Performance art collective Frank Chickens win Comedy God poll.
Japanese art collective Frank Chickens have won the Foster's Comedy God Award at the Edinburgh Fringe, fighting off competition from household names such as Michael McIntyre, Russell Howard and Tim Minchin.
A total of 172 acts nominated for 'Best Comedy' or 'Best Newcomer' over the past three decades were eligible for the title in the new 'public voted' category. In the end, the obscure performance art collective, runners-up for 'Best Comedy' in 1984, claimed the victory after 30,000 members of the public, took part in a series of Facebook and Twitter campaigns, pledging for a little-known act to be recognised.
Edinburgh veteran Stewart Lee kicked off the lobbying when he sent a furious e-mail to competition organisers calling the corporate stunt 'farcical' and questioning who under 30 would have heard of The Frank Chickens "who for all anyone knows may be the best act on the list?"
Having toured with Hank Wangford and Billy Bragg over the years, the Frank Chickens have had numerous line-up changes over the years but have continued to perform sporadically. Founder Kazuko Hohki commented on the group's success in the competition saying: "commercialisation tends to lead art to some boring places. Even if I wasn't in Frank Chickens, I'd be pleased to see this happening, because it's Dadaist and anti-establishment".
The award has been commemorated with each comedian being transformed into a portrait made solely of more than 3,500 empty Foster's cans. South London art collective, Pixel Art, spent a staggering 280 hours creating the portraits.
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