John Wood in conversation with David Eastaugh
The band was formed in 1985 by Darren Swindells (bass), Colin Gregory (guitar), John Wood (vocals), David Walmsley (keyboards/guitar), and Peter Day (drums). Gregory and Walmsley had previously played together in The Page Boys. Their first single, "Halcyon Days" was released in 1985. The B-side, "Like One Thousand Violins" was voted into that year's Festive 50 by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show, the band having recorded a session for the show earlier that year. 1986 saw a second Peel session, and the band breaking into the indie chart with "Please Don't Sandblast My House", which reached number 11