Andrew Falkous

Falco's professional musical career began in 1996 with the band Best. After a few line-up changes and release of a three-track single Huwuno on London-based label Seriously Groovy, Best changed its name to Mclusky in 1999. The line-up consisted of Falco fronting the band, serving as its main songwriter along with Mat Harding on drums and Jon Chapple on bass/backing vocals.

Falco and Mclusky released its first album My Pain and Sadness is More Sad and Painful Than Yours in 2000 on the Fuzzbox imprint before drawing international attention with their critically praised second album Mclusky Do Dallas in 2002. Harding left the group in 2003 with Falco telling The Telegraph "It was due to differences on just about every imaginable level – personal, musical and professional.".{{Cite web|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandjazzmusic/3600054/British-rocks-best-kept-secret.html|title=British rock's best kept secret|date=7 August 2003|accessdate=22 July 2020|website=Telegraph.co.uk}} Mclusky recruited drummer Jack Egglestone for their 2004 album The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire.{{Cite web|url=https://www.punknews.org/bands/mclusky|title=Mclusky|website=Punknews.org|accessdate=22 July 2020}}

On 7 January 2005, Mclusky announced its break-up. Falco released this announcement on the band's website on three days later:

:The three piece rock band known as mclusky have disbanded, as of Friday 7 January 2005. The reason for this parting is private, though probably not as entertaining as you'd imagine. Personally, I would like to thank all the people, places and times that occurred on or near us. I'm grateful for the love and to a lesser degree, the hate. There'll be more music soon, from all of us.

Little was said of the reasons behind Mclusky's split, but it later emerged that tensions had arisen between Falco and Chapple.

Falco did not stay silent for long, in 2006, he announced the formation of Future Of The Left with Mclusky drummer Jack Egglestone and former Jarcrew frontman Kelson Mathias assuming bass duties. Their first release was a single, "Fingers Become Thumbs". It came out to minimal fanfare but paved the way for their first CD release Curses on Too Pure Records in September 2007. They followed-up with Travels with Myself and Another in June 2009 on 4AD.{{Cite web|url=http://shopusa.4ad.com/artists/view/name/future-of-the-left|title=4AD Store|website=Shopusa.4ad.com|accessdate=22 July 2020}} NME ranked Future of the Left's 2009 live album Last Night I Saved Her from Vampires at No. 42 on their list of 50 Greatest Live Records of all Time.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=the_50_greatest_live_albums_of_all_time&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1|title=NME's 50 Greatest Live Albums Of All Time – What Are Yours?|website=Nme.com|accessdate=22 July 2020}} and Pedestrian TV calling Future of the Left one of the greatest live bands of all time.{{Cite web|url=https://www.pedestrian.tv/music/meredith-music-festival-2011-highlights/|title=Meredith Music Festival 2011 Highlights|website=Pedestrian.tv|date=12 December 2011|accessdate=22 July 2020}}

In a 2010 interview with NME Falco stated that Mathias was no longer in the band and bassist Julia Ruzicka (also his then girlfriend, now wife) and guitarist Jimmy Watkins have joined the group as a quartet.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/blog/index.php?blog=10&title=future_of_the_left_new_line_up_new_inter&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1|title=Future Of The Left – New Line-Up, New Interview|website=Nme.com|accessdate=22 July 2020}} In late 2011, the band announced they signed to Xtra Mile Records and released the EP Polymers Are Forever and the album The Plot Against Common Sense.{{cite web |url=http://www.punkrockistnichttot.com/news-future-of-the-left-sign-to-xtra-mile-and-announce-ep/ |title=Archived copy |website=www.punkrockistnichttot.com |access-date=17 January 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304075854/http://www.punkrockistnichttot.com/news-future-of-the-left-sign-to-xtra-mile-and-announce-ep/ |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=dead}} In 2013, the band released the album How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident and in 2016 they released the album The Peace and Truce of Future of the Left.

In 2014, Falco released an album under the moniker Christian Fitness titled I Am Scared of Everything That Isn't Me, and in 2015 the follow-up album, Love Letters in the Age of Steam. Christian Fitness's third album, This Taco Is Not Correct, was released on Bandcamp on 12 September 2016. A title revealed on an appearance on Conan Neutron's Protonic Reversal to be random placeholder text from the designer (Aesthetic Apparatus) that he felt made a fitting title. "...that appealed to me that (the random text) would become meaningful and the silhouetted angel is pondering something that is ridiculous, racked with anguish over nothing. As much as all value tacos in their correct context, it just seemed perfect".{{Cite web|url=https://www.radioneutron.com/2016/09/29/ep089-andrew-falco-falkous-future-of-the-left-mclusky-christian-fitness/|title=Ep089: Andrew "Falco" Falkous (Future of the Left, mclusky, christian fitness)|website=Radioneutron.com|date=29 September 2016|accessdate=22 July 2020}} Christian Fitness's fourth album, Slap Bass Hunks, was released - also via Bandcamp and the label Prescriptions Music, on 19 April 2017.

