Philip Charles Lithman, better known as Snakefinger, was an English avant-garde composer and multi-instrumentalist. He is best known for his collaborative work with the group The Residents. Hailing from the Tooting district of South London, Lithman's roots are firmly planted in the area's rising British blues scene until 1971 when he would relocate to San Francisco and subsequently become associated with the eclectic visual art/Dadaist music group The Residents (who allegedly would dub Lithman with the Snakefinger moniker after seeing a photograph of Lithman where his finger resembled a snake ready to attack the neck of a violin.)
After contributing to The Residents' Baby Sex album, Lithman would return to England in 1972. There he would form the more straightforward band Chilly Willy & the Red Hot Peppers with Martin Stone a former bandmate who worked with Lithman in the bands Mighty Baby and Junior's Blues Band. They would go on to release one album as a duo, Kings of Robot Rhythm. After recruiting Paul "Dice Man" Bailey, Paul "Bass Man" Riley and Pete Thomas they would see some minor success as a live act in Britain and release the album Bongos Over Ballham. He would continue working with the band until around 1975 when he decided to go back to the States to seek a recording contract in Los Angeles, CA. After a few years of searching he decided to move back to San Francisco and reconnect with his early collaborators The Residents. He would perform and record on a few of their albums while writing his own solo albums which would all be released under The Residents' own label Ralph Records (with many tracks that were cowritten by members of The Residents.) The first of these would be 1979's Chewing Hides the Sound. This would be followed up in 1980 by Greener Postures, which was a compilation of some of Lithman's earliest recordings under the Snakefinger moniker. Later that same year, while touring in Australia, Lithman would suffer a sever myocardial infarction leaving him hospitalized for nearly a week. This would cause a 2 year hiatus from music as he recovered and recouped. Afterwards in 1982, he would form his backing band The Vestal Virgins whom he would record with for the next 4 years, releasing 3 studio albums.
On July 1st, 1987 Lithman and his band would arrive in Linz, Austria as part of their European Night tour. Some time that night or the following morning, Lithman suffered another infarction.The next day his body was discovered by staff in a guestroom at the Posthof Club where the band had been scheduled to perform. Ironically or possibly intentionally his final single "There's No Justice In Life" would be released later that same day.
