Francis Dunnery (sometimes known as Frank; born on 25 December 1962, in Egremont, Cumbria, England) was a founder member of the 1980s band It Bites. Although he started on drums, he became the lead singer and guitarist of the group until he left in 1990. It Bites released three studio albums, The Big Lad in the Windmill (1986), Once Around the World (1988) and Eat Me in St Louis (1989). Their swansong final live album Thank You and Goodnight was released in 1990. It Bites' biggest hit was "Calling All the Heroes" in 1986, which reached #6 in the United Kingdom's Top 40. Since leaving It Bites, Dunnery has been a solo artist, recording six studio albums: Welcome to the Wild Country (1991), Fearless (1994), Tall Blonde Helicopter (1995), Let's Go Do What Happens (1998), Man (2001), The Gulley Flats Boys (2005). He has performed regularly in both the U.S. and the UK. His biggest solo hit was "American Life in the Summertime". Live, he often performs stripped down acoustic arrangements and is known for his intimate audience relationship, talking at length between songs about the songs and their often deep personal meaning, as exemplified in his 1995 live album, "One Night in Sauchiehall Street". Dunnery is also the inventor of the guitar based instrument called the tapboard which used parts of a shower hose and an egg timer. Francis Dunnery was approached to join Genesis, post-Phil Collins, but refused. He contributed backing vocals to Anderson Bruford Wakeman Howe's eponymous album. He rehearsed with The Syn for an abortive tour in 2005. http://www.francisdunnery.com/ http://www.facebook.com/pages/Francis-Dunnery/44801666248 http://www.myspace.com/francisdunnerymusic