The Tiger Lillies
present the human world
in its terrible, but natural grotesqueness
with minimal instrumentation &
maximal satirical ability
in their peculiar style
which recalls the pre-Nazi cabarets of Berlin
in Budapest on Oct 8 at MÜPA
Their songs’ themes are determined by a special circumstance. The founder, vocalist and accordionist, Martyn Jacques spent much of his early years living above a brothel in London’s Soho. His songs describe pimps, prostitutes, drug addicts, losers and other unsavoury characters in their lurid details. And these details are so commonly lurid, and the words are so vulgar, that often some audience members walk out of his shows. „It’s always funny when people are offended by what I do … after all, I’m just an entertainer” – said Jacques, who dropped out of theology and philosophy course for the sake of music.
They frequently convert literary works. For example: Hoffman – Der Struwwelpeter (as Shockheaded Peter), Brecht / Weill – The Threepenny Opera (as Two Penny Opera), or Frank Wedekind – Lulu (as Lulu – A Murder Ballad). Furthermore they have written a musical comedy about life of Mozart.