel oranges, valencia orange, clementine, and tangerine. As well as vari ...

and

Dexy's Midnight Runners Dexys Midnight Runners (currently officially Dexys, their former nickname, styled without an apostrophe) are an English pop rock band from Birmingham, with soul influences, who achieved major commercial success in the early to mid-1980s. They a ...

. ''Hunger'', Frankie and the Heartstrings' debut album, was released in the UK on 21 February 2011; it charted at No. 32 on the UK albums chart. Single "The Postcard" followed on 9 May 2011. The band then went on to support

Kaiser Chiefs Kaiser Chiefs are an English indie rock band from Leeds who formed in 2000 as Parva, releasing one studio album, ''22'', in 2003, before renaming and establishing themselves in their current name that same year. Since their formation the band h ...

and

The Vaccines The Vaccines are an English indie rock band, formed in West London in 2010. Band members Justin Hayward-Young (lead vocals, guitar), Freddie Cowan (lead guitar, vocals), Árni Árnason (bass, vocals), Timothy Lanham (guitars, keys, vocals) and ...

on their UK tours later in the year. A non-''Hunger''-related single, "Everybody Looks Better (In the Right Light)", produced by

Suede Suede (pronounced ) is a type of leather with a fuzzy, napped finish, commonly used for jackets, shoes, fabrics, purses, furniture, and other items. The term comes from the French , which literally means "gloves from Sweden". The term was firs ...

guitarist

Bernard Butler Bernard Joseph Butler (born 1 May 1970) is an English musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the first guitarist with Suede, until his departure in 1994. He has been hailed by some critics as the greatest guitarist of hi ...

, was released on 28 November 2011. Its b-side, "The Way That You Kiss", was produced by

Ryan Jarman Ryan James Jarman is a British musician who is the guitarist and vocalist with English lo-fi indie rock band the Cribs. The Cribs Jarman formed the Cribs in the early 2000s with his twin brother Gary and younger brother Ross. The band is kno ...

The Cribs The Cribs are a British indie rock band originally from Wakefield, West Yorkshire, that formed in 2001. The band consists of twins Gary and Ryan Jarman and their younger brother Ross Jarman. They were subsequently joined by ex-The Smiths guit ...

. The band released their second album, '' The Days Run Away'', on 3 June 2013. At the same time they opened their own record store in Sunderland, Pop Recs Ltd. The store was initially only to be open for two weeks as a pop up store to promote ''The Days Run Away'', but community response provoked the band to continue operating it permanently. In 2014 guitarist Mick Ross was replaced by

Ross Millard Ross Millard (born 22 July 1982) is an English musician and graphic designer, best known as guitarist and vocalist in The Futureheads. The band released their self-titled debut album in September 2004; their second album '' News & Tributes'' fo ...

. In 2015, after bassist Steven Dennis left the band, they were joined by Michael Matthews of This Ain't Vegas and

Sky Larkin Sky Larkin is an English indie rock band from Leeds, West Yorkshire, England, who formed in 2005. Early history In common with many bands from Leeds, Sky Larkin released two singles on the Leeds-based label Dance To The Radio. Songs of their ...

. In July 2015 the band released their third album ''Decency''. Recorded in late summer 2014 at Leeds' Suburban Homes studio with MJ of

Hookworms Hookworms are intestinal, blood-feeding, parasitic roundworms that cause types of infection known as helminthiases. Hookworm infection is found in many parts of the world, and is common in areas with poor access to adequate water, sanitation, an ...

at the controls, it was also the first release to feature Ross Millard. The band launched the album with shows in London and Newcastle as well as at Pop Recs Ltd. The band later toured both on their own and as support for The Charlatans, with James Leonard Hewitson joining them on brass for a number of their dates. Drummer Dave Harper died on 25 August 2021.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

*
Discogs discography
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Frankie And The Heartstrings 2008 establishments in England British indie rock groups Musical quintets English rock music groups Musical groups from Sunderland Wichita Recordings artists