The Fantastic Leslie
Encyclopedia
The Fantastic Leslie were a four-piece band from Sydney, Australia
and was the starting point for three of Australia
's popular and successful comedian
s and musician
s.
, Andrew Hansen
, Tom Gleeson and James Fletcher, who were all studying at Sydney University. Hansen was the guitarist
, played the kazoo
and was one of the vocalists, Bruce's expertise lay in the field of playing piano
and vocals, Gleeson was the drummer
and Fletcher played bass
.
They released their debut and only recording, an EP
, A Tiny Mark, on 1 July 1999. A Tiny Mark consisted of six tracks - five original tracks as well as 'Moving Right Along', a song from The Muppet Movie
. It was produced
by Michael Carpenter, mastered by Don Bartley, and distributed through MGM Distribution
.
Tom Gleeson left the band in September 2000 to pursue his comedy career, and was replaced by Bruce Braybrooke. Gleeson went on to perform in skitHOUSE
, as well as numerous Australian Comedy Tours, Melbourne International Comedy Festival
s and Adelaide Fringe Festival
s.
The band recorded only two other released tracks: "The Fantastic Leslie Theme Song" and a cover of the Nick Drake
song, "At the Chime of the City Clock". These were respectively released on Grow Your Own 2000 and Jeremy Flies; A Tribute to Nick Drake.
They split in about 2003, when they were beginning to actively pursue their own careers. In an interview with The Age
Hansen admitted he was a frustrated musician and related to his times with The Fantastic Leslie.
is a member of The Chaser
team, who have produced six TV shows, Andrew being in five of them, including Logie Award
winning CNNNN and AFI Award
winning The Chaser's War on Everything
, as well as three musical
s/stage show
s, including The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour which toured Australia in 2008.
Cameron Bruce, after leaving The Fantastic Leslie, joined Karma County
as part of the backing band for a Carole King
Tribute show, Tapestry. He has also been a part-time floating member of Pinky Beecroft’s White Russians, and the Beautiful Girls
. He was a third of comedy/musical trio GUD
, along with Paul McDermott
and Mick Moriarty, and progressed onto playing in his own and Paul Kelly's band
, and playing keyboards for both Good News Week
and The Sideshow
.
Bruce Braybrooke is now the drummer in The Beautiful Girls
.
James Fletcher is now working as a news reporter for the BBC Radio
in London
.
There are currently no plans for a reunion. Gleeson has said that they are all booked until February 2009, while Fletcher has said that nothing is impossible when it comes to a gig.
Andrew Hansen
, Tom Gleeson and Cameron Bruce appeared together on an episode of GNW
on the 19th of October 2009 playing in the segment, Strange but True.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
and was the starting point for three of Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
's popular and successful comedian
Comedian
A comedian or comic is a person who seeks to entertain an audience, primarily by making them laugh. This might be through jokes or amusing situations, or acting a fool, as in slapstick, or employing prop comedy...
s and musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
s.
Biography
The group formed in 1999, with Cameron BrucePaul Kelly's bands and members
Paul Kelly is an Australian rock musician, he started his career in 1974 in Hobart, Tasmania and has performed as a solo artist, in bands as a member or has led bands named after himself. Some backing bands recorded their own material under alternate names, Professor Ratbaggy and Stardust Five,...
, Andrew Hansen
Andrew Hansen
Andrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, Tom Gleeson and James Fletcher, who were all studying at Sydney University. Hansen was the guitarist
Guitarist
A guitarist is a musician who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselves on the guitar while singing.- Versatility :The guitarist controls an extremely...
, played the kazoo
Kazoo
The kazoo is a wind instrument which adds a "buzzing" timbral quality to a player's voice when the player vocalizes into it. The kazoo is a type of mirliton, which is a membranophone, a device which modifies the sound of a person's voice by way of a vibrating membrane."Kazoo" was the name given by...
and was one of the vocalists, Bruce's expertise lay in the field of playing piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and vocals, Gleeson was the drummer
Drummer
A drummer is a musician who is capable of playing drums, which includes but is not limited to a drum kit and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a...
and Fletcher played bass
Bass guitar
The bass guitar is a stringed instrument played primarily with the fingers or thumb , or by using a pick....
.
They released their debut and only recording, an EP
Extended play
An EP is a musical recording which contains more music than a single, but is too short to qualify as a full album or LP. The term EP originally referred only to specific types of vinyl records other than 78 rpm standard play records and LP records, but it is now applied to mid-length Compact...
, A Tiny Mark, on 1 July 1999. A Tiny Mark consisted of six tracks - five original tracks as well as 'Moving Right Along', a song from The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie
The Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
. It was produced
Record producer
A record producer is an individual working within the music industry, whose job is to oversee and manage the recording of an artist's music...
by Michael Carpenter, mastered by Don Bartley, and distributed through MGM Distribution
MGM Distribution
MGM Distribution is the largest independent distributor of Australian music and music related merchandise and was established in April 1998 by Sebastian Chase....
