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New Jersey, 1971
Photo by Deb Frost |
FANNY was a truly
pioneering rock band, the first of its kind. Their career
broke down the barriers for female musicians in rock. In
fact, they were pretty much the original "godmothers of
chick-rock"!
FANNY: four young women who were accomplished rock
instrumentalists and singers... who never depended only on
their sexuality to sell the music... who were self-described
as being musicians first and women second. But the fact that
they WERE women, and that they reached a level of success
previously unheard of for a rock band composed solely of
women, was a remarkable achievement. |
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FANNY was the first all-female rock act to
record an entire album for a major record label, and in fact
recorded and released five albums for major labels. FANNY
was the first all-female rock act to rise to real prominence
in the US and Europe. Acknowledged by both the press and
their many fans as an awesome live act – in the words of
Steve Peacock, a top UK music journalist of the era, “if you
close your eyes, it’s like listening to the Stones” – FANNY
toured tirelessly for up to nine months of every year. In a
career that stretched from 1970 to 1975, they had a string
of hit singles and also played on the studio recordings of
some legendary artists. In addition to their many live gigs,
they performed on top music and variety television shows of
the time, including The Old Grey Whistle Test, the Sonny and
Cher Show, American Bandstand and The Beat Club, Germany’s
most famous band program. |
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The four original members of FANNY were June Millington
(guitar, vocals), Jean Millington (bass, vocals), Alice de
Buhr (drums, vocals), and Nickey Barclay (keyboards,
vocals). June and Nickey were the primary songwriters for
the band, but Jean and Alice made significant contributions
to FANNY’s repertoire and all four participated in arranging
the songs and crafting their stage performances. Some of the
biggest music stars of the time, from David Bowie to Deep
Purple to George Harrison to the Kinks, were so blown away
by these four teenaged rockers that they went out of their
way to promote the band and to book them as an opening act. |
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Despite their success, FANNY were never quite superstars,
but they prepared the way for women in rock. When they
started out, the idea of young women as rock players was as
unthinkable as the idea of women having the vote had been to
earlier generations. Recently, FANNY was finally honoured by
receiving the ROCKRGRL WOMEN OF VALOR award for their vital
achievement, and feted at Berklee College of Music on April
20, 2007 with a gala evening including testimonials and a
“rockestra” of Berklee students playing FANNY’s songs.
FANNY: a legend whose legacy lives on in the women rock
musicians of today.
This is their story… |
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