Mark Fry

Mark Fry was born in Epping, Essex, into a family of artists descended from the Quaker founders of the Bristol-based chocolate business J. S. Fry & Sons. His father was the painter Anthony Fry. He is a cousin of Roger Fry, the artist, critic and member of the Bloomsbury Group.

Fry was educated at Dartington Hall School in Devon. On leaving Dartington in 1970 he enrolled at the {{ill|Accademia di belle arti|it}} in Florence, Italy, where he studied painting under the Futurist Primo Conti.

During Fry's time in Italy he was introduced to the record producer Vincenzo Micocci. On hearing some of Fry's songs, Micocci signed him to record label IT Dischi, a subsidiary of RCA. Dreaming with Alice was recorded by Fry and a band of session musicians in Rome over a three-day period in the summer of 1971. Following the recording session Fry toured Italy supporting singer Lucio Dalla.

Fry left Italy in autumn 1971 to return to England before the album was released. He was sent a box of the records following the release on IT Dischi records in Italy in 1972, and had no further dealings with the label. For several years, Fry continued to perform music with various musicians including drummer Pete Thomas (later of The Attractions), but without any associated record releases. In the early 1980s, after a long period of travel in the US and West Africa, Fry returned to London to pursue his career as an artist.

Unknown to Fry, the album had been developing cult status over the ensuing three decades as a psychedelic folk classic, garnering acclaim from critics{{Cite journal|url=https://www.thewire.co.uk/issues/282|journal=The Wire|title=British psych folk|edition=282|date=August 2007}}{{subscription required}} and a new generation of musicians as diverse as Kieran Hebden (Four Tet),{{Cite web|url=https://boomkat.com/|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110717080740/http://www.boomkat.com/article.cfm?id=15|url-status=dead|work=Boomkat|title=FOUR PLAY|first=Adam|last=Park|archivedate=17 July 2011}} Colleen{{cite web|url=http://www.solenopole.org/mixcolleen2005b.htm|work=Solenopole|title=SolénoMix COLLEEN|date=2005|access-date=12 December 2021|lang=fr}} and Plastic Crimewave. Fry was to discover this by chance in the early 2000s.{{cite web |url=https://www.markfry.co.uk/music/mark-fry-dreaming-with-alice-classic-reissue-now-again-records-2020/ |title=Dreaming With Alice |last=Fry |first=Mark |date=October 30, 2021 |website=Mark Fry (official website) |access-date=June 26, 2024 |quote=I wasn’t aware of any reviews. I think there was just one pressing of Alice. Many years later I was amazed to find, via the internet, that it had been bootlegged (at least twice) and had become something of a cult record.

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Dreaming with Alice is included in Record Collector's 2009 "Top 20 Strange Folk Albums".{{cite web|url=https://recordcollectormag.com/articles/strange-folk-revisited|work=Record Collector|title=STRANGE FOLK REVISITED|first=Richard Morton|last=Jack|date=22 June 2009}}{{failed verification|date=June 2024}}

Fry is featured in the anthology Galactic Ramble{{cite book|title=Galactic Ramble|first=Richard Morton|last=Jack|publisher=Foxcote Press|date=1 May 2009|isbn=978-1905880072}} and in Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid, Psych and Experimental Folk.{{cite book|title=Seasons They Change: The Story of Acid, Psych and Experimental Folk|first=Jeanette|last=Leech|publisher=Jawbone Press|date=1 November 2010|isbn=978-1906002329}}

The highest price paid at auction to date for an original copy of Dreaming with Alice was $4061 (£2968) in May 2013.{{cite web|url=https://www.popsike.com/php/quicksearch.php?pagenum=1&searchtext=mark+fry&incldescr=&sortord=dprice&thumbs=&currsel=3|website=www.popsike.com|title=mark fry|access-date=12 December 2021}}

Fry has achieved renown as a painter, with eight solo exhibitions since 1993 in London's West End and the Charleston Gallery. Fry's 2005 show "Into the Air" was reviewed by British periodical The Week, which wrote: "With simple lines and subtle effects of texture and shadow, Fry achieves a cool, lyrical elegance with its own dynamism."{{cite journal|journal=The Week|title=Art Review|page=23|date=30 July 2005}}

In 2006, Sunbeam Records reissued a remastered version of Dreaming with Alice in the UK.{{cite web|url=http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/3379|work=Dusted|title=Dusted Reviews {{!}} Mark Fry - Dreaming With Alice|date=12 February 2007|access-date=12 December 2021}}

In January 2008, Fry released his second album, Shooting the Moon, an album of 15 songs penned over a number of years.{{cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/1009768-Mark-Fry|work=Discogs|title=Mark Fry|access-date=12 December 2021}}

In November 2008, Fry was invited to appear at the fourth Million Tongues Festival in Chicago.

