New Fast Automatic Daffodils
Encyclopedia
New Fast Automatic Daffodils (later shortened to New FADS) were an alternative rock
group from Manchester
, England
, active between 1988 and 1995.
group Pariah. Dolan Hewison, Justin Crawford, Perry Saunders and Icarus Wilson-Wright were former students at Manchester Polytechnic, while Andy Spearpoint attended drama school. The name comes from a poem by Adrian Henri
that mixed an advertisement for a yellow Dutch car with a Wordsworth poem. Often associated with the 'Madchester
' scene of the late 1980s, but never really part of that scene, the band's debut single, "Lions" was released in 1989 on Playtime records (then home to Inspiral Carpets
), followed the same year by the Music Is Shit EP. In 1990, they signed to Play It Again Sam
Records, September of that year seeing the release of "Fishes Eyes", and debut album Pigeonhole appearing in November, which reached the UK top 50.
In March 1991, the British
music magazine, NME
, reported that the band were appearing at the 'Great Indie Festival - A Midsummer's Day Dream' at Milton Keynes Bowl in June that year. Also on the bill were 808 State
, Gary Clail
, Shades of Rhythm
, The Shamen
, Paris Angels
plus Flowered Up
. Further singles followed in 1991 and 1992, with second album Body Exit Mind
issued in October 1992 (reaching #57 in the UK). 1994 saw the band shorten their name to New FADS, with 2 EPs released that year, before a final album, Love It All in 1995. The band split up in 1995.
The band recorded three sessions for John Peel
's radio show, the first two of which were compiled onto an album, The Peel Sessions in 1991. Their song "Big" also reached #14 in the Festive Fifty
in 1990 and featured on "Groovy Train" featured on the influential 1990 compilation album Happy Daze
. Their lone charting success in the United States
was the single "Stockholm", which reached #30 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts in 1993.
Singer Andy Spearpoint also flirted with acting, having a small part in Coronation Street
.
. Justin Crawford is one part of DJ duo Unabombers and has also recorded solo, under the name Only Child
, and Perry Saunders is believed to be involved with a band called Harvey's Rabbit.
Alternative rock
Alternative rock is a genre of rock music and a term used to describe a diverse musical movement that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1980s and became widely popular by the 1990s...
group from Manchester
Manchester
Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...
, England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, active between 1988 and 1995.
History
The band was formed in 1988 by former members of the punk rockPunk rock
Punk rock is a rock music genre that developed between 1974 and 1976 in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia. Rooted in garage rock and other forms of what is now known as protopunk music, punk rock bands eschewed perceived excesses of mainstream 1970s rock...
group Pariah. Dolan Hewison, Justin Crawford, Perry Saunders and Icarus Wilson-Wright were former students at Manchester Polytechnic, while Andy Spearpoint attended drama school. The name comes from a poem by Adrian Henri
Adrian Henri
Adrian Henri was a British poet and painter best remembered as the founder of poetry-rock group The Liverpool Scene and as one of three poets in the best-selling anthology The Mersey Sound, along with Brian Patten and Roger McGough. The trio of Liverpool poets came to prominence in that city's...
that mixed an advertisement for a yellow Dutch car with a Wordsworth poem. Often associated with the 'Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...
' scene of the late 1980s, but never really part of that scene, the band's debut single, "Lions" was released in 1989 on Playtime records (then home to Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets
Inspiral Carpets are an alternative rock band from Oldham in Greater Manchester, England formed by Graham Lambert and Stephen Holt in 1983. The band is named after a clothing shop on their Oldham estate...
), followed the same year by the Music Is Shit EP. In 1990, they signed to Play It Again Sam
Play It Again Sam (record label)
[PIAS] Recordings is the recorded music division of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group, a European independent artist and label services company.The record labels that operate under the [PIAS] Recordings umbrella are: Play It Again Sam, Wall of Sound and Different Recordings.Aside from the three London...
Records, September of that year seeing the release of "Fishes Eyes", and debut album Pigeonhole appearing in November, which reached the UK top 50.
In March 1991, the British
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
music magazine, NME
NME
The New Musical Express is a popular music publication in the United Kingdom, published weekly since March 1952. It started as a music newspaper, and gradually moved toward a magazine format during the 1980s, changing from newsprint in 1998. It was the first British paper to include a singles...
