Mark Fry

Mark Fry (born 4 November 1952) is an English painter and psychedelic folk musician. He is best known for his album Dreaming With Alice, released in 1972, which has been hailed as a psychedelic folk classic by critics and a diverse range of musicians. An original copy of the album sold for $4,061 in 2013.

Early life

Mark Lewis Fry was born in Epping, Essex, into a family of artists descended from the Quaker founders of the Bristol-based chocolate business J. S. Fry & Sons. His father is the painter Anthony Fry. Mark Fry is a cousin of Roger Fry, the artist, critic and member of the Bloomsbury Group.

Fry was educated at Dartington Hall School in Devon. On leaving Dartington in 1970 he enrolled at the Accademia delle Belle Arti in Florence, Italy, where he studied painting under the Futurist Primo Conti.

Dreaming With Alice

During Fry's time in Italy he was introduced to the record producer Vincenzo Micocci. On hearing some of Fry's songs, Micocci signed him to record label IT Dischi, a subsidiary of RCA. Dreaming with Alice was recorded by Fry and a band of session musicians in Rome over a three-day period in the summer of 1971. Following the recording session Fry toured Italy supporting singer Lucio Dalla.