Ron François

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Ron Francois

Background information
Birth name	Ronald Albert Francois
Occupation(s)	Musician Singer Songwriter Producer
Instrument(s)	Bass Guitar Guitar Vocals Keyboards
Associated acts	The Sinceros The Teardrop Explodes Eurogliders Panic Poets Beatworld James Reyne Wendy Matthews Absent Friends

A founder member of The Sinceros (1978-1981) and former member of the London R&B band, The Strutters. After the demise of The Sinceros in 1981, François joined The Teardrop Explodes and stayed with Epic Records releasing a solo single, If You Love Me, in 1982 before departing to live in Australia where he has worked with local artists such as, James Reyne, Wendy Matthews, and The Eurogliders.

In 1990, Francois toured with the band, Absent Friends, (vocalist Wendy Matthews, guitarists Sean Kelly, Michael "Mick" King, drummer John Mackay and keyboardist Geoffrey Stapleton), supporting INXS on an eight-week European tour.

Geoffrey Stapleton - I was asked by one of the nicest guys you could ever meet, Sean Kelly , to join his group Absent Friends. Their record Nobody But You, produced by Gary Beers from INXS and sung by Wendy Matthews, was a big hit when I joined up. We did a huge tour of Europe as support for INXS, playing 10,000 seat stadiums through Sweden, Switzerland, Italy, France, Spain, Holland, Denmark, Scotland, Ireland and England (including five Wembley Arenas.) I painted on the bus, often accompanied by Ronnie Francois, the amazing bass player/vocalist/songwriter who had done a lot of art in his younger days. He took it personally if the driver swerved and made his pencil hand slip. I completed about 30 paintings and drawings over the seven weeks.