Speyside punk band The Fragz say landing a prestigious slot at the legendary Rebellion Festival is a “dream come true”,
The four-piece, with members from Buckie and Keith, were left in dreamland when confirmation of their slot at Britain’s biggest punk festival landed.
One of Europe’s top punk gatherings Rebellion Festival runs at Blackpool Winter Gardens from Thursday August 1 to Sunday August 4.
The Fragz will share a festival bill with punk legends such as The Stranglers, Sham 69, Stiff Little Fingers and UK Subs.
It marks a remarkable rise for a group of “outsiders” who started as a covers band playing local pubs.
They took a leap of faith in deciding to write and play their own music and it has paid off with recognition by Rebellion Festival.
The Fragz will launch their new self-titled album with a headline show on Saturday (May 11) at The Bandstand in Nairn.
Singer AJ said: “Playing Rebellion Festival was a dream for us and we thought it was possibly an unreachable goal.
“We found out on a Sunday night at 10.30 via email that we had been accepted so it was a tough job to get to sleep for work in the morning.
“It is the gig of all gigs and has opened up other doors for us.
“We don’t want to just play Rebellion and that’s it.
“We want to use it as a massive platform.
“The Fragz are outsiders and Rebellion Festival is justification for the hard work we have put in.
“It is wild and still hasn’t sunk in.”
Leap of faith in playing own songs
The Fragz recently released single Intimate on streaming platforms, the follow up to Dance Tune which was also released this year.
Singer AJ and guitarist Ali are both from Keith whist drummer Dave and bassist Jim are from Buckie.
Drummer Dave said: “It’s a dream come true as we never thought we would get to Rebellion Festival.
“When the confirmation came through I couldn’t believe it.
“We were quite well known in the local cover scene so to stop doing that to focus on our own songs was a risk.”
‘Mind blowing’ slot at Rebellion
Other punk legends confirmed for Rebellion Festival this year are Subhumans, The Dwarves, Lydia Lunch, G.B.H, Dead Boys and many more.
Guitarist Ali said: “I’ve wanted to go to Rebellion for years but I never thought the first time I went I would be playing.
“It’s the biggest punk festival in the UK and one of the top ones in Europe.
“To be chosen to play it is mind blowing.”
‘We can’t sell out Keith but we can probably get a gig in Brazil’
The Fragz fame has rocketed since landing the Rebellion Festival slot and the band now boast a strong following as far afield as Brazil and Mexico.
Singer AJ is grateful for the power of streaming platforms that can deliver the music of punks from Speyside to the other side of the world.
Dundee on Saturday w/ 8-Bit Psycho and A Murder Of Crowes👻‼️ #NewMusic #NewMusicAlert #punk #punkrock #dundee #ukmusic #newsong #newsingle #punkbrasil #punkbrasilia #Glasgow #aberdeen #Inverness #Scotland #Scottish #livemusic #gig pic.twitter.com/OkPSJ13kkS
— The Fragz🏴 (@TheFragzBand) April 21, 2024
He said: “We are not political and sing about everyday stuff.
“We have a song about neeps.
“Strangely we are quite big in Brazil and some of our early songs did well in Mexico.
“It could be coincidental but there’s a large Brazilian contingent playing at Rebellion.
“A lot of bands playing Rebellion share each other’s stuff as the punk community is really close that way.
“Three places have placed on play-lists and two them are Brazilian.
“We can’t sell out Keith but we can probably get a gig in Brazil,” he laughed.
“When you hear big bands criticize streaming platforms it is the total opposite for us.
“We are four guys who went to Captain Tom’s in Aberdeen to record an album and singles.
“Now we are getting heaps of hits in London, Brazil, Mexico and Germany.
“That platform puts our music global which is massive for us whereas bigger bands look at it that they are not getting money.”
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