Liam Frost

Liam Frost
Background information
Birth name	Liam Pickering
Origin	Manchester
Genres	Alternative Folk
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Emperor Records Lavolta Records
Website	Official website

Liam Frost, real name Liam Pickering, is an alternative/folk artist, from Manchester, England. He recorded and played with his backing group, "The Slowdown Family" on his debut album "Show Me How The Spectres Dance", but now performs under the name Liam Frost. Frost currently releases music through his own imprint, Emperor Records. Frost is now involved in the TOKOLOSH project.

Beginnings

Frost made his live debut at 15 years of age. After a few years singing in punk rock bands, and went solo in 2003, aged 20.

Frost is described by Guy Garvey (of the band Elbow) as “the UK’s answer to Bright Eyes”^[1] His songs are heavily focused on the death, ten years apart, of his father and brother and the impact these events had on his life and the lives of those around him.^[2] Frost signed a record deal with Lavolta Records, a subsidiary of Sony BMG, in 2005.

Early releases

Frost spent the early part of 2006 with The Slowdown Family in a London studio with Coldplay producer Danton Supple, recording his debut album. His first four singles were released by Lavolta; the She Painted Pictures EP in February, The Mourners of St Paul's in June and The City is at Standstill in August. She Painted Pictures was released as a chart-eligible single in February 2007.

With the band, Frost completed his first headline tour of the UK and made appearances at many of the UK festivals throughout the summer. He also shared a stage with Elbow, The Decemberists, The Magic Numbers, Nine Black Alps, Willy Mason, Badly Drawn Boy and Ray Davies. His debut album, "Show Me How The Spectres Dance", was released on September 11, 2006.

The Mourners of St Paul's was voted the #1 single of 2006 by Channel 4's Planet Sound.

Following the promotion of his first album, in 2007 Frost took part in a sailing expedition known as Cape Farewell, campaigning to raise awareness of climate change. It was on the trip that he began writing the songs that would make up his second album.

Recent work

Following the disbanding of The Slowdown Family and the Cape Farewell voyage, Frost discovered that Lavolta had become a part of Columbia Records, and his second album would be made for them. He travelled to New York to make the record with Victor Van Vugt at Chelsea's Stratosphere Sound.

Upon completion of the album, Frost was dropped by Columbia near the end of 2008. However, he managed to negotiate terms to leave the label with the master tapes of the album.

The album, "We Ain't Got Money, Honey, But We Got Rain" was released in the UK on September 28, 2009 on Emperor Records, Frost's own label. It was named after a poem of the same name by the poet, novelist, and short story writer Charles Bukowski. It also contains several collaborations with singer-songwriter Ed Harcourt, including "Your Hand In Mine", a duet with Martha Wainwright.

In 2011, a portrait of Frost was painted by British artist Joe Simpson (artist), the painting was exhibited around the UK including a solo exhibition at The Royal Albert Hall. ^[3]

Discography

Albums

• Show Me How The Spectres Dance (2006)
• We Ain't Got No Money, Honey, But We Got Rain (2009)

Singles and EPs

• She Painted Pictures EP, Lavolta, 6 February 2006
• The Mourners of St. Paul's, Lavolta, 5 June 2006
• The City Is At Standstill, Lavolta, 28 August 2006 (#74 UK Singles Chart^[4])
• She Painted Pictures, Lavolta, 5 February 2007
• Held Tightly In Your Fist, Emperor, 13 September 2009
• Your Hand In Mine (featuring Martha Wainwright), Emperor, 18 January 2010

References

External links

• Official website
• Piece on "Your Hand In Mine", written by Frost at Drowned In Sound