THE TIGER LILLIES (UK)
PRESSE / PRAISE:
"The godfathers of alternative cabaret" - MISERY GUTS MUSIC
"... garishly gaudy and gloriously obscene...Imagine Kurt Weill conjuring up images of prewar Berlin while a falsetto vocalist screams, squeaks and squawks his way through every number like some rambling madman, and you've got the picture". " - TIME OUT
"It's not surprising that their cult following is worldwide - a Tiger Lillies gig is a journey into wild emotion which passes right through melodrama and out the other side into bizarre beauty" - EVENING STANDARD
"All these bands are my favourites, but here is a favourite, favourite. Ladies and Gentlemen, The Tiger Lillies" - MATT GROENING
"There is nothing else like them. Any description of them is an injustice – they are completely peerless." - Alex Kapranos of FRANZ FERDINAND
Brechtian-Punk-DarkCabaret-Gypsy-Circus-Avantgarde-Vaudeville-Anarcho-Oper!
Bekannt als «the Godfathers of Alternative Cabaret», die Grammy-nominierten Tiger Lillies vereinen die makabere Magie des Berlins der Vorkriegsjahre mit der wilden Rohheit des Punk. Provokativ, bizarre, wild, berührend, wunderschön, witzig, herzzerreissend und vor allem: Kult.
Sie sind definitiv nicht die richtige Wahl für zart besaitete Gemüter, die sich schnell mal auf den Schlips getreten fühlen: Berühmt-berüchtigt für ihre provozierenden und kontroversen Songs, drehen sich diese gerne mal um Sodomie, Prostitution, Blasphemie und alle anderen vorstellbaren Laster. Musikalisch sind sie zu einem grossen Teil von Berthold Brecht und Kurt Weill's "Dreigroschenoper" sowie dem Cabaret des Berlins der Vorkriegsjahre inspiriert, aber auch Elemente von Gypsy- und Zirkusmusik, Französischem Chanson, Jacques Brel und dem Britischen Varietétheater lassen sich ausmachen.
The Godfathers of Alternative Cabaret - die Paten des Alternativen Cabarets
Den grossen Teil seiner Lebensjahre zwischen 20 und 30 verbrachte Martyn Jacques (Frontman, Songwriter und Gründer der Band) damit, aus seiner über einem Bordell gelegenen Wohnung auf die Strassen Sohos zu gucken und das zwielichtige Treiben zu beobachten. Rund 10 Jahre und ein Akkordeons brauchte es, bis das Milieu-Studium seinen Output als Kunst fand: 1989 war es, als Martyn Jacques sein erstes Akkordeon erstand und der Moment bis zur Gründung der Tiger Lillies war ein kurzer.
Die Welt der Tiger Lillies ist finster, absonderlich und mannigfaltig, mit Momenten tiefer Trauer, unbarmherzig schwarzen Humors und gewaltiger Schönheit. Das einzigartige "Brecht'sche Anarcho-Strassen-Oper-Trio" singt über alles, "was keine schönen blonden Mädchen und Buben, die durch saftig grüne Wiesen streifen beinhaltet", um es in den Worten von Leadsänger Martyn Jacques zu sagen. Was auch immer auf der dunklen Seite des Lebens geboren ist - Prostitution, Drogenabhängigkeit, Gewalt und Verzweiflung - das hingegen gute Chancen, ein Stück der Tiger Lillies zu inspirieren. Mit ihrem schwarzen Sinn für Humor und der bissigen Ironie zeigt das Trio gleichsam mit dem Finger zurück zum Publikum “what on Earth are we doing, laughing at this stuff?”
Mit seinem ganz eigenen Sound und provokativen Stil stach das Trio in den 90er Jahren sofort hervor, und spielte nach kurzer Zeit nicht mehr an den Strassenecken und in den Pubs Londons sondern am Piccadilly Theater und am Sydney Opera House. Es folgten Welttourneen und Engagements in verschiedenen Kunst- und Theaterprojekten.
Neben durchschnittlich 200 Konzerten pro Jahr, schafft es das Trio ebenfalls, mindestens ein Album pro Jahr zu veröffentlichen - geschätzte 35 bis zu diesem Zeitpunkt. Die Band gewann unter anderem zwei Oliver Awards mit dem Kult-Musical "Shockheaded Peter" und waren mit dem Album "The Gorey End" für einen Grammy nominiert, dies um einfach ein paar der Karrierehighlights zu nennen.
*****
Closing week brings the Grammy-nominated forefathers of Brechtian Punk Cabaret! The Tiger Lillies' unique sound and style merges the macabre magic of pre-war Berlin with the savage edge of punk. Disturbing, heart-breaking, beautiful, touching, dark, mad, bizarre, provocative, shocking, amusing, bewildering, avant-garde cabaret-vaudeville-anarchic opera-gypsy-music-hall-street theatre. CULT.
