Dir. Josh Rubin, US, 2005, 86 mins
Cast (as themselves): Wild Man Fischer, Harold Brosnan, Soloman Burke, Josephine Chuey, Irwin Chusi
Derailroaded is a shocking and sensitive musical journey through the thunderstorms of the mind of paranoid-schizophrenic Larry ‘Wild Man’ Fischer. Institutionalized at 16 after attacking his mother with a knife, Fischer wandered the mean streets of L.A. singing his unique brand of songs for 10 cents each to passers-by. He was discovered by Frank Zappa, with whom he cut his first record album, and earned himself the title of ‘godfather of outsider music.’ Extensive archival footage - including his TV and club performances - trace his life from neglected child to tortured genius, a 40-year career that has seen him featured on ‘Rowan & Martins Laugh-In’, become the subject of his own comic book and sing a duet with the late Rosemary Clooney.
Derailroaded screens at the ICA from Friday 24 February and is released on DVD by Plexi UK on Monday 27 March.
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