The Tiger Lillies
| The Tiger Lillies | |
|---|---|
 The Tiger Lillies at TFF Rudolstadt 2013 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | London |
| Genres | Dark cabaret |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Misery Guts Music |
| Website |
tigerlillies |
| Members | Martyn Jacques, Adrian Stout, Adrian Huge |
| Past members | Phil Butcher |
The Tiger Lillies are a cult British musical trio formed in 1989 by singer-songwriter Martyn Jacques. Often described as the forefathers of Brechtian Punk Cabaret[1] the Tiger Lillies are well known for their unique sound and style which merges the macabre magic of pre-war Berlin with the savage edge of punk.[2]
Career
Band formation and members
The Tiger Lillies current members are:
- Martyn Jacques – vocals, accordion, piano, guitar, harmonica, ukulele and banjolele
- Mike Pickering – drums, percussion and backing vocals
- Adrian Stout – double bass, backing vocals, musical saw and theremin
The band formed in 1989 when Martyn Jacques placed an ad on Loot looking for a drummer and a bass player for a new band. Adrian Huge and Phil Butcher (the band's first bassist who was succeeded by Adrian Stout in 1995)[3] were the only musicians that got in touch with him and therefore became the original Tiger Lillies' drummer and bassist respectively.
In Spring 2012 Adrian Huge decided to take a leave of absence and was replaced by drummer Mike Pickering who has been touring with the Tiger Lillies for the rest of 2012.[4]
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Adrian Stout
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Martyn Jacques
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Mike Pickering
Band name
The band's name is rumoured to have been inspired by a murdered Soho prostitute called Lillie who used to dress up in animal print.[5][6] Jacques however has stated that he named the band after a painting he had on his wall.[7]
Musical style
The Independent has described The Tiger Lillies as "a provocative and avant- garde three-piece band that combines cabaret, vaudeville, music-hall and street theatre",[8] while Tim Arthur of Time Out has given a more imaginative description: "Imagine Kurt Weill conjuring up images of prewar Berlin while a falsetto vocalist screams, squeaks and squawks his way through every number like some rambling madman, and you've got the picture".[9] Notorious for singing controversial songs involving bestiality, prostitution, blasphemy and all other vice imaginable, The Tiger Lillies are undoubtedly not for the easily offended,.[10][11][12] Their musical style is mainly influenced by Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's masterpiece The Threepenny Opera and pre-war Berlin cabaret but other influences such as gypsy and circus music, French chanson and British music hall tunes are also evident,.[13][14]
Awards and nominations
- In 2002 their cult hit musical Shockheaded Peter was nominated for five Olivier Awards. The show won the Olivier for Best Entertainment and Martyn Jacques won the Olivier for Best Supporting Performance in a Musical or Entertainment.[15]
- In 2003 their album The Gorey End (in collaboration with the Kronos Quartet and writer, illustrator Edward Gorey) was nominated for Dominique de Rivaz's Luftbusiness (2008) a Grammy Award for Best Classical Crossover Album.[16]
- In 2012 their show The Tiger Lillies Perform Hamlet, produced by Copenhagen's Republique Theatre and directed by acclaimed Danish director Martin Tulinius, was nominated for a Reumert Award in the category Music Theatre/Show of the Year 2012.[17]
Shows
The Tiger Lillies have appeared in numerous shows all over the world. Below is a list in descending premiere date order:
- 2013: Lulu – A Murder Ballad – With Opera North
- 2013: Either/Or Cabaret
- 2012: The Tiger Lillies Perform Hamlet – nominated for a Reumert Performing Arts Award
- 2012: Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- 2011: Woyzeck & The Tiger Lillies
- 2011: Tom Waits' Rain Dogs Revisited
- 2010: Here I Am Human
- 2010: Cockatoo Prison
- 2010: The Ballad of Sexual Dependency
- 2009: The Tiger Lillies' Freakshow
- 2008: Sinderella with Justin Bond
- 2008: 7 Deadly Sins
- 2006: The Mountains of Madness with Alexander Hacke
- 2006: Die Weberischen
- 2005: The Little MatchGirl
- 2004: Punch & Judy
- 1998: The Tiger Lillies Circus
- 1998: Shockheaded Peter
Films
- Jake Scott's Plunkett & Macleane (1999)
- Sergey Bodrov's The Quickie (2001) – a music band in celebrations.
- Sergei Bodrov's Drunken Sailor (2007) – a documentary on The Tiger Lillies by the director of Oscar-nominated epic Mongol
- Penny Woolcock's The Margate Exodus (2007) – a contemporary re-telling of the Book of Exodus. Martyn Jacques appears in the film as Shebeen Singer performing "Hailstones".