.
Tom Gleeson left the band in September 2000 to pursue his comedy career, and was replaced by Bruce Braybrooke. Gleeson went on to perform in skitHOUSE
SkitHOUSE
skitHOUSE was an Australian sketch comedy television series that ran on Network Ten from 9 February, 2003 to 28 July, 2004. The series was produced by Roving Enterprises. It featured many well-known Australian comedians, including comedy-band Tripod. Reruns can now be seen on The Comedy Channel on...
, as well as numerous Australian Comedy Tours, Melbourne International Comedy Festival
Melbourne International Comedy Festival
The Melbourne International Comedy Festival is the third-largest international comedy festival in the world and the largest cultural event in Australia. Established in 1987, it takes place annually in Melbourne over four weeks in April typically opening on or around April Fool's Day...
s and Adelaide Fringe Festival
Adelaide Fringe Festival
The Adelaide Fringe Festival is an arts festival held annually in the South Australian capital of Adelaide. The event is the Southern Hemisphere's largest arts event and the second-largest fringe festival in the world, second in size only to the Edinburgh Fringe...
s.
The band recorded only two other released tracks: "The Fantastic Leslie Theme Song" and a cover of the Nick Drake
Nick Drake
Nicholas Rodney "Nick" Drake was an English singer-songwriter and musician. Though he is best known for his sombre guitar based songs, Drake was also proficient at piano, clarinet and saxophone...
song, "At the Chime of the City Clock". These were respectively released on Grow Your Own 2000 and Jeremy Flies; A Tribute to Nick Drake.
They split in about 2003, when they were beginning to actively pursue their own careers. In an interview with The Age
The Age
The Age is a daily broadsheet newspaper, which has been published in Melbourne, Australia since 1854. Owned and published by Fairfax Media, The Age primarily serves Victoria, but is also available for purchase in Tasmania, the Australian Capital Territory and border regions of South Australia and...
Hansen admitted he was a frustrated musician and related to his times with The Fantastic Leslie.
Post Leslie
Andrew HansenAndrew Hansen
Andrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
is a member of The Chaser
The Chaser
The Chaser are an Australian satirical comedian group, known for their television programmes on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation channel. The group take their name from their production of satirical newspaper, a publication known to challenge conventions of taste...
team, who have produced six TV shows, Andrew being in five of them, including Logie Award
Logie Award
The TV Week Logie Awards are the Australian television industry awards, which have been presented annually since 1959. Renamed by Graham Kennedy in 1960 after he won the first 'Star Of The Year' award, the name 'Logie' awards honours John Logie Baird, a Scotsman who invented the television as a...
winning CNNNN and AFI Award
Australian Film Institute Awards
The Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts Award, known as the AACTA Award , is an accolade presented annually by the Australian Academy of Cinema and Television Arts . The awards recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry and television industry, including directors,...
winning The Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything
The Chaser's War on Everything is an Australian television satirical comedy series broadcast on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation television station ABC1. It has won an AFI Award. The cast perform sketches mocking social and political issues, and often feature comedic publicity stunts...
, as well as three musical
Musical theatre
Musical theatre is a form of theatre combining songs, spoken dialogue, acting, and dance. The emotional content of the piece – humor, pathos, love, anger – as well as the story itself, is communicated through the words, music, movement and technical aspects of the entertainment as an...
s/stage show
Stage Show
Stage Show was a popular music variety series on American television originally hosted on alternate weeks by big band leaders and brothers Tommy and Jimmy Dorsey. Produced by Jackie Gleason, the CBS-TV show included the first national television appearances by Elvis Presley.The series began as a...
s, including The Chaser's Age of Terror Variety Hour which toured Australia in 2008.
Cameron Bruce, after leaving The Fantastic Leslie, joined Karma County
Karma County
Karma County is an Australian music group who formed in 1995. They consist of Drummer Stuart Eadie, who also creates and co-ordinates the band's visual imagery , singer/guitarist Brendan Gallagher, who also produces the music, and bassist Michael Galeazzi.-Melody deal:In early 1999 the band signed...
as part of the backing band for a Carole King
Carole King
Carole King is an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. King and her former husband Gerry Goffin wrote more than two dozen chart hits for numerous artists during the 1960s, many of which have become standards. As a singer, King had an album, Tapestry, top the U.S...
Tribute show, Tapestry. He has also been a part-time floating member of Pinky Beecroft’s White Russians, and the Beautiful Girls
The Beautiful Girls
The Beautiful Girls are an Australian band, predominantly playing roots music. They have released three EPs, Morning Sun, Goodtimes and Weight Of The World. Plus four full length albums, Learn Yourself, We're Already Gone, Ziggurats and Spooks. They played at Dusty Days on 15 March 2008 in Wagga...
