Felt were an English

jangle pop Jangle pop is a subgenre of pop rock or college rock that emphasizes jangly guitars and 1960s-style pop melodies. The term originated from Bob Dylan's song " Mr. Tambourine Man", whose 1965 rendition by the Byrds became considered one of the g ...

band, formed in 1979 in Water Orton, England, and led by the

mononymous A mononym is a name composed of only one word. An individual who is known and addressed by a mononym is a mononymous person. In some cases, a mononym selected by an individual may have originally been from a polynym, a word which refers to one o ...

Lawrence Lawrence may refer to: Education Colleges and universities * Lawrence Technological University, a university in Southfield, Michigan, United States * Lawrence University, a liberal arts university in Appleton, Wisconsin, United States Preparator ...

. They were active for ten years through the 1980s, releasing ten singles and ten albums. The band's name was inspired by

Tom Verlaine Tom Verlaine (born Thomas Miller, December 13, 1949) is an American singer, guitarist and songwriter, best known as the frontman of the New York City rock band Television. Biography Verlaine was born Thomas Miller in Denville, New Jersey and ...

's emphasis of the word "felt" in the

Television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

song "

Venus Venus is the second planet from the Sun. It is sometimes called Earth's "sister" or "twin" planet as it is almost as large and has a similar composition. As an interior planet to Earth, Venus (like Mercury) appears in Earth's sky never fa ...

". Felt have been cited as an influence by

Belle and Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" come ...

's Stuart Murdoch and Tim Burgess of the Charlatans, as well as by

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

bands

Manic Street Preachers Manic Street Preachers, also known simply as the Manics, are a Welsh Rock music, rock band formed in Blackwood, Caerphilly, Blackwood in 1986. The band consists of cousins James Dean Bradfield (lead vocals, lead guitar) and Sean Moore (musician ...

Girls A girl is a young female human, usually a child or an adolescent. When a girl becomes an adult, she is accurately described as a ''woman''. However, the term ''girl'' is also used for other meanings, including ''young woman'',Dictionary.c ...

, and

the Tyde The Tyde are an American indie rock group. Tracing their roots to early 1990s LA indie band Further, formed by Darren Rademaker and brother Brent. The Tyde cite Felt, the Beach Boys and the Byrds as major influences. They are not to be confused ...

History

Formation

founded the band in 1979 with the release of the single "Index", a self-published solo recording. A noisy effort unlike Felt's subsequent records, it was later awarded single of the week by Dave McCullough in music newspaper ''

Sounds In physics, sound is a vibration that propagates as an acoustic wave, through a transmission medium such as a gas, liquid or solid. In human physiology and psychology, sound is the ''reception'' of such waves and their ''perception'' by the ...

''. With Lawrence initially on vocals and guitar, they formed properly in 1980 with the addition of schoolfriend Nick Gilbert on drums and local guitarist

Maurice Deebank Maurice Deebank is a classically trained English guitarist. He was the co-founder and lead guitarist of the British indie band Felt from its debut album until 1985, and was responsible for the ornate, atmospheric guitar work found on many of the ...

. Becoming co-writer with Lawrence, Deebank's jangly, classical-influenced style of playing would provide the band's signature sound in its early years. The band performed as a trio before deciding that bass guitar was needed. Gilbert switched to bass and drummer Tony Race was added. He was replaced soon after by Gary Ainge who would remain the only constant member besides Lawrence throughout the rest of Felt's existence, as well as the only member to play on all ten of their albums.

Signing

Felt signed to

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

and their first single as a band, "Something Sends Me to Sleep", was released in 1981. Their first album, '' Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty'', followed the next year. Gilbert left and was replaced on bass by Mick Lloyd. The band's lineup would then remain unchanged through their next two albums, '' The Splendour of Fear'' and '' The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories''. In 1982, the Felt song "My Face Is on Fire" appeared on the best-selling ''

Pillows & Prayers ''Pillows & Prayers'' (subtitled ''Cherry Red 1982-1983'') is a compilation album released Christmas 1982, featuring artists on the Cherry Red record label. The record was originally sold at 99 pence (in fact, "pay no more than 99p" was printed ...

