Fat and Frantic

Fat and Frantic

Fat and Frantic are a group from the United Kingdom who play a mixture of gospel and skiffle, which they call “goffle”. They are also associated with a punk-and-skiffle blend described as “piffle”. The band performs under the name Rev Softly when it reappears for occasional concerts.

History

The group is active between 1985 and 1992, with a one-off reunion performance in 1998. It appears frequently at Greenbelt, also plays occasional UK tours, appears at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, and performs at all-girls schools.

The band splits soon after a failed attempt to re-record “Brian” as the Nottingham Forest Cup Final Single for 1991, which leaves it broke.

Members

Fat and Frantic consists of Jim Harris on vocals and trumpet, Silas Crawley on vocals and washboard, Jon “Fat” Soper on vocals and guitar, Craig “Tuff” McLeish on bass, and Simon Saunders on drums.

Recordings and reception

The single “Last Night My Wife Hoovered My Head” receives Radio 1 airplay after being championed by Simon Mayo in his early Radio 1 period, but it stalls just outside the Top 100. The follow-up releases also fall short of the charts.

The group’s albums are available on download sites, and a song titled “Paradise” is issued as a new single.

Later activities

Jim Harris works as a clergyman in the Church of England. Silas Crawley runs a youth club in Bristol for eight years, then works in drug rehabilitation and with a church for the homeless. Jim is acting and fathering. Simon Saunders is a carpenter. Craig “Tuff” McLeish remarries and works in arranging and producing for a company called Crazletown.