Francis Dunnery

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Francis Dunnery (sometimes known as Frank); (born 25 December 1962, in Egremont, Cumbria, England) was a founder member of the 1980s band, It Bites. Although he started on drums, he became the lead singer and guitarist of the group until he left in 1990.

It Bites released three studio albums, The Big Lad in the Windmill (1986), Once Around the World (1988) and the critically acclaimed Eat Me in St Louis (1989). Their swansong final live album Thank You and Goodnight was released in 1990. It Bites' biggest hit single was "Calling All The Heroes" in 1986, which reached #6 in the UK Singles Chart.

With both an impressive technical and song-writing ability, Dunnery soon became one of the most infuential guitarists of his generation.^{[citation needed]}

Since leaving It Bites, Dunnery has been a solo artist, recording seven studio albums: Welcome to the Wild Country (1991), Fearless (1994), Tall Blonde Helicopter (1995), One Night in Sauchiehall Street (1995), Let's Go Do What Happens (1998), Man (2001), The Gulley Flats Boys (2005). He has performed regularly in both the U.S. and the UK. His biggest solo hit single was "American Life in the Summertime".

Normally a Fender Stratocaster player, Dunnery is also the inventor of the guitar based instrument called the tapboard which used parts of a shower hose and an egg timer.

Dunnery was approached to join Genesis, post-Phil Collins, but refused. He has contributed backing vocals to Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe's eponymous album. He also rehearsed with The Syn for an abortive tour in 2005. He accompanied former Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant on his "Fate of Nations" world tour in 1993-4. He has been playing studio sessions for Lauryn Hill and recorded with Elton John and many others. These include Carlos Santana on his multi-platinum album Supernatural, and Dunnery co-wrote some tracks and played guitar on Ian Brown's album Music of the Spheres.