WMM welcomes FANNY + CHER U.K.

Wednesday MidDay Medley
Produced and Hosted by Mark Manning
Wednesday, October 5, 2022

FANNY: The first, and all-time best, all-girl rock band + Mike McCoy, Heather Grehan, & Lisa McKenzie of Cher U.K.

Mark spins More New & MidCoastal Releases from: Scruffy & The Janitors, Other Americans, Katy Guillen & The Drive, Ivory Blue, Cher U.K., Fanny, Charlotte Adigéry & Bolis Pupul, Danger Mouse & Black Thought with Michael Kiwanuka.

At 10:30 we talk with guitarist & singer Mike McCoy, bassist Heather Grehan, and drummer Lisa McKenzie about their special Cher U.K. Reunion Shows on Friday, October 7 at Liberty Hall in Lawrence, Kansas, and Saturday, October 9 at The Ship, 1221 Union in The West Bottoms, KCMO with Danger Bob, and The Bubble Boys. This is the Cher U.K. lineup that put out numerous singles, two Red Decibel albums and wreaked havoc on stages across the country. Cher U.K. was signed to Red Decibel in 1993 after Brent Ashley, head of promotions at Red Decibel saw them in Kansas City. Their first album, SHE’S A WIERD LITTLE SNACK, was released on October 12, 1993, followed by GO-GO FISH, released in November 1994. While the albums featured such classics as “College Song,” “Go-Go,” and “Kibbles’n’ Bitz,” it’s the live shows that always attracted the most attention. Angie Scharnhorst of the KC Star probably described them as a “neo-punk trio combining screaming, almost disembodied vocals with staccato rhythms, and a guitar that seems to throb with a life of its own.” Bassist Heather Grehan stated, “We spent far too much time in a smelly van playing every show we could, while getting paid far too little. But it was a great adventure filled with wild, fun times and a lot of laughs, and we met so many wonderful people along the way.”

At 11:11 Mark welcomes members of the legendary band Fanny who are in KC for their new documentary film and concert at recordBar. The Film Society KC in partnership with Midwest Music Foundation and the Filipino Association of Greater Kansas City present a screening of their documentary, FANNY: THE RIGHT TO ROCK at Screenland Armour, 408 Armour Rd, North Kansas City, MO on Oct 4, at 7:00 PM, with Fanny band members, June Millington, Brie Howard-Darling, and Patti Quattro in attendance! Held in tandem with a one-night-only reunion concert from Fanny+ (June Millington, Brie Howard-Darling, Patti Quatro, and Mia Huggins) with Katy Guillen and the Drive opening the show, at recordBar, 1520 Grand Ave, KCMO, on Wednesday, October 5, Doors at 6:00 PM. FANNY was the first all-female rock act to record an entire album for a major record label, and in fact recorded and released five albums for major labels.

FANNY was the first all-female rock act to rise to real prominence in the US and Europe. Acknowledged by both the press and their many fans as an awesome live act – in the words of Steve Peacock, a top UK music journalist of the era, “if you close your eyes, it’s like listening to the Stones” – FANNY toured tirelessly for up to nine months of every year. In a career that stretched from 1970 to 1975, they had a string of hit singles and also played on the studio recordings of some legendary artists. In addition to their many live gigs, they performed on top music and variety television shows of the time, including The Old Grey Whistle Test, the Sonny and Cher Show, American Bandstand and The Beat Club, Germany’s most famous band program. “One of the most important female bands in American rock has been buried without a trace. And that is Fanny… Revivify Fanny and I will feel that my work is done.” — David Bowie. More info at: www.fannyrocks.com

Show #962

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