- Dominique de Rivaz's Luftbusiness (2008)
- Valdís Óskarsdóttir's Country Wedding (2008)
- Troma's Return To Nuke 'Em High (2013)
Discography
Albums
- 1994 – Births, Marriages and Deaths
- 1995 – Spit Bucket
- 1995 – Ad Nauseam
- 1996 – The Brothel to the Cemetery
- 1997 – Farmyard Filth
- 1998 – Low Life Lullabies
- 1998 – Shockheaded Peter
- 1999 – Bad Blood and Blasphemy
- 2000 – Circus Songs
- 2000 – Bouquet of Vegetables – The Early Years
- 2001 – 2 Penny Opera
- 2003 – The Sea
- 2003 – The Gorey End (with Kronos Quartet)
- 2003 – Live in Russia 2000–2001
- 2004 – Punch and Judy
- 2004 – Death and the Bible
- 2005 – Huinya (with Leningrad)
- 2006 – Die Weberischen
- 2006 – The Little Match Girl
- 2007 – Urine Palace
- 2007 – Live in Soho
- 2007 – Love and War
- 2008 – Seven Deadly Sins
- 2009 – Sinderella (with Justin Vivian Bond)
- 2009 – Freakshow
- 2009 – Live at the New Players Theatre – London 2009
- 2010 – Cockatoo Prison
- 2010 – Here I Am Human!
- 2011 – The Ballad of Sexual Dependency(with Nan Goldin)
- 2011 – Woyzeck
- 2012 – The Rime of the Ancient Mariner
- 2012 – Hamlet
- 2013 – Either Or
- 2014 – Lulu – A Murder Ballad
- 2014 – A Dream Turns Sour
DVDs
- 2000 – Shockheaded Peter and Other Songs – Live in Concert in New York
- 2006 – Mountains of Madness (with Alexander Hacke (Einstürzende Neubauten) and drawings by Danielle de Picciotto)
- 2009 – The Tiger Lillies – The Early Years
- 2011 – "The Tiger Lillies Live in Prague"[18]
Books
- 1998 – The Ultimate Shockheaded Peter Book – ISBN 3-932909-99-2
- 2003 – Farmyard Fantasy Book – made by b7UE
- 2007 – "The Tiger Lillies Book" – b7UE 02 – www.b7UE.com/tigerlilliesbook
- 2007 – "The Tiger Lillies – Selected illustrations of songs" – by Anne Sophie Malmberg –
- 2008 – "The inquisitorial skeleton shooting" – limited edition shot by b7UE
See also
References
- ↑ Meads, Glenn. "Tiger Lillies play Queer Contact Date: 21 December 2011". What's on Stage. Retrieved 11 March 2013.
- ↑ Mann, Tom. "The Tiger Lillies – 20 years of deviant theatrics". Faster Louder. Retrieved 11/03/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ http://tigerlillies.com/655884/band/bios
- ↑ http://tigerlillies.com/450596/news/mister-huge.
- ↑ McCall, Chris (15 July 2010). "Music Beyond The Edge: The Tiger Lillies". Fest. Retrieved 11/03/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ Goldsmith, Kenneth (13 May 1998). "Criminal Castrati: The Tiger Lillies". New York Press. Retrieved 11/03/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Interview: The Tiger Lillies". Deviant Nation. Retrieved 11/3/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ Cripps, Charlotte (11 November 2003). "Dark Tales of the Unexpected". The Independent. Retrieved 11/3/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ Arthur, Tim (9 November 1996). Time Out London http://www.anythingmatters.com/quotes-concerts/quotestigerlil.html. Retrieved 11/3/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ↑ D., Keith. "FRINGE REVIEW – The Tiger Lillies Live in Concert (Pleasance)". Edinburgh Spotlight. Retrieved 11/3/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ Cobley, Mike (4/10/07). "The Tiger Lillies: Stories Full Of Eccentricity, Blasphemy & Weirdness!". Brighton Magazine. Retrieved 11/3/13. Check date values in:
|date=, |accessdate=(help) - ↑ "Music review: The Tiger Lillies". The Scotsman. 23 August 2009. Retrieved 11/3/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ Fractal, Suicide. "Interviews: Martyn Jacques of The Tiger Lillies". Suicide Girls. Retrieved 11/3/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ Goldsmith, Kenneth (13 May 1998). "Criminal Castrati: The Tiger Lillies". New York Press. Retrieved 11/03/13. Check date values in:
|accessdate=(help) - ↑ http://www.olivierawards.com/about/previous-winners/view/item98540/olivier-winners-2002/
- ↑ http://www.tigerlillies.com/471401/news/the-gorey-end-has-been-nominated-for-a-grammy
- ↑ http://www.seeatre.com/en/shows/4611-the-tiger-lillies-perform-hamlet
- ↑ http://tigerlillies.com/230312/video/dvd_releases
External links
- Official website
- The Tiger Lillies' Forum
- The Tiger Lillies Book: The complete lyrics from 1989–2007 and 340 unreleased pictures shot by b7UE
- VIDEOCLIP of "Living Hell"
- Live acoustic session in Vienna by 'They Shoot – Music Don't They'
- Pictures of the concert in St.-Petersburg (11.09.2005)
- Pictures of another concert in St.Petersburg, Russia (13.06.2007)