Graham Graham Beck

strangeness in the ordinary

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About me...

11th solo album, THE BIRTH OF GRAHAM GRAHAM BECK is AVAILABLE!

"Mr. Beck is a visual performance artist, songwriter, soundscapist, synth twiddler & architect of extravagant onstage theatrics, & I'm a long-standing fan of his work." (TOM ROBINSON - Musician & BBC 6 MUSIC presenter)

'If Neil Hannon was replaced in the Divine Comedy by Frank Sidebottom this is what it might have sounded like.' - {MORE ABOUT THE DEVIL - blogger for emerging talent - GLASTONBURY FESTIVAL)

"The Man Of Heads." - (as named by the great ARTHUR BROWN - The Crazy World Of...)

"Captain Beefheart, Half Man Half Biscuit & Frank Sidebottom, all rolled into one." - (TOM ROBINSON - Musician & BBC 6 MUSIC presenter)


WHAT DO I DO? Well, here's my one-minute (updated) 'showreel'...




This year's 2023 release (THE BIRTH OF GRAHAM GRAHAM BECK), is a selection of songs I wrote & recorded in London during the 1980's - including 24-track studio work, home demos & even live recordings of a full band! All 23 tracks have been rescued from cassette tapes that have been carefully stored away, & ARE available on/in the website shop (limited CD copies via the 'BUY IT' tab) & from Bandcamp (digital downloads): https://grahambeck.bandcamp.com/album/the-birth-of...

My stage act blurs the boundaries between music, visual performance & comedy. The songs bring out the 'strangeness' in 'the ordinary', & the even-stranger in the extra-ordinary. Just one man, one voice & his home keyboard (with auto-accompaniment)...& possibly a sampler. A few stage props also feature. I write big songs about the small, but important, things in life - such as biscuits, Batman, Godzilla, Slush Puppies, flying saucers...Where would we be without them all?

Some of the sing-a-long tunes are catchy (in an odd way), & range from Synth-Pop, New Wave, Dance (Disco/Techno), Jazz, through to Latin American & even Big Band/Vaudeville! 'ART POP' is a description that cropped up recently. That sounds good to me. Predictably unpredictable, family-friendly & entertaining (so I've been told). I have been described as Music Hall, Surreal, funny, different, unique, 'subverting the ordinary' & 'a mature punk'. I'm probably all of those, with a dash of Bonzo Dog Do-Dah Band meets Frank Sidebottom, via Dave Brubeck, The Tubes, Devo, Eno, Max Wall, John Shuttleworth, Jake Thackray & Arthur Brown. I'm sure there are more...

Gigs coming up...

2024:

- APRIL 16th - ST. JOHNS HOTEL, HULL ('Tuesday At The Tap' - main act, followed by an open mic).

- MAY 4th - FILEY FOLK FESTIVAL, N. YORKSHIRE (2:00 - The Belle Vue & 4:45 - The Masonic Hall).

- MAY 5th - FILEY FOLK FESTIVAL, N. YORKSHIRE (The Bandstand - time tbc.).

- MAY 24th - SPRINGBOARD FESTIVAL, COTTINGHAM, E. YORKSHIRE (8:00/8:30 - Duke Of Cumberland, outdoor stage).

- MAY 26th - SPRINGBOARD FESTIVAL, COTTINGHAM, E. YORKSHIRE (3:45 - Martha's Bar, King William IV).

- JUNE 8th - 'BELPER GOES GREEN' (Eco Festival), BELPER, N. DERBYSHIRE.

- JULY 13th - 'NAILED - IT' FESTIVAL, BELPER, N. DERBYSHIRE.

Please get in touch if you'd like me to play (I'm very friendly & approachable...Honest!). Small festivals, BIG festivals, street performance, house/garden concerts, village fetes...You name it, I'll do my best to play it!

QUOTES:

- TOM ROBINSON (BBC6MUSIC) - "THE MISSING SINK, I think is a work of absolute genius!"...TOM ROBINSON (again) - "I can't believe more people haven't played him on the radio!".

- DAVID WALLIAMS (Judge on BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT) - "Even by my standards of weirdness, I found that very weird!"

PLEASE NOTE: I am my very own tribute band.

Albums & other stuff...

Songs have been broadcast on BBC6 Music, by TOM ROBINSON, BBC INTRODUCING & BBC RADIO HUMBERSIDE (including other regional radio shows around the country). They've also been featured on the BBC6 MUSIC MIXTAPE, with 'I Saw A Flying Saucer' being Tom Robinson's 'Tip Of The Week'!

Yes, I WAS on ITV's BRITAIN'S GOT TALENT, two years running (2018 & 2019). Video evidence is available, alas!

There's also a (very) short documentary about me, that appeared on BBC NEWS Online (& BBC's LOOK NORTH) the other year. Here's the link: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-humber-50323032/cardboard-box-heads-transformed-my-confidence?SThisFB&fbclid=IwAR02jhpi2aCbTJAffKl16gbmXbOb4-05JR9JonQT6UHSKFDFFgE9xenbtHs

My first solo album, 'A BATHFUL OF NASTURTIUMS' (2013) through to 'THE BIRTH OF GRAHAM GRAHAM BECK' (OCT. 2023), can all be bought via the 'Buy' tab, with digital versions also available (at ridiculously low prices) on my Bandcamp.com page https://grahambeck.bandcamp.com/ - as well as all the major digital platforms (iTunes, Amazon Music etc.). Other merchandise is available at gigs, including badges, keyrings, fridge magnets, postcards, t-shirts (can be posted - please email me if interested), & of course CD albums, plus other merchandise on it's way.


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