The Frank and Walters

The Frank and Walters
The Franks performing in Cork in September 2009
Background information
Origin	Cork, Ireland
Genres	Alternative rock, Indie pop
Years active	1990–present
Labels	Setanta (1991) Go! Discs (1992) Fresh Indie Frontal Attack Records (2005)
Website	Fan Site
Members	Paul Linehan Ashley Keating Rory Murphy Cian Corbett
Past members	Niall Linehan Kevin Pedreschi

The Frank and Walters are an alternative rock band from Cork city in Ireland. The band was founded in 1990 and named in honour of two eccentric Cork characters.

The original band line-up included Paul Linehan (as vocalist/bassist), his brother Niall Linehan (as guitarist), and Ashley Keating (on drums).

Niall Linehan was replaced as guitarist in 2004 by Kevin Pedreschi, who was in-turn replaced by Rory Murphy in 2010. Cian Corbett joined on keyboard duties in 2005.

Signing for the Setanta label in 1991, the group debuted with the album EP1, and the lead track Fashion Crisis Hits New York became an indie hit. The follow-up EP EP.2 was released soon after, which was followed by the band's signing to the Go! Discs label where The Franks partnered with producer Edwyn Collins to record the Happy Busman EP. They found success in the UK, and following a tour in support of Carter USM, an Ian Broudie remix of the LP song After All reached the Top 20 in the UK Singles Chart, where it peaked at No. 11, and it also peaked at No. 5 in the Irish chart. The group appeared on BBC Television's Top of the Pops in support of the single.

After a long sabbatical which the band attributed to a "fear of music", the group returned with Grand Parade (with contributions from Gus Dudgeon) on 23 June 1997, and the Indian Ocean EP later in the year. This was followed with Beauty Becomes More Than Life in 1998 and Glass in 2000. Setanta released a well received Best Of in 2002. In 2004, Niall Linehan left and was replaced by a friend of the band, Kevin Pedreschi. The band signed a new deal with FIFA Records, and released a retrospective triple album, Souvenirs, in October 2005. A further album, A Renewed Interest In Happiness, was released on 27 October 2006. The band returned to the charts in 2010 by releasing a comeback single entitled The Parson, as part of their "Seasonal Single Releases" project, which saw the band release a single per season. The Parson launched as the spring season single, with Let it Out following in the summer, The Clock in the autumn, and a Christmas-themed Song For A Future Love in December.