Frank Chickens were a delightful anomaly in the timeline of 1980s British pop music. Formed around the core duo of musicians, artists, actors, and performance artists Kazuko Hohki and Kazumi Taguchi, a host of Japanese Londoners took part in a project that was part music, part performance theatre.
Named after a brand of Japanese pencil, Frank Chickens weaponised Japanese cultural stereotypes and kitsch aesthetics to skewer Western ignroance, as well as criticise certain Japanese social mores. Their uncategorizable brand of pop music, brimming with playful experimentation, was produced by UK art-pop and avant-garde legends David Toop and Steve Beresford, and set them apart from any novelty one hit wonders.
Selected and mixed by Rose Deluxe. Find the full tracklist and related episodes on NTS: https://www.nts.live/shows/in-focus/episodes/in-focus-frank-chickens-8th-may-2026
