Billy Childish
Billy Childish (actually William Charlie Hamper, born December 1, 1959 in Chatham , Kent ) is a British singer and producer of independent rock music. In addition to his musical projects, he is also active as a writer and painter. Childish was addicted to alcohol for several years. He practices Hatha Yoga and lives in Chatham.
music
He founded his first band, the punk band The Pop Rivets , in 1977. In the 1980s and 1990s, his bands The Milkshakes , Thee Mighty Caesars , Thee Headcoats and The Buff Medways , which differed from The Pop Rivets, celebrated international success in the indie sector clearly differentiated by the influences of blues and early rock 'n' roll . His current band, Billy Childish & Musicians Of The British Empire , has a similar focus. Billy Childish appears often as a music producer, among others for Die Goldenen Zitronen and Holly Golightly and runs the Hangman Records label.
His commercial success has always remained modest, probably also because he vehemently opposes the commercial music industry, rejects interviews with MTV and music magazines and publishes them exclusively on independent labels. Nevertheless, many well-known musicians such as The White Stripes , Die Toten Hosen and Graham Coxon name him as a source of inspiration.
Billy Childish is known for the speed with which he realizes his projects. He often records his records in less than two days and his pictures take less than an hour.
In 2005, director Larry Clark made a film based on his autobiography My Fault .
literature
Since the mid-1990s, Billy Childish has regularly published literature, both poetry and prose, that have been translated into several languages. They mostly appear in his own publishing house, Hangman Books.
Visual arts
Childish published his first woodcuts and paintings as early as the 1980s . His works are strictly in the tradition of classical modernism . At times, Childish was in a relationship with the well-known British artist Tracey Emin . At the end of the 1990s he founded the artist group The Stuckists , which takes action against the contemporary art mainstream in publicly effective actions. Childish has since left the group - also because it became too big and successful for him.
Works
Music albums (selection):
- 1979 Greatest Hits (with The Pop Rivets)
- 1981 Talkin 'Bout The Milkshakes (with The Milkshakes)
- 1984 The Milkshakes in Germany (with The Milkshakes)
- 1984 They Came They Saw They Conquered (with Thee Milkshakes)
- 1985 Beware The Ides Of March (with Thee Mighty Caesars)
- 1986 The Caesars of Trash (with Thee Mighty Caesars)
- 1990 Heavens to Murgatroyd, Even! Its Thee Headcoats Already! (with tea headcoats)
- 1991 50 albums Great
- 1999 In Blood (with Holly Golightly)
- 2003 1914 (with The Buff Medways)
- 2004 The Genius of Billy Childish
- 2005 Medway Wheelers
Books (selection):
- Notebooks of a Naked Youth . London: Sun Dog Press 1998.
- → German young man without clothes . Translated by Conny Lösch . With woodcuts by Billy Childish. Berlin: Maas 1999. ISBN 3-929010-59-3
- My fault . London: Virgin Publishing. ISBN 0-7535-1061-8
Web links
- Literature by and about Billy Childish in the catalog of the German National Library
- Homepage of Billy Childish's current band
- official homepage
- Billy Childish: "Dead artists speak to me" on eiskellerberg.tv (2011)
- Stuckism in German
- Stuckism international
- Billy Childish and the Buff Medways at westzeit.de
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Childish, Billy |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Hamper, William Charlie |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | British independent musician, author and painter |
| DATE OF BIRTH | December 1, 1959 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chatham , Kent |