Fur Patrol is a rock band, originally from Wellington, New Zealand, now based in Melbourne, Australia.
History
Hailing from Wellington, New Zealand, Fur Patrol were born on 15 May 1996 at Wellington's Bar Bodega.
Their first release was the EP Starlifter in 1998, recorded by Andrew Downes at Marmalade Studios in Wellington. Released on Wellington independant label Wishbone Music, Starlifter was a recording which showcased the burgeoning song-writing skills of front woman Julia Deans. Starlifter earned the band five nominations at the 1999 B-Net music awards in NZ, walking away with two.
This was followed up two years later in October 2000 with their debut album, Pet. Pet was also released on Wishbone Music and produced by ex The Muttonbirds and The Six Volts guitarist David Long who won NZ Producer of the year for his efforts. The album won the band four Tuis at the 2001 New Zealand Music Awards. Pet featured the New Zealand number one single "Lydia", the only homegrown song to reach the number one spot in 2000. Other singles from this album were "Now", "Holy", "Andrew" and "Spinning A Line".
Six months after the release of Pet the band relocated to Melbourne, and after tirelessly touring that large brown continent for two years (with the occasional trip home to NZ) secured their first major label record deal with Universal Music Australia.
It was here that the sounds for their second album were committed to tape in 2003 at Melbourne's Sing Sing studios with British producer Mark Wallis. Collider was released in NZ in late 2003 and in Australia in 2004. Singles released from Collider were "Precious", "Fade Away", "Get Along" and "Enemy".
2003 saw the band travel to tour the UK several times playing shows including the Fierce Festival at Brockwell Park, The Metro, Barfly's in Camden, Cambridge University and the infamous 100 Club. The same year they also traveled to the USA where they filmed a music video and played at The Viper Room in Los Angeles.
Fur Patrol became a three piece with the departure of guitarist Steve Wells in late 2004.
After extracting themselves from Universal Music Australia they released the self recorded 4-track The Long Distance Runner EP in May 2007 through Auckland based indie label Tardus Music.
The band are currently working on their 3rd studio album with producer Tony Cohen, best known for his long standing working relationship with Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds.
Members
Current Members
- Julia Deans (vocals and guitar)
- Andrew Bain (bass)
- Simon Braxton (drums)
Past members
- Steve Wells (guitar)
Discography
- Starlifter EP, 1998, Wishbone Music
- Pet LP, 2000, Wishbone Music
- Collider LP, 2003, Universal Music Australia
- The Long Distance Runner EP, Tardus Music
Links
- Myspace.com/furpatrol - Myspace page
May 1996
