Playing dead | 21 March 2019

In March 1968, Frank Zappa released an album called We’re Only in it for the Money. Presumably, then, Zappa — who died a little over a quarter of a century ago — would be delighted to discover that he begins his latest tour next month, with a series of shows in the US followed by a visit to the UK in May, including a show at the Palladium in London.

Zappa will be appearing in holographic form, using footage filmed in a Los Angeles rehearsal space in 1974, his disembodied voice backed by a live band. The show is to be made up of ‘footage that no one has ever seen, as it has been locked in the vaults since the early 70s,’ says Jeff Pezzuti of Eyellusion, the company that produced the hologram.

‘As a futurist, and hologram enthusiast, Frank fearlessly broke through boundary after boundary as an artist, and in honouring his indomitable spirit we’re about to do it again, 25 years after his passing,’ said Zappa’s son Ahmet.