Chris Franklin Explained

Birth Date:16 September 1964
Birth Place:Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation:Comedian, sailor
Years Active:1997–present

Christopher Franklin (born 16 September 1964) is an Australian stand-up comedian[1] and former sailor for the Royal Australian Navy. He is most famous for performing the song "Bloke" (a bogan-style parody of Meredith Brooks' song "Bitch"), which was certified platinum,[2] reached No. 1 on the ARIA Charts, and was the twelfth-biggest-selling single in Australia in 2000.[3] He lives in Launceston, Tasmania.

Early life

Franklin was born in Sydney, and he lived from age 3 to 5 on Manus Island in Papua New Guinea. As a young adult, he spent eight years in the Royal Australian Navy as a chef, and he was one of seven chosen to cook for Queen Elizabeth II during her visit to Australia in the 1980s.[4] After this, Franklin quit the navy to take ten years off to travel Australia.

Entertainment career

Comedy career

Franklin has been performing comedy since October 1997. His accomplishments include:

Franklin has performed with numerous musicians and comedians, including Jimeoin, Steady Eddy, Garry Who, Carl Barron, Richard Stubbs, Elliot Goblet, Raymond J Bartholomew, Marty Fields, The Empty Pockets, John Robertson, Peter Rowsthorn, Bob Franklin, Stevie Starr, and Mr Methane.

During 2001, Franklin toured extensively with Steady Eddy in their live show Guess Who's Pissed. Franklin has also toured with The Radiators across Australia.

In 2006, a DVD was released called Let Bogans Be Bogans; it contains Chris Franklin's stand-up routine and video clips of his parody songs.[5]

Music

Franklin's first CD single, "Bloke", a parody of Meredith Brooks' song "Bitch", was released on 31 January 2000 through EMI Music Australia. The song reached number fifteen on the charts in its first week in and subsequently achieved number-one and platinum status with more than 120,000 sales. "Bloke" was the third-highest-selling single by an Australian artist of that year.[3] The song was nominated in two categories at the ARIA Music Awards of 2000; namely, "Best Comedy Release" and "Highest Selling Single".[6]

Franklin released a second single entitled "Mullet Head", a parody of the hit single "Gimme Head" by The Radiators, who perform live on the single. "Mullet Head" was nominated for "Best Comedy Release" at the ARIA Music Awards of 2001.[7]

In 2006, Franklin contributed the song "Here Come the Socceroos" as the B-side to the Freedom of Thought single "Green and Gold (Song for the Socceroos)", which peaked at number 26 on the ARIA charts.[8]

On 7 April 2020, Franklin released the single "Stay the F*** at Home" with supergroup "Chris Franklin & The Isolators" in collaboration with various Australian music artists in response to the Coronavirus pandemic.[9] [10]

Albums

Title! scope="col" style="width:16em;"
Album details
You Wouldn't Want Me Any Other Way
  • Released: April 2020
  • Label: A-List Entertainment
  • Format: Digital

Singles

Title! scope="col" rowspan="2"
YearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
AUS
"Bloke"20001 You Wouldn't Want Me Any Other Way
"Mullet Head"-
"Stay the Fuck at Home"2020-

Television

Franklin has also appeared on television, including:

Radio

Franklin is a regular guest on Zinc 100.7's Rockshow with Wildy.

Awards and nominations

ARIA Music Awards

The ARIA Music Awards is an annual awards ceremony that recognises excellence, innovation, and achievement across all genres of Australian music. They commenced in 1987.! |-|rowspan="2"|2000|rowspan="2"| "Bloke"| Highest Selling Single| |rowspan="2"|[12] |-| rowspan="2"| Best Comedy Release| |-|2001| "Mullet Head"| |[7] |-

Notes and References

  1. News: It takes a mullet to knock home the jokes. Moses. Alexa. 19 July 2002. The Sydney Morning Herald. 1 August 2012.
  2. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-accreditations-singles-2000.htm ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2000 Singles
  3. http://www.aria.com.au/pages/aria-charts-end-of-year-charts-top-100-singles-2000.htm ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2000
  4. Web site: Chris Franklin's been to Bagdad. Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 March 2020.
  5. Web site: Trove.
  6. Web site: 2000 Aria Nominations . 10 August 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235639/http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-year.php?year=2000 . 26 September 2007 . dead .
  7. http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history/year/2001 2001 Aria Nominations
  8. 108.
  9. Web site: COVID-19 Singles . 18 Dec 2022.
  10. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Stay The F*** At Home (Official Music Video) - Chris Franklin & The Isolators . YouTube.
  11. Australia. Chris Franklin. single. 2000. 20 April 2022.
  12. Web site: ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2000 . Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) . 21 March 2012 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20070926235639/http://www.ariaawards.com.au/history-by-year.php?year=2000 . 26 September 2007 .