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The Frames are one of the most successful bands in Irish music history, thanks in part to their incendiary live shows.
Helen Chandler, 07 Jun 2006
They used to be known as one of Irish music’s best kept secrets. Well, the secret is well and truly out and The Frames are now enjoying success in the mainstream.
For 16 years now, The Frames have been rocking the Irish music scene. A bright hope during the ‘90s, they ran into storm clouds – but in recent years they have fulfilled their potential leaving their cult status behind, to become mainstream (well, almost!) rock stars, with a huge fan base around Ireland and a growing one throughout the world. Not bad for a band who started out in the late ‘80s busking for money.
Frontman Glen Hansard left school at 13, knowing that all he wanted was to be a singer. The band formed in 1990, but Hansard first hit the bright lights starring as Outspan in The Commitments. Their debut album The Dancer was released in 1992. They were signed to Trevor Horn’s ZTT label and, good as the subsequent Fitzcarraldo (1995) and Dance The Devil (1999) were, they suffered a bad case of record company mismatch and it seemed that The Frames were destined to remain a cult Irish band.
They re-grouped and released the epochal For The Birds on their own label in 2000. It was their fourth and finest album to date and a whole new breed of fan was won over to the cause. But it was really in 2003, when they released their live album Setlist, that they realised the true meaning of success. The Frames give fans a totally unique live experience and they somehow managed to capture that magic on record, over four nights at Vicar St. Setlist reached No.1 in the Irish charts and attracted a further legion of new fans. Highlights such as ‘Revelate’ and ‘Star Star’ prompted new Frames devotees to go and explore the band’s back catalogue.
Perhaps the most impressive thing about The Frames’ journey is that they have succeeded in building such a vast – and ferociously loyal – fanbase, with little or no help from the mainstream media or record labels. Fans proclaimed their loyalty in 2004 as The Frames swept the hotpress Readers' Poll and they also received their first music industry award for Best Irish Band at The Meteors, confirmation that they were finally being recognised for their hard work and dedication.
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