Chris Franklin

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.

Chris Franklin
Born
Christopher Franklin

(1964-09-16) 16 September 1964
Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Occupation(s)Comedian, sailor
Years active1997–present

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:

  • PBS Radio Golden Stom Award for Best Up & Coming Comedian
  • National Triple J Raw Comedy winner for Best New Comedian
  • Grand Finalist National Green Faces competition in Canberra
  • Third prize — The Comedy Hotel Sydney's "Night of Nights"

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
List of compilation albums, with selected details
Title Album details
You Wouldn't Want Me Any Other Way
  • Released: April 2020
  • Label: A-List Entertainment
  • Format: Digital

Singles
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
AUS
[3]
"Bloke" 2000 1 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.

Year Nominee / work Award Result Ref.
2000 "Bloke" Highest Selling Single Nominated [12]
Best Comedy Release Nominated
2001 "Mullet Head" Nominated [7]

References
  1. Moses, Alexa (19 July 2002). "It takes a mullet to knock home the jokes". The Sydney Morning Herald. Retrieved 1 August 2012.
  2. ARIA Charts - Accreditations - 2000 Singles Archived 20 April 2009 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ARIA Charts - End Of Year Charts - Top 100 Singles 2000 Archived 27 July 2010 at the Wayback Machine
  4. "Chris Franklin's been to Bagdad". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 13 March 2020.
  5. "Trove".
  6. "2000 Aria Nominations". Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 10 August 2012.
  7. 2001 Aria Nominations
  8. Ryan, Gavin (2011). Australia's Music Charts 1988–2010 (PDF ed.). Mt Martha, Victoria, Australia: Moonlight Publishing. p. 108.
  9. "COVID-19 Singles". Retrieved 18 December 2022.
  10. Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine: Stay The F*** At Home (Official Music Video) - Chris Franklin & The Isolators. YouTube.
  11. "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 2000 Singles" (PDF). Australian Recording Industry Association. Retrieved 20 April 2022.
  12. "ARIA Awards – History: Winners by Year 2000". Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA). Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 21 March 2012.
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