. He was a third of comedy/musical trio GUD
GUD (band)
GUD is an Australian comedic music-based trio composed of Paul McDermott, previously of the Doug Anthony All Stars, former Gadflys guitarist Mick Moriarty, and Club Luna Band keyboard player Cameron Bruce...
, along with Paul McDermott
Paul McDermott (comedian)
Paul McDermott is an Australian comedian, actor, writer, director, singer, artist and television host. He currently hosts the satirical news-based 'Good News World' a follow up to quiz show Good News Week which airs in Australia on Network Ten...
and Mick Moriarty, and progressed onto playing in his own and Paul Kelly's band
Paul Kelly (musician)
Paul Maurice Kelly is an Australian rock music singer-songwriter, guitarist, and harmonica player. He has performed solo, and has led numerous groups, including the Dots, the Coloured Girls, and the Messengers. He has worked with other artists and groups, including associated projects Professor...
, and playing keyboards for both Good News Week
Good News Week
Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that initially aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and resumed on 11 February 2008 to 9 May 2011. The show aired first on ABC TV before it was bought by Network Ten in 1999...
and The Sideshow
The Sideshow
The Sideshow was an Australian television programme that was broadcast on ABC TV in 2007. The show was a mixture of stand-up comedy, sketches, live music, circus stunts, cabaret and burlesque. The hour long show was hosted by Paul McDermott...
.
Bruce Braybrooke is now the drummer in The Beautiful Girls
The Beautiful Girls
The Beautiful Girls are an Australian band, predominantly playing roots music. They have released three EPs, Morning Sun, Goodtimes and Weight Of The World. Plus four full length albums, Learn Yourself, We're Already Gone, Ziggurats and Spooks. They played at Dusty Days on 15 March 2008 in Wagga...
.
James Fletcher is now working as a news reporter for the BBC Radio
BBC Radio
BBC Radio is a service of the British Broadcasting Corporation which has operated in the United Kingdom under the terms of a Royal Charter since 1927. For a history of BBC radio prior to 1927 see British Broadcasting Company...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
.
There are currently no plans for a reunion. Gleeson has said that they are all booked until February 2009, while Fletcher has said that nothing is impossible when it comes to a gig.
Andrew Hansen
Andrew Hansen
Andrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, Tom Gleeson and Cameron Bruce appeared together on an episode of GNW
Good News Week
Good News Week is an Australian satirical panel game show hosted by Paul McDermott that initially aired from 19 April 1996 to 27 May 2000, and resumed on 11 February 2008 to 9 May 2011. The show aired first on ABC TV before it was bought by Network Ten in 1999...
on the 19th of October 2009 playing in the segment, Strange but True.
Tracks
- "Sea Shanty" was "Not strictly a sea shanty in the original pirate meaning of the term. More a pop/rock toe-tapper."
- "First World Blues", composed and sung by Andrew HansenAndrew HansenAndrew John Hansen is an Australian comedian and musician, best known for being a member of satirical team The Chaser...
, was about how "People in the first world have their own problems. Having no souls, for instance." - "Great Life", also composed and sung by Andrew Hansen, was "about how tough everything is, but how rock n roll makes it all better again." He aimed to give the song an Australian rock and roll feel.
- "Weatherman", was written and performed by Cameron Bruce. In an interview, it was revealed it was inspired by how "I once knew a guy who left nothing to chance. He used to plan his days around the weather and what he would eat for lunch. Now he wears a suit."
- "Turning to Gold", which Cameron Bruce described as about "...that I hardly recognise the things that I see, I hardly know who this is talking to me...and those exact same words are used in the song."
- "Moving Right Along" was a "song from The Muppet MovieThe Muppet MovieThe Muppet Movie is the first of a series of live-action musical feature films starring Jim Henson's Muppets. Released in 1979, the film was produced by Henson Associates, Children's Television Workshop and ITC Entertainment....
. You just tap your shoes, shake your booty, shut your eyes and think of FozzieFozzie BearFozzie Bear is a Muppet, created by Jim Henson. He is an orange, particularly fuzzy bear who works as a stand-up comic and has a catchphrase, "Wocka Wocka Wocka". Shortly after telling the joke, he is usually the target of rotten tomatoes and ridicule, especially from hecklers Statler and Waldorf...
", according to Cameron Bruce.
Contributions
- Grow Your Own - Vol. 5 Foghorn Records (2000) - "The Fantastic Leslie Theme Song"
- Jeremy Flies: A Tribute To Nick Drake - Arcadia Records (2003) - ""At the Chime of the City Clock"