Falco became a surprise player in the debate over illegal musical file sharing when the second Future of the Left album Travels with Myself and Another was leaked online in late April 2009, more than two months before its official release. Falco took to the web and released a seething open letter to those that chose to leak the album, stated that continuing to illegally share music will make it harder for legitimate musicians to continue to make music.{{Cite web|url=http://www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft/blog/485944356|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120626021024/http://www.myspace.com/futureoftheleft/blog/485944356|url-status=dead|archive-date=2012-06-26|title=jim fork by future of the left on Myspace|date=26 June 2012|accessdate=22 July 2020}}{{better source needed|reason=Social media sites are not reliable sources|date=November 2023}}

In his letter, Falco stated:

{{blockquote|Please be careful, or we'll get the world we all deserve. Hobby bands who can tour once every few years if they're lucky, and the superstars, freed from such inconvenient baggage as integrity and conscience, running the corporate sponsored marathon of £80-a-ticket arena tours and television adverts til their loveless hearts explode in an orgy of oppressive branding and self-regard. Some of us, in all honesty, just want to make the music we love and play it around the world without living in poverty.}}

UK Music decided to take out a full-page advert in The Guardian, reprinting Falco's letter, making him an advocate for bands and sparking further debate on behalf of artists.{{Cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2009/sep/28/advert-filesharing|title=Would this advert stop you filesharing?|first=Alexis|last=Petridis|date=28 September 2009|accessdate=22 July 2020|website=The Guardian}}

Later, in an interview during a 2011 Australian tour, Falco stated that his "problem comes when people try to say it's a fight against the oppressor", a mentality of sticking it to some faceless entity. He continued to say he has encountered people complaining about paying money to see a band and the cost of an album, but would then turn around and spend more money on a round of drinks at the show.{{Cite web |url=http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/30893/Future-of-the-Left?page=2 |title=Future of the Left |access-date=22 January 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131224032509/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/features/30893/Future-of-the-Left?page=2 |archive-date=24 December 2013 |url-status=dead }}

Falco is married to Future of the Left bassist Julia Ruzicka, with whom he has a daughter, Ella.{{Cite news |last=Moores |first=J. R. |date=2022-03-17 |title=‘I don’t believe in half-conviction’: Andrew Falkous on the return of Mclusky |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2022/mar/17/i-dont-believe-in-half-conviction-andrew-falkous-on-the-return-of-mclusky |access-date=2024-11-10 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}{{Cite web |last=Interviews |first=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & |last2=ClashMusic |date=2020-01-28 |title=Note To Self: Andrew Falkous On The Return Of mclusky* |url=https://www.clashmusic.com/features/note-to-self-andrew-falkous-on-the-return-of-mclusky/ |access-date=2024-11-10 |website=Clash Magazine Music News, Reviews & Interviews |language=en-GB}}

• My Pain and Sadness Is More Sad and Painful Than Yours (2000)
• Mclusky Do Dallas (2002)
• The Difference Between Me and You Is That I'm Not on Fire (2004)
• Mcluskyism (2006)

• Curses (2007)
• Last Night I Saved Her from Vampires (2009)
• Travels with Myself and Another (2009)
• The Plot Against Common Sense (2012)
• How to Stop Your Brain in an Accident (2013)
• The Peace & Truce of Future of the Left (2016)

• I Am Scared of Everything That Isn't Me (2014)
• Love Letters in the Age of Steam (2015)
• This Taco is Not Correct (2016)
• Slap Bass Hunks (2017)
• Nuance - The Musical (2018)
• You Are the Ambulance (2019)
• Hip Gone Gunslingers (2021)

{{Reflist}}

• [https://allmusic.com/artist/andy-falkous-p528873 Andrew "Falco" Falkous on Allmusic]
• [https://web.archive.org/web/20131224032515/http://www.fasterlouder.com.au/reviews/events/26897/Future-of-The-Left-Blacklevel-Embassy-The-Corner-Hotel-Melbourne-02012011 Future of the Left gig review, Blacklevel Embassy @ The Corner Hotel, Melbourne (02/01/2011)]

{{Mclusky}}

{{Future of the Left}}

{{authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falkous, Andrew}}

Category:1975 births

Category:Musicians from Newcastle upon Tyne

Category:Musicians from Cardiff

Category:English rock singers

Category:English rock guitarists

Category:English male guitarists

Category:English male singers

Category:Living people