Donald's Encyclopedia of Popular Music

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

FRAME, Roddy

(b 29 Jan. '64, East Kilbride, Scotland) Singer, songwriter, guitarist, bandleader. Already an experienced teenager when Aztec Camera debuted on Glasgow's Postcard label; debut LP on Rough Trade High Land, Hard Rain '83 brought praise for Frame from Elvis Costello as a most promising songwriter. The contract and album were taken over by WEA; single 'Oblivious' reissued on new label was a hit, 'Walk Out To Winter' also successful. The acoustic-based music was marked by Frame's edgy melodies and florid, sometimes obscure lyrics. Second LP Knife '84 had lavish production by Mark Knopfler threatening to obscure things further, but 'All I Need Is Everything' skirted the charts; the album's other tracks incl. cynical 'Just Like The USA', touching 'Birth Of The True' and an over-ambitious nine-minute title track. Love '87 was a Frame solo album in all but name, the high-tech studio prod. threatening to swamp his fragile talent; but it is as a songwriter that he has maintained a strong following without ever hitting the really big time. Further albums (still called Aztec Camera but each with a different lineup) have been Stray '90, Dreamland '93, Frestonia '95. He enjoys performing and gets off on playing the guitar; he is immersed so deep in pop music that he can turn his hand to anything without sounding like a plagiarist; his fans like his songs and his voice so much that he may as well give up the silly name of a band that doesn't exist.