Kinky Friedman & the Texas Jewboys

Richard S. 'Kinky' Friedman is an American singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician and former columnist for Texas monthly.

His first ever band King Arthur and the Carrots formed whilst he was a student at the University of Texas. The band, which poked fun at surf music, recorded only one single in 1966 titled 'Schwinn 24/ Beach Party Boo Boo'.

1971 saw the formation of his second band: Kinky Friedman and the Texas Jewboys. Each member had a comical name in keeping with the satirical nature of the band. Alongside Kinky (a reference to his curly hair) there was Little Jewford, Big Nig, Panama Red, Rainbow Colours and Snakebite Jacobs. Friedman's father objected to the name of the band, calling it a 'negative, hostile, peculiar thing' giving Kinky even more reason to choose the name.

Friedman originally found cult fame as a country and western singer. In 1974 he released 'Kinky Friedman' on ABC Records and then went on to tour with Bob Dylan in 1975-6.

After his music career stalled in the eighties, Friedman found a new lease on life as a detective novelist. His books have similarities to his music, featuring a fictionalized version of himself solving crimes in New York City and dispensing jokes, wisdom, recipes, Texan charm and Jameson's whiskey in equal measure. They are written in a straightforward style, which owes a debt to Raymond Chandler. To date, he has written only one novel that does not feature the Kinky Friedman character.

He has released ten full-length studio albums to date. February 2007 saw the release of a compilation album by Sustain Records that showcases some of the songs of Kinky Friedman covered by other artists and is titled 'Why The Hell Not'. The compilation includes contributions by Dwight Yoakum, Willie Nelson, Lyle Lovett and Kelly Willis.

Kinky Friedman will be performing live at Manchester academy 3 on Sunday 1st June.