In February 2009, Fry collaborated with Nick Franglen of Lemon Jelly on a new version of the title song of Dreaming with Alice, which was released as a limited-edition vinyl single on Fruits de Mer Records.{{cite web|url=http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/markfryvinyl.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100306060454/http://www.fruitsdemerrecords.com/markfryvinyl.html|work=Fruit de Mer Records|title=Mark Fry - Dreaming with Alice|archive-date=6 March 2010|url-status=live}}

In 2009 Fry was contacted by Dorset-based experimental musicians Michael Tanner and Nicholas Palmer, together known as The A. Lords. A musical collaboration ensued, and during 2009 and 2010 the three worked on new songs together, Fry adding lyrics and vocal parts to music composed and recorded by Palmer and Tanner. In May 2010 the trio played at Bush Hall in London, where they were introduced by critic Will Hodgkinson. The album I Lived in Trees by Mark Fry and The A.Lords was released in September 2011. It was well-received by critics{{cite news|url=http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/s/2/47946a64-f3a7-11e0-b98c-00144feab49a.html#axzz3D7M9oTyy|work=Financial Times|title=Mark Fry and the A.Lords: I Lived In Trees|first=David|last=Honigmann|date=14 October 2011|access-date=12 December 2021}}{{subscription required}}{{cite web|url=http://recordcollectormag.com/reviews/i-lived-in-trees|work=Record Collector|title=I Lived In Trees {{!}} Mark Fry|first=Chris|last=Needs|date=24 September 2011|access-date=12 December 2021}} and its release was followed by a London concert{{cite web |url=http://www.villageunderground.co.uk/events/mark-fry-and-friends|work=The Village Underground|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912210044/http://www.villageunderground.co.uk/events/mark-fry-and-friends|title=MARK FRY AND FRIENDS|access-date=12 September 2014|archive-date=12 September 2014|url-status=dead}} featuring Grasshopper of Mercury Rev, Guto Pryce of Super Furry Animals, Martin Smith of Tunng, Nicholas Palmer and Nick Franglen, who also produced the event.

In November 2012 the writer and producer John Lloyd chose Fry's song "Regrets" as one of the eight recordings he would like to take to a desert island in the long-running BBC Radio programme Desert Island Discs.{{cite web|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01nx32n|work=BBC Radio 4|title=Desert Island Discs - John Lloyd|date=23 November 2012|access-date=12 December 2021}}

In April 2013 Fry played three concerts in Tokyo, which resulted in a live album, Mark Fry Live in Japan.

In September 2014 Fry released a further album, South Wind, Clear Sky.

• Dreaming with Alice LP (IT ZLST 70006), RCA / IT Dischi, 1971
• Dreaming with Alice CD (SBR CD5028), Sunbeam Records, 2006
• Dreaming with Alice LP (SBR LP5028), (includes two bonus tracks), Sunbeam Records, 2007 and 2010
• Shooting the Moon (IDLECD001), Boredidlebaby, 2008
• I Lived in Trees (SL013), Second Language, 2011
• Mark Fry Live in Japan (CT-1211/CT-710), Captain Trip Records, 2014
• South Wind, Clear Sky (SL032), Second Language, 2014

• "Dreaming with Alice" (A side) / "The Witch" (live) (B side), Fruits de Mer Vol. 5, (Crustacean06), Fruits de Mer, 2009

• "Mandolin Man" is included in Love, Peace & Poetry – British Psychedelic Music (QDKCD041), Normal Records, 2001
• "Song for Wilde" is included in Shifting Sands (SBRCD5075), Sunbeam Records, 2010
• "I Lived in Trees" is included in Vertical Integration (SL06), Second Language, 2010
• "Song for Wilde" is included in the October 2011 edition of the Late Night Tales series (ALNCD26), curated by US band MGMT
• "Dreaming with Alice" (single version) is included in Plankton (RCLP008), Record Collector, 2013
• "In Times Like These" is included in Music and Migration III (SL025), Second Language, 2013
• "The Witch" is included in Love Poetry and Revolution (CRSEGBOX025), Grapefruit Records, 2013

• Christopher Hull Gallery,{{cite news|url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/christopher-hull-x0r0ll902vl|work=The Times|title=Obituary - Christopher Hull|date=2 May 2007|access-date=12 December 2021}}{{subscription required}} London – 1993, 1995, 1998
• The Charleston Gallery, Sussex – 2006
• Archeus Fine Art,{{cite web|url=https://www.archeus.co.uk/bookshop/title/fry-mark-fry-new-paintings-2003|work=Archeus|title=Mark Fry - New paintings 2003|access-date=12 December 2021}} London – 2001, 2003, 2005
• Gallery 286,{{cite web|url=http://www.gallery286.com/fry/index.html|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20140912183403/http://www.gallery286.com/fry/index.html|url-status=dead|work=Gallery 286 London|title=Mark Fry - Counterpoint|archivedate=12 September 2014}} London – 2013

{{Reflist}}

• [http://www.markfry.co.uk/ Official website]

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Category:Living people

Category:English folk musicians

Category:Psychedelic folk musicians

Category:1952 births

Category:People educated at Dartington Hall School

Category:Fruits de Mer Records artists