Claim: Frith, a founding member of the English avant-rock band Henry Cow and Richard a founding member of the French avant-rock band Etron Fou Leloublan, had previously worked together in other contexts before coming together as a duo to record the album Dropera, a concept album credited as "Fred & Ferd".
Evidence: Dropera is a concept album by Fred Frith and Ferdinand Richard, credited as "Fred & Ferd". In mid-1980 Etron Fou Leloublan (including Richard) recorded with Frith in France and Switzerland, and appeared on one side of Frith's 1981 solo LP, Speechless. Probably best known for his guitar work, Frith first came to attention as one of the founding members of the English avant-rock group Henry Cow. Richard was a founding member of the French avant-rock group Etron Fou Leloublan in 1973, and remained with them until they broke up in 1986. It was their first collaborative album as a duo and was recorded in Zürich, Switzerland in August 1989.