Roddy Frame (born January 29, 1964 in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, Scotland) is the founder of the 1980s Scottish indie band, Aztec Camera. They released their first album, High Land, Hard Rain, when Frame was aged nineteen. It spawned the hit single Oblivious, and Aztec Camera were recognised as one of the key acts on Glasgow’s Postcard record label, along with Orange Juice and Josef K.
Frame later signed to Rough Trade. Aztec Camera’s biggest hit was 1987’s Somewhere In My Heart, which reached number 3 in the UK singles chart and is still a staple of FM radio. Frame duetted with one of his musical heroes, Mick Jones of The Clash, on his 1990 single Good Morning Britain, which showcased an overtly political streak that sometimes featured in his work. He also recorded with the Japanese composer, Ryuichi Sakamoto. Aztec Camera disbanded in 1996 after the release of their final album Frestonia.
Frame is now pursuing a solo career. His first solo album The North Star came out in 1998 and featured the single Reason for Living. There was a change of gear for 2002’s Surf, an album of acoustic songs that attracted widespread critical acclaim and was generally seen as a return to Frame’s best songwriting form. The track Small World was used as the theme music to the BBC TV comedy series, Early Doors. Frame also made his first-ever appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003. His most recent album Western Skies was released in May 2006. |
