Frazier Chorus

Frazier Chorus was formed in Brighton, England, by Tim Freeman (the brother of actors Martin Freeman and Jamie Freeman,^[3][4] on vocals and keyboards), Michéle Allardyce (percussion), Kate Holmes (flute) and Chris Taplin (clarinet, programming).^[5] Original names for the band included both Fishing For Clouds and Plop!,^[5] but the band eventually settled on Frazier Chorus, a phrase they'd seen on a jacket for the Frazier College football team's cheerleaders in the United States.^[6]

The band first signed to British indie record label 4AD^[7] and released the single "Sloppy Heart" in 1987.^[8] Shortly afterwards, they moved to Virgin Records and achieved chart success with a string of melodic pop songs taken from their 1989 debut album, Sue.^[7] Allardyce was eventually dismissed from the band.^[5]

Their second album, Ray, followed in 1991, and its singles were remixed by a number of top remixers, including Paul Oakenfold,^[7] Chad Jackson and Youth. Following the album's release, the band was let go from Virgin after the label was purchased by EMI and began purging a number of its artists; subsequently, Holmes and Taplin fired Freeman before ultimately disbanding entirely.^[6] Holmes later moved into electronica via the bands Sirenes, Technique, and Client.

Freeman took several years off and re-emerged in the mid-1990s, resurrecting the band name with permission from Holmes and Taplin.^[6] In 1995, Freeman released a mini-album as Frazier Chorus, Wide Awake, which did not reach the UK Albums Chart. He later released Monkey Spunk, a collection of five demos recorded prior to the sessions for Wide Awake, available exclusively via the band's website.^[9]

After leaving the band, Holmes became a member of the synthpop band Technique, before joining Dubstar's Sarah Blackwood in the electronic band CLIEͶT in the 2000s.^[10][11]