Following the early success of winning GLR Radio's 'Demo Clash' competition with 'Teenage Emergency', their subsequent singles, 'Chosen Few' and 'Scenester' saw them emerge as part of the NME's 'New Wave of New Wave' congregation.
Their membership of this media-created phenomenon was confirmed when they joined scene leaders S*M*A*S*H and These Animal Men onstage for the famed 'New Art Riot' gig in December 1994. This brought them to the attention of mainstream newspapers such as the Evening Standard and the News of the World, as well as more traditional music magazines.
Their live performances were now becoming notorious, mainly due to to drummer Kevin building a reputation as a modern-day Keith Moon. Antics such as attacking audiences with sanitary towel bins, and destroying equipment onstage had inevitably brought this comparison, but meanwhile the band continued to state their aim when interviewed as being major mainstream success; 'We ain't competing with Blur. I want to move right over Blur's heads and go straight for East 17'.
They recorded a debut album and toured with label mates Echobelly, but disappeared from view when the 'new wave' revival had morphed into Britpop circa 1997.
IF YOU LIKE THESE, YOU'LL LIKE THE FLAMINGOES: These Animal Men, Roxy Music, The Jam, Menswear, Suede.