, reported that the band were appearing at the 'Great Indie Festival - A Midsummer's Day Dream' at Milton Keynes Bowl in June that year. Also on the bill were 808 State
808 State
808 State are a British electronic music outfit, formed in 1987 in Manchester, taking their name from the Roland TR-808 drum machine and their common state of mind...
, Gary Clail
Gary Clail
Gary Clail is an English singer and record producer. He was part of On-U Sound Records and led Gary Clail's Tackhead Sound System.-Biography:...
, Shades of Rhythm
Shades of Rhythm (band)
Shades of Rhythm was a British based electronic dance music group in the late 1980s and early 1990s, formed in Peterborough in 1988. They are best known for being a part of the rave music scene.-Career:...
, The Shamen
The Shamen
The Shamen were an experimental electronic music band, from 1985–1999, initially formed in Aberdeen, Scotland, as a psychedelic-influenced indie rock act. The founding members are Colin Angus , Derek McKenzie and Keith McKenzie...
, Paris Angels
Paris Angels
Paris Angels were a seven piece band, hailing from Guide Bridge, Ashton-under-Lyne, England, associated with the Madchester scene of 1989 -1991. Their music fused indie guitars with electronic dance music...
plus Flowered Up
Flowered Up
-Career:The band was formed in mid-1989 by singer Liam Maher, along with his younger brother Joe . After a few changes in personnel, the settled line-up included Tim Dorney , Andy Jackson , and John Tuvey , with dancer Barry Mooncult adding to their live shows...
. Further singles followed in 1991 and 1992, with second album Body Exit Mind
Body Exit Mind
Body Exit Mind was the second studio album released by the British pop group New Fast Automatic Daffodils, released on Play It Again Sam in Europe in October 1992, and on Elektra Records in March 1993 in the United States....
issued in October 1992 (reaching #57 in the UK). 1994 saw the band shorten their name to New FADS, with 2 EPs released that year, before a final album, Love It All in 1995. The band split up in 1995.
The band recorded three sessions for John Peel
John Peel
John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...
's radio show, the first two of which were compiled onto an album, The Peel Sessions in 1991. Their song "Big" also reached #14 in the Festive Fifty
Festive Fifty
The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's fifty best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show...
in 1990 and featured on "Groovy Train" featured on the influential 1990 compilation album Happy Daze
Happy Daze (Madchester album)
Happy Daze is a compilation album of songs linked to the Madchester music genre distributed by Island Records in 1990.-Influence:The Madchester sound had been developing during the later 1980s, from its nascent jangy sounds originally showcased on the NME's classic C86 cassette...
. Their lone charting success in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
was the single "Stockholm", which reached #30 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts in 1993.
Singer Andy Spearpoint also flirted with acting, having a small part in Coronation Street
Coronation Street
Coronation Street is a British soap opera set in Weatherfield, a fictional town in Greater Manchester based on Salford. Created by Tony Warren, Coronation Street was first broadcast on 9 December 1960...
.
Post band activities
Andy Spearpoint was reported in 2004 to be working as a freelance music teacher. Dolan Hewison is Director of the Greater Manchester Music Action Zone. Icarus Wilson-Wright worked with Basement JaxxBasement Jaxx
Basement Jaxx are a British electronic dance music duo from London, England consisting of Felix Buxton born 1971 and Simon Ratcliffe born 1 December 1969. They first rose to popularity in the late 1990s...
. Justin Crawford is one part of DJ duo Unabombers and has also recorded solo, under the name Only Child
Only Child (musician)
Only Child is DJ and musician, Justin Crawford from Manchester, England. He was formerly a member of the English band New Fast Automatic Daffodils....
, and Perry Saunders is believed to be involved with a band called Harvey's Rabbit.