'' compilation. In 1985, for the recording of their fourth album, keyboard player

Martin Duffy Martin Bernard Duffy (18 May 1967 – 18 December 2022) was an English musician who originally played keyboards with Felt and most famously with Primal Scream. Career Duffy was born in Birmingham and grew up in Rednal in the south of the city ...

was added and Marco Thomas became bassist. ''

Ignite the Seven Cannons ''Ignite the Seven Cannons'' is the fourth album by English alternative rock band Felt, released in 1985. The album is sometimes referred to as "Ignite the Seven Cannons and Set Sail for the Sun", a phrase which was printed in one place on the o ...

'' was produced by

Robin Guthrie Robin Andrew Guthrie (born 4 January 1962) is a Scottish musician, songwriter, composer, record producer and audio engineer, best known as the co-founder of the alternative rock band Cocteau Twins. During his career Guthrie has performed ...

of the Cocteau Twins and featured Elizabeth Fraser on the single "Primitive Painters". The song reached the top of the UK independent singles chart. Deebank departed soon after, prompting a shift in Felt's sound with Duffy's keyboards becoming more central. The lead guitar position would subsequently be filled by an ever-changing succession of players. The band moved to

Creation Records Creation Records Ltd. was a British independent record label founded in 1983 by Alan McGee, Dick Green, and Joe Foster. Its name came from the 1960s band The Creation, whom McGee greatly admired. The label ceased operations in 1999, although ...

in 1986 and released '' Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death'', the first of two instrumental albums they would record. Their next album, '' Forever Breathes the Lonely Word'', was a conventional collection of songs that gained the band praise and would become regarded by many as their best.

Break up and later

In 1989, Lawrence declared it had been his intention all along to release ten singles and ten albums in ten years and, having done so, announced the end of Felt. After releasing their last album, '' Me and a Monkey on the Moon'', and undertaking a short tour, the band split up. Lawrence went on to form

Denim Denim is a sturdy cotton warp-faced textile in which the weft passes under two or more warp threads. This twill weaving produces a diagonal ribbing that distinguishes it from cotton duck. While a denim predecessor known as dungaree has been p ...

and later,

Go Kart Mozart Mozart Estate, formerly known as Go-Kart Mozart, are an English indie pop band founded by Lawrence, previously of the bands Felt and Denim. Lawrence formed the group as a reaction to his previous bands' lack of commercial success. He has calle ...

and Mozart Estate. Duffy joined Primal Scream. Ainge would later play with

Vic Godard Vic Godard (born Victor John Napper) is an English singer-songwriter formerly of the punk group Subway Sect. He is now also a solo performer, while continuing to appear with various incarnations of Subway Sect. Biography Born Victor John Napper ...

. Mick Lloyd died in 2016. Subsequent bass player Mick Bund died in 2017. Martin Duffy passed away in 2022. In 2018, Cherry Red reissued all ten Felt albums on CD and vinyl, with new mixes of songs plus revised tracklistings and packaging.

Members

– vocals and guitar (1979–1989) *

– guitar (1980–1985) *Nick Gilbert – bass and drums (1980–1981) *Tony Race – drums (1980–1981) *Gary Ainge – drums and percussion (1981–1989) *

– keyboards (1985–1989; died 2022) *Mick Lloyd – bass (1982–1984; died 2016) *Marco Thomas – guitar and bass (1985–1987) *Phil King – bass (1986-1987) *Mick Bund – bass (1988; died 2017) ;Timeline

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Discography

*'' Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty'' (1982) *'' The Splendour of Fear'' (1984) *'' The Strange Idols Pattern and Other Short Stories'' (1984) *''

'' (1985) *'' Let the Snakes Crinkle Their Heads to Death'' (1986) *'' Forever Breathes the Lonely Word'' (1986) *'' Poem of the River'' (1987) *'' The Pictorial Jackson Review'' (1988) *'' Train Above the City'' (1988) *'' Me and a Monkey on the Moon'' (1989)

References

External links

"Felt Tribute Site"
- article at Perfect Sound Forever
"Felt Biography"
at TweeNet

- featuring detailed pictures

{{DEFAULTSORT:Felt Cherry Red Records artists Creation Records artists English alternative rock groups Jangle pop groups British indie pop groups English post-punk music groups Dream pop musical groups Musical groups from Birmingham, West Midlands Musical groups established in 1979 Musical groups disestablished in 1989 1979 establishments in England 1989 disestablishments in England