Last night, indie pop event Glas-Goes Pop played host to a near-reunion of Felt, with three members of the influential jangle-pop band taking to the stage together for the first time in decades. They performed last night in Glasgow, Scotland at the indie pop music festival Glas-Goes Pop, which was hosted at Glasgow University Union.
Last month, the band’s original drummer Gary Ainge, bassist Marco Thomas and guitarist Philip King announced that they would be reforming as Feel — "the present tense of Felt" — to play instrumental versions of Felt’s catalogue. Founding member and frontman Lawrence was not part of this reunion.
Lawrence founded Felt in 1979, releasing the self-produced debut single “Index,” which he recorded alone in his bedroom. He subsequently assembled a band, whose lineup shifted throughout the 1980s, with Lawrence remaining its sole constant. Over their ten-year run, Felt released ten studio albums and a series of singles, fulfilling Lawrence’s oft-stated ambition to make ten albums and ten singles in a decade. Their debut EP, Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty, followed in 1982. Felt’s spare, minimalist pop and jangling guitar sound earned the band a devoted cult following and helped establish them as an influential force in the British indie scene. Their music has been cited as an influence by musicians including Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch and the Charlatans’ Tim Burgess, as well as bands such as the Manic Street Preachers and Girls.
At Glas-Goes Pop, they were joined by Martin Davies on keys and Andy Wellings on lead guitar. The set then took an unexpected turn when Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch and rising musician Rhadika joined them for vocals on "Primitive Painters."
Rhadika, the daughter of Soup Dragons bassist Sushil K. Dade, shared a reflection from the evening on social media:
Felt reunited for the first time in 39 years and I somehow got to be a part of it
Last night was a night that I will never forget… I got to sing with original members of Felt. Performing Primitive Painters was truly everything and more, a song that has held my soul for many years
I was holding back tears of joy as well as reflection. Growing up my dad adored Felt and always played me their songs, they are a big reason why I subconsciously started creating dream pop music
As Stuart Murdoch said on stage, we were both embodying our heroes yesterday, some moments feel too special to put into words.
Thank you for letting me be a part of something I’ve loved for so long ? ⭒ ?
Check out footage below.
