Frente!
Frente! |
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Frente! was an Australian alternative pop/rock group, formed in 1991. The lineup featured singer Angie Hart, founder and guitarist Simon Austin, bassist Tim O'Connor (later replaced by Bill McDonald), and drummer Mark Picton (later replaced by Alastair Barden).
Frente! burst onto the Australian music charts with the singles "Ordinary Angels" (from the Clunk EP, #3, gold) and "accidently [sic] Kelly Street" (#4, platinum) in 1992. Notable as much for the bizarre film clips ("accidently Kelly Street" consisted of the band with oversized novelty props of household items, and the title of the song was purposely written with an initial lowercase) as their light-hearted pop lyrics, Frente!'s debut album, Marvin the Album (#5) was also a success, going platinum in Australia. Another single was released from the album in early 1993, "No Time" (#50), which did not fare as well.
"accidentally Kelly Street" was parodied by The Late Show, featuring Jane Kennedy and Tony Martin and Mick Molloy and Santo Cilauro. It was named "Accidentally Was Released".
"Ordinary Angels" finished the year as the 20th best selling single of 1992 on the ARIA charts, with "accidentally Kelly Street" finishing 29th.
The band promoted overseas in 1994 with their biggest success being an acoustic cover version of New Order's "Bizarre Love Triangle" which reached #76 in the UK (following releases of earlier tracks "Ordinary Angels" which did not chart and "accidentally Kelly Street" which reached #84). "Bizarre Love Triangle" was released in Australia on a re-issued version of the "Lonely" EP in 1994 (#7, with the first issue charting at #88). The cover was also a hit in the United States, charting at #10 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart and #49 on the Billboard Hot 100. The band's only other chart placement in the US was a rerelease of the "Labour of Love" single, which manged #9 on the Modern Rock Tracks chart.
In between the first and second Frente! albums, Angie Hart lent her vocal to an Australian single by Pop! titled "Tingly" (#92), released in late 1995.
Frente! released a second album, Shape, in 1996, but it didn't produce hit singles (the first single "Sit On My Hands" peaked at #66 in Australia, and the second, "What's Come Over Me" did not enter the top 100 although it did reach #83 in the UK) like their previous effort and hence sold poorly, peaking at #35. Frente! broke up shortly after its release to pursue other projects.
Frente! also has a track on the compilation album Saturday Morning, a cover version of "Open Up Your Heart and Let the Sun Shine In" from The Flintstones. The album was released on 5 December 1995.
Frente! also appeared on the soundtrack for the hit American TV show: Melrose Place with the song "Ordinary Angels". This album was released 18 October 1994.
Frente! disbanded in 1996, and Angie Hart moved on to the pop duo Splendid, and later to the band Holidays on Ice. Her debut solo album was released in 2007.
In January 2005, Frente! reformed for some Australian east coast dates. The line-up for these shows was Angie Hart, Simon Austin and Bill McDonald with Pete Luscombe on drums.
Discography
Albums
- Marvin the Album (1992, international release in 1994)
- Shape (1996)
Singles and EPs
- Whirled EP (1991) *
- Clunk EP (1992) *
- accidently Kelly St (1992) *
- No Time (1993) *
- Labour of Love EP (1993)
- Lonely EP (1994) *
- accidently Kelly St (1994)
- Ordinary Angels (1994)
- Ordinary Angels The Remix (1994)
- Bizarre Love Triangle (1994)
- Sit On My Hands (1996) *
- Horrible (1996)
- What's Come Over Me (1996)
- Goodbye Goodguy (1997) *
- Try To Think Less EP (2005) *
Releases marked with a star were released in Australia only.