06/04/2013
The Pixies: From teddy bears to a band!
6 April. The legendary front man of The Pixies Charles Thompson (1965 - Black Francis) was born in Boston. His parents moved around a lot and separated when he was very young. They separated twice as a matter of fact. By the time Charles was twelve his mother and very religious stepfather joined a church tied to the evangelical Assemblies of God church. (Many of Black Francis’ later songs are influenced by this period and refer to the Bible.)
After High school Charles Thompson went to University, but dropped out in his second year. He wanted to start a band with his friend Joey Santiago, but money was a problem so he needed to find a job first. He found one in a warehouse, ‘managing buttons on teddy bears’, but at the same time prepared himself for the moment he finally would have his own band: He composed songs on his acoustic guitar and wrote lyrics on the train to and from work. In 1987 he and Santiago formed The Pixies. Kim Deal (bassist) and David Lovering (drummer) were recruited and with financial help from Charles’ father they recorded a demo tape. The tape, commonly referred to as ‘The Purple Tape’ led to a recording contract and was the beginning of the very nice career of The Pixies.
This was the period he adopted his stage name ‘Black Francis’. Why? His father had told him that in case he would have had another son, he would have called him Francis. Anyway, it’s his birthday so happy 38 Birthday Charles ‘Black Francis’ Thompson!
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