Gay Dad

Gay Dad are...

• Cliff Jones - vocals, guitar
• Nigel Hoyle - bass
• Baz Crowe - drums
• Charley Stone - guitar (left 1999)
• James Riseboro - keyboards (left 2000)

Now more famous for their Walking Man posters and spectacular fall from grace than their music, Gay Dad were formed in 1994 by former Mojo and The Face journalist Cliff Jones and his school-friend Baz Crowe. After spending years as a directionless prog-pop outfit, a shambolic performance in London forced Jones to rethink the band's approach. Enlisting the talents of guitarist Charley Stone and keyboardist James Riseboro, Gay Dad began shopping a new demo around record labels in the capital. Receiving early and mixed reactions from the media, the band signed to the London label and began recording what would be their debut album, Leisure Noise (1999).

Even before the first taster 'To Earth With Love' was released, the press began running an endless series of articles on the promising upstarts. The single shot into the UK Top 10 in January '99, after some legal wrangling about the writing credits had delayed its release. Frontman Jones had become a guitar-wielding pin-up for indie kids and his rent-a-quote approach to interviews pleased and aggravated readers in equal quantities. Despite receