New Fast Automatic Daffodils

New Fast Automatic Daffodils (later shortened to New FADS) were an alternative rock group from Manchester, England, active between 1988 and 1995.

Formed in 1988 by Dolan Hewison (guitar), Justin Crawford (bass), Perry Saunders (drums) in Hulme whilst students at Manchester Polytechnic, the line-up was complete when Andy Spearpoint, who at the time was at drama school in Manchester,^[1] joined on vocals. The name comes from a poem by Adrian Henri that mixed an advertisement for the Dutch DAF car with the Wordsworth poem^[1] "I Wandered Lonely as a Cloud". Often associated with the Madchester scene of the late 1980s, but never really part of that scene,^[2] taking more inspiration from post punk labels such as Postcard Records, 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, after the success of their breakthrough single "Big" 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.^[3]

They developed a brilliant live reputation^{[citation needed]} touring the UK, Europe and the US having secured deals with Mute / Elektra in the States. Further singles followed in 1991 working with legendary Factory producer Martin Hannett on a rerecorded version of "Get Better". and in 1992 they de-camped to Belgium to work with the equally famous Craig Leon on their second album Body Exit Mind, a more experimental record that was mostly recorded in live takes trying to capture the elusive live performances the band were famed for.^{[citation needed]} Released in October 1992 and reaching No. 57 in the UK it spawned two NME singles of the week with 'Its Not What You Know" and "Stockholm" which became a top 10 college radio hit in the US. 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,^[4] the first two of which were compiled onto an album, The Peel Sessions in 1991. Their song "Big" also reached No. 14 in the Festive Fifty in 1990^[4] and featured on the influential 1990 compilation album Happy Daze. Their lone charting success in the United States was the single "Stockholm", which reached No. 30 on the Billboard Modern Rock charts in 1993.^[5]

Singer Andy Spearpoint also flirted with acting, having a small part in Coronation Street.^[2]

Andy Spearpoint^[6] now lives in Ireland and is embarking on an MA in music. Dolan Hewison^[7] is Managing Director of the ad agency Ear to the Ground and has recently released an album under the name Au-Turn. Icarus Wilson-Wright^[8] as well as working with Basement Jaxx as a percussionist is also a Video Artist working with Massive Attack and also exhibiting in the Turbine Hall at the Tate Modern. Justin Crawford^[9] is one part of DJ duo Unabombers and the infamous Electric Chair night as well as a prolific career as an artist recording solo under the name Only Child.

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• "Lions" (1989, Playtime) 12" tracks:

1. Lions
2. Fate Don't Fail Me Now
3. Your Dreams My Nightmares

• "Music Is Shit" EP (1989, Playtime) 12" tracks:

1. Beam Me Up
2. A Man Without Qualities
3. Music Is Shit parts 1-3

CD version (AMUSE 6CD) contained an extra track Lions, taken from the first 12”

• "Big" (1990 Amuse 7CD, Playtime) UK No. 109

cd tracks:

1. Big 6:13
2. Big (Baka) 6:30
3. Big (Instrumental) 6:32

• "Fishes Eyes" (1990 BIAS162 CD, Play It Again Sam) UK No. 77

cd tracks:

1. Fishes Eyes 6:46
2. Fishes Eyes (Underwater) 5:19
3. White 3:51

• "Get Better" (1991 BIAS193 CD, Play It Again Sam) UK No. 85

cd tracks:

1. Get Better 4:30
2. Pigeonhole (Edit) 4:52
3. I Found Myself in Another Room 3:52
4. Get Better (Version 1) 4:29

• "All Over My Face" (1991 BIAS199 CD, Play It Again Sam) UK No. 96

cd tracks:

1. All Over My Face 3:53
2. All Over My Face (Split Decision) 5:20
3. All Over My Face (Off the Road) 4:56
4. Why The Hard Man Fail 4:42

• "Big" (1991, Playtime, Play It Again Sam & Mute) cd tracks:

1. Big (Edit) 4:12
2. Big (Baka) 6:30
3. Get Better 4:30
4. Get Better (Extended) 6:30
5. White 3:50

• "It's Not What You Know" (1992, Play It Again Sam) UK No. 82

cd tracks: 

1. It's Not What You Know 4:07
2. Head On 3:28
3. Beatlemania 4:50
4. Beautiful 4:40

• "Stockholm" (1992, Play It Again Sam) UK No. 89

cd tracks:

1. Stockholm 5:10
2. Stockholm (Edit) 4:12
3. Cannes 4:25

10" tracks:

1. Stockholm (Demo Version)
2. It's Not What You Know (Demo Version)
3. Hexagon Spring

• "Bong" (1993, Play It Again Sam) cd tracks:

1. Bong 4:06
2. It's Not What You Know 4:08
3. Head On 3:28
4. Beautiful 4:40
5. Cannes 4:25

• "Life Is An Accident 1" (1994 BIAS249 CD1, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) cd tracks:

1. Life Is An Accident 3:02
2. Every Once In A While (Fuzzy Logic) 6:04
3. Aches And Pains 3:50

• "Life Is An Accident 2" (1994 BIAS249 CD2, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) cd tracks:

1. Life Is An Accident 3:02
2. PSV (VPL) 7:55
3. Mad Pop 3:03

• "These Foolish Things" (1994, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) 10" tracks:

1. These Foolish Things 4:31
2. Every Once In A While 4:15

• Pigeonhole (1990, Play It Again Sam) UK No. 49 cd tracks:

1. Get Better 3:52
2. Fishes Eyes 7:04
3. Working for Him 4:17
4. Part 4 4:13
5. Big 6:08
6. You Were Lying When You Said You Loved Me 4:17
7. Amplifier 3:57
8. Reprise 3:47
9. Partial 6:26
10. Penguins 3:51
11. I Found Myself In Another Room 3:51
12. Pigeonhole 6:06

Some vinyl copies of Pigeonhole had a free 7" with a cover of the Velvet Underground's 'I'm Set Free'

• The Peel Sessions (1991, Strange Fruit Records) cd tracks:

1. Purple Haze 1:46
2. Man Without Qualities II 3:19
3. Jaggerbog 3:42
4. Big 5:32
5. Get Better 3:25
6. Part 4 4:29
7. Man Without Qualities One 4:44

• Body Exit Mind (1992, Play It Again Sam) UK No. 57 cd tracks:

1. Bong 4:05
2. It's Not What You Know 4:07
3. Stockholm 5:12
4. I Take You To Sleep 3:52
5. Bruises 6:58
6. How Much Longer Must We Tolerate Mass Culture? 1:19
7. Kyphos 4:44
8. Teenage Combo 0:25
9. Beatlemania 4:50
10. What Kind Of Hell Is This? 0:39
11. American Money 4:28
12. Missing Parts Of Famous People 1:05
13. Patchwork Lives 5:08
14. Music 8:08
15. Exit Body, Exit Mind 1:02

• Love It All (1995, Play It Again Sam) (as New FADS) cd tracks:

1. These Foolish Things 4:31
2. Life Is An Accident 3:02
3. Left Right 3:59
4. Every Once In a While 4:15
5. Why Waste Your Love 3:35
6. Monday It Is 4:15
7. Saxophone 3:35
8. What I Feel 3:52
9. PSV 4:15
10. Kill My Instincts 3:34
11. Souvenir 1:54

• Volume Two - Various Artists (Contains unique mix of "All Over My Face" (Scam Mix))
• “home” - various artists (Contains Jaggerbog) sheer joy records 1990
• Fifteen Minutes: A Tribute to the Velvet Underground (1994, Imaginary Records – ILLCD 047P, includes "I'm Set Free" by New F.A.D.S.
• This Is Fascism (1996, M.C. Projects – PROCD 14. A 2CD collection of remixes of the New Fast Automatic Daffodils cover of the song "This Is Fascism" by Consolidated)

^[10]

• discogs.com discography
• AllMusic Guide profile
• Myspace.com site