Pixies

Combining a love of 1960s melodies with intense, searing guitars and a natural fascination for the perverse and weird, Black Francis's gang of staunch outsiders, the Pixies, became cult heroes in the late 1980s against a backdrop of spandex-clad metal bands and manufactured pop. With Kurt Cobain admitting "I was basically trying to rip off the Pixies", and a host of Brit pop bands - from Blur to Suede to Radiohead - all paying homage to the band, their legacy has gone on to define them as one of the most influential bands of their era with albums 'Surfer Rosa' (1988) and 'Doolittle' (1989) now cited as modern classics. Their signature loud-quiet-loud dynamic of rumbling bass lines leading to an explosion of crunching guitars drew the feeling of a ticking time bomb, adopted by many of the grunge and alternative bands who surfaced in the 1990s. Later albums 'Bossanova' (1990) and 'Trompe Le Monde' (1991) both made the UK top ten but when Black and Kim Deal fell out in 1993, the band split. Deal went on to form The Breeders with twin sister Kelly, while Black pursued a critically acclaimed solo career before the band were greeted as returning heroes when they reformed for reunion shows in 2004. Their first reunion concert was played in Minnesota followed by a full tour of the US and Canada. The band made several appearances at festivals and collaborative concerts, and in 2009 announced a solo tour to celebrate the 20th anniversary of their album 'Doolittle'. A brand new album of music was released in 2016 as new member Paz Lenchantin was welcomed to the group.

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