LINEUP:
Johnny Daukes - Vocals, Guitar
Andy Faulkner - Guitars
Stella Ferguson - Bass, Vocals
Richard Childs - Drums
Fin were a very melodic band, who swung between power pop and Radiohead style ballads (before Radiohead's the bends though...)
From the back of "Positive":
Fin formed in West London around June 1993 and quickly established a folliwng via a series of gigs throughout Britain, their debut release was the acclaimed 'Headstrong' EP which, though limited to 1000 copies, brought them plaudits from the press and national radio exposure.....
........Fin's independence marks them out clearly in a decade characterised by reviltalism and situationist soundbite....."
Personally, I first saw Fin supporting the Tindersticks in Manchester in about 1994 or so, I was blown away, they had so many top tunes and were so powerful!
I couldn't understand what this great power pop band were doing supporing the, then, Nick Cave a like Tindersticks...
So i bought the t-shirt, record etc...literally:
I heard a couple of stories about them:
1) They were thrown off said Tindersticks tour for being 'Too Cheerful', (Playing football and interupting the Tindersticks reading!)
2)They paid for their first single (I bought both a T-shirt and single at the gig, so impressed was I), with money the BBC had had to give them for accidentally using a song off one of their demos in a programme (don't know which one).
They also had a Radio one session for the evening session and a live gig as part of a sound city, more when I get it....There is naff all on the web about them... and my memories failing....
Luckily (August 2003), Philip Thomas mailed me to say :
"I saw your webpage regarding Fin. I was their front of house engineer .......
The Tinderstick story is true. We were playing football at The Leadmill Sheffield whilst they were sound checking and if memory serves me right they were some broken lights in their rig!
The Headstrong ep was financed by money received from the BBC. They used a video clip in the film version of the Roddy Doyle novel 'The Snapper' The scene is in the family's living room and whilst they are arguing, the Fin video is on the TV.
Can't remember the exact date or venue, but the live Radio 1 broadcast was in Bristol with Elastica and Gene as part of the in the city week, it must have been around March 1995.
Thanks very much!
UPDATE:
October 2007
Got an email from Johnny Dawkes
He's got a new album out!
http://www.myspace.com/allourgoodfriends
http://www.allourgoodfriends.com
And James sent me an email about Fin being used in a windsurfing video:
"Just rediscovered a windsurfing video I thought lost to me for ever. It’s a tape of a programme called high 5 that used to be on forever ago, featuring extreme type sports. On it is a song by FIN ‘sweet obsession’ with a load of in line skating set to it. Always liked the song thought they’d be an American band. Spent a happy afternoon on the net tracking down a copy with the help of your site"
Thanks! (Edmund)
