Pixies

The Pixies are an American alternative rock band who formed in Boston in 1986. The original line-up was Black Francis on vocals and rhythm guitar, Joey Santiago on lead guitar, Kim Deal on bass and vocals, and David Lovering on drums. Their sound draws on punk and surf rock, and is built around sudden swings between loud and quiet. Francis wrote most of the songs, with surreal lyrics about subjects such as extraterrestrials and biblical violence.

After the mini-LP Come On Pilgrim in 1987, they made Surfer Rosa, Doolittle, Bossanova and Trompe le Monde, with Doolittle and Surfer Rosa the best known. They split in 1993, having found only modest success in the US but a bigger following in the UK and Europe. Their reputation kept growing, and they reunited in 2004 for sold-out tours. Deal left in 2012, and more albums followed, most recently The Night the Zombies Came in 2024. Nirvana, Radiohead and Weezer are among those they influenced.