Singles
- "Lions" (1989, Playtime) 12" tracks:
- Lions
- Fate Don't Fail Me Now
- Your Dreams My Nightmares
- "Music Is Shit" EP (1989, Playtime) 12" tracks:
- Beam Me Up
- A Man Without Qualities
- Music Is Shit parts 1-3
- "Big" (1990 Amuse 7CD, Playtime) cd tracks:
- Big 6:13
- Big (Baka) 6:30
- Big (Instrumental) 6:32
- "Fishes Eyes" (1990 BIAS162 CD, Play It Again Sam) cd tracks:
- Fishes Eyes 6:46
- Fishes Eyes (Underwater) 5:19
- White 3:51
- "Get Better" (1991 BIAS193 CD, Play It Again Sam) cd tracks:
- Get Better 4:30
- Pigeonhole (Edit) 4:52
- I Found Myself in Another Room 3:52
- Get Better (Version 1) 4:29
- "All Over My Face" (1991 BIAS199 CD, Play It Again Sam) cd tracks:
- All Over My Face 3:53
- All Over My Face (Split Decision) 5:20
- All Over My Face (Off the Road) 4:56
- Why The Hard Man Fail 4:42
- "Big" (1991, Playtime, Play It Again Sam & Mute) cd tracks:
- Big (Edit) 4:12
- Big (Baka) 6:30
- Get Better 4:30
- Get Better (Extended) 6:30
- White 3:50
- "It's Not What You Know" (1992, Play It Again Sam) cd tracks:
- It's Not What You Know 4:07
- Head On 3:28
- Beatlemania 4:50
- Beautiful 4:40
- "Stockholm" (1992, Play It Again Sam) cd tracks:
- Stockholm 5:10
- Stockholm (Edit) 4:12
- Cannes 4:25
- "Bong" (1993, Play It Again Sam) cd tracks:
- Bong 4:06
- It's Not What You Know 4:08
- Head On 3:28
- Beautiful 4:40
- Cannes 4:25
- "Life Is An Accident 1" (1994 BIAS249 CD1, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) cd tracks:
- Life Is An Accident 3:02
- Every Once In A While (Fuzzy Logic) 6:04
- Aches And Pains 3:50
- "Life Is An Accident 2" (1994 BIAS249 CD2, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) cd tracks:
- Life Is An Accident 3:02
- PSV (VPL) 7:55
- Mad Pop 3:03
- "These Foolish Things" (1994, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) 10" tracks:
- These Foolish Things 4:31
- Every Once In A While 4:15
Albums
- PigeonholePigeonholePigeonhole may refer to:*Pigeonholes, nesting spaces formed in a dovecote *Pigeonhole, one of the boxes in a pigeon coop...
(1990, Play It Again Sam) UKUK Albums ChartThe UK Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales in the United Kingdom. It is compiled every week by The Official Charts Company and broadcast on a Sunday on BBC Radio 1 , and published in Music Week magazine and on the OCC website .To qualify for the UK albums chart...
#49 cd tracks:
- Get Better 3:52
- Fishes Eyes 7:04
- Working for Him 4:17
- Part 4 4:13
- Big 6:08
- You Were Lying When You Said You Loved Me 4:17
- Amplifier 3:57
- Reprise 3:47
- Partial 6:26
- Penguins 3:51
- I Found Myself In Another Room 3:51
- Pigeonhole 6:06
- The Peel Sessions (1991, Strange Fruit RecordsStrange Fruit RecordsStrange Fruit Records was an independent record label in the United Kingdom.The label, established by Clive Selwood and John Peel in 1986, was the primary distributor of BBC recordings, including Peel Sessions....
) cd tracks:
- Purple Haze 1:46
- Man Without Qualities II 3:19
- Jaggerbog 3:42
- Big 5:32
- Get Better 3:25
- Part 4 4:29
- Man Without Qualities One 4:44
- Body Exit MindBody Exit MindBody Exit Mind was the second studio album released by the British pop group New Fast Automatic Daffodils, released on Play It Again Sam in Europe in October 1992, and on Elektra Records in March 1993 in the United States....
(1992, Play It Again Sam) UK #57 cd tracks:
- Bong 4:05
- It's Not What You Know 4:07
- Stockholm 5:12
- I Take You To Sleep 3:52
- Bruises 6:58
- How Much Longer Must We Tolerate Mass Culture? 1:19
- Kyphos 4:44
- Teenage Combo 0:25
- Beatlemania 4:50
- What Kind Of Hell Is This? 0:39
- American Money 4:28
- Missing Parts Of Famous People 1:05
- Patchwork Lives 5:08
- Music 8:08
- Exit Body, Exit Mind 1:02
- Love It All (1995, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) cd tracks:
- These Foolish Things 4:31
- Life Is An Accident 3:02
- Left Right 3:59
- Every Once In a While 4:15
- Why Waste Your Love 3:35
- Monday It Is 4:15
- Saxophone 3:35
- What I Feel 3:52
- PSV 4:15
- Kill My Instincts 3:34
- Souvenir 1:54
External links
- discogs.com discography
- [ AllMusic Guide profile]
- Myspace.com site