The Independent has described The Tiger Lillies as "a provocative and avant- garde three-piece band that combines cabaret, vaudeville, music-hall and street theatre", while Tim Arthur of Time Out has given a more imaginative description: "Imagine Kurt Weill conjuring up images of prewar Berlin while a falsetto vocalist screams, squeaks and squawks his way through every number like some rambling madman, and you've got the picture". Notorious for singing controversial songs involving bestiality, prostitution, blasphemy and all other vices imaginable, The Tiger Lillies are undoubtedly not for the easily offended. Their musical style is mainly influenced by Bertold Brecht and Kurt Weill's masterpiece "The Threepenny Opera" and pre-war Berlin cabaret but other influences such as gypsy and circus music, French chanson and British music hall tunes are also evident.
The Godfathers of Alternative Cabaret
The Tiger Lillies were formed in 1989 and as the decades go by their sound remains one of the most unique and original things one could come across. Martyn Jacques, the band's front man, songwriter and founder, spent most of his twenties in a flat above a brothel in London's Soho, peeping through his window at the buzz of Soho’s lowlife. It took him a good ten years to turn that strange world into art, while training as a singer and songwriter. In 1989 he got his first accordion and The Tiger Lillies were formed shortly after.
Back in the early 90's the avant garde trio stood out immediately for its distinct sound and style and the band quickly worked its way up from London pubs to the Piccadilly Theatre and buskers’ benches to the Sydney Opera House. Soon the The Tiger Lillies were touring the world giving concerts and participating in various art and theatre projects. A couple of the many highlights in their career were the 2 Olivier Awards they won for the cult hit musical Shockheaded Peter and the Grammy nomination for their album The Gorey End. Within the last two decades The Tiger Lillies have been doing an average of over 200 gigs a year and despite spending so much time on the road they have managed to also release more than one album a year (total number is somewhere around 35, but who is counting?). They have participated in numerous shows all over the world, collaborating with artists of all disciplines: from circus performers to Shakespearean actors, experimental dancers to avant garde photographers and burlesque puppeteers to classical music ensembles.
The world of The Tiger Lillies is dark, peculiar and varied, with moments of deep sadness, cruel black humour and immense beauty. This unique "anarchic Brechtian street opera trio" tours the world playing songs about “anything that doesn’t involve beautiful blonde girls and boys running at the meadow” to quote their founder Martyn Jacques. Hence, their songs cover all the dark aspects of life, from prostitution and drug addiction to violence and despair. Always with a touch of twisted humor and sharp irony The Tiger Lillies “point an implicit accusing finger back at us: what on Earth are we doing, laughing at this stuff?”. Their music is a mixture of pre-war Berlin cabaret, anarchic opera and gypsy music, echoing the voices of Bertolt Brecht and Jacques Brel. The Tiger Lillies shock, amuse and entertain in a postmodern vaudeville way, with their inimitable in-yer-face shows, where no limit should be taken for granted.
"The Tiger Lillies are an extraordinary three piece band with a large cult following. They are fronted by singer Martyn Jacques who trained himself as an opera singer with a castrati style voice of heartbreaking beauty, whilst living alone above a strip joint in Soho for seven years. Accompanied by drummer Adrian Huge, whose appearance was described by David Byrne as James Joyce on drums, and double bass player Adrian Stout, Jacques plays accordion and sings savage and passionate songs about prostitutes, drug addicts and losers, his voice soaring and growling like a man possessed. Ken Campbell has described him as "the criminal castrati", and with his dickensian style of dress, long pigtail and bowler hat, his corrosive lyrics and his astonishing voice, all the while singing with his eyes closed, he makes an indelible impression. Jacques sings about life at the bottom of contemporary Britain with the voice of an angel.
The music is a startling mixture of opera, gypsy song and left bank Paris, but what really marks out this band from any other is the emotional charge and raw passion of the delivery. Because they are impossible to pigeonhole, the band has not yet had a wide commercial success, despite being picked up by David Byrne, with performances at the South Bank, as well as festivals and foreign tours, but this cannot last for much longer as their reputation is spreading very fast in the art culture underworld.
Recently they returned from a tour of the Czech Republic, with wild stories about driving around in their moss covered old car to venues that ranged from roofless shacks in caravan parks to baroque theatres. At one place Jacques was accosted by a gypsy woman who accused him of seducing her daughter, only to discover it was just a ruse to steal his wallet."
Awards and Nominations
- Five Olivier Award nominations including two wins for their cult hit musical Shockheaded Peter
- Grammy Nomination "Best Classical Crossover Album" for their album The Gorey End (in collaboration with the Kronos Quartet and writer, illustrator Edward Gorey)
- Reumert Award nomination in the category Music Theatre/Show of the Year for their show The Tiger Lillies Perform Hamlet, produced by Copenhagen's Republique Theatre and directed by acclaimed Danish director Martin Tulinius
The Tiger Lillies are:
TASTE-TIPS:
The Tiger Lillies: Living Hell
The Tiger Lillies: Bully Boys - Live
The Tiger Lillies: Lulu - A Murder Ballad
The Tiger Lillies: Release Me
The Tiger Lillies: The heartbreaking "Alone"
The Tiger Lillies: Heroine and Cocaine
The Tiger Lillies: Crack of Doom
Doors: 20:00
Show: 20:30
Eintritt: 25.-
Kombi-Ticket: 65.- (3-Gang-Menü am 18:00 + Konzert-Eintritt)
Hinweis: Steh- und Sitzplätze, keine Platzreservation!
