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Glen Hansard: We're called 'The Frames' because of bikes robbed from town

Hansard won the Academy Award for Best Original Song with Markéta Irglová for 'Falling Slowly' from the film 'Once'
Jack Quann
Jack Quann

18.47 2 Jun 2023


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Glen Hansard: We're called 'Th...

Glen Hansard: We're called 'The Frames' because of bikes robbed from town

Jack Quann
Jack Quann

18.47 2 Jun 2023


Share this article


The Frames singer Glen Hansard has said the band's name came from his love of bikes - some of which may have been stolen.

The Irish rock band band has been influential in the Dublin music scene, with members also perusing solo projects.

Hansard won the Academy Award for Best Original Song with Markéta Irglová for 'Falling Slowly' from the film 'Once'.

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Hansard told Moncrieff how his love of bikes gave the band its name.

"I was living in France for a little bit and I began to go to flea markets and I was buying those little mobilettes," he said.

"The original mopeds, which is literally a bicycle with an engine that starts up as you cycle.

"Me and a couple of my young neighbours, two beautiful Traveller lads, got kind of obsessed with them.

"We started collecting them and fixing them up.

"That's been kind of my release valve for the last couple of years".

Hansard said his mother wasn't always happy about it.

"Our house was known as the house with all the frames out the back," he said.

"It was known as the frames house, so that kind of became a natural name for the band.

"My mother would occasionally just throw them out in the lane and get rid of most of them".

Hansard said not everything was always above board.

"What used to happen in Ballymun was bikes would get robbed in town, and then they end up coming back to our house," he said

"We'd have to change out saddles and handlebars and paint them.

"It was all very innocent at the time, but that's what would happen.

"So if anyone's missing a bike since about 1979, that was probably us," he added.

Listen back here:

Main image: Glen Hansard and Colm Mac Con Iomaire of The Frames speak to Sean Moncrieff in Cork. Picture by: Newstalk

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