Firesign Theatre Biography
Formed in Los Angeles, California, USA in 1966, this satirical comedy troupe comprises Philip Proctor, Peter Bergman, David Ossman and Philip Austin. The quartet's work drew on a multitude of disparate sources, encompassing 30s radio serials, W.C. Fields, Lord Buckley, the Marx Brothers and contemporary politics. Their surreal humour found favour with the late 60s' "underground" audience, but despite punning wordplay and sharp wit, many cultural references were too obtuse for widespread appeal. Produced by Gary Usher, they were used to provide the spectacular gunshot effects on "Draft Morning" on the Byrds' The Notorious Byrd Brothers. They subsequently completed the film script for Zacharia (1970), "the first electric Western", but the final draft bore little relation to their original intention. A series of adventurous albums, including How Can You Be In Two Places At Once When You're Not Anywhere At All?, Don't Crush That Dwarf, Hand Me The Pliers and I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus are among the quartet's most popular collections, while Dear Friends included several highlights from their radio shows.
During the 70s the group also pursued independent projects, with Ossman recording How Time Flies (1973), Austin The Roller Maidens From Outer Space (1974), and Proctor and Bergman completing TV Or Not TV (1973), What This Country Needs (1975) and Give Us A Break (1978). Their prolific output slackened towards the end of the decade, but the Firesign Theatre subsequently found a sympathetic haven at Rhino Records. Another series of excellent albums ensued, before the group began transferring their routines to video. The Firesign Theatre reunited in 1993 for live performances captured on Back From The Shadows. The quartet began recording new studio albums again in the late 90s, which like much of their earlier work ranged from the inspired (Give Me Immortality Or Give Me Death) to the just plain unfunny (Boom Dot Bust).
Source: The Encyclopedia of Popular Music by Colin Larkin. Licensed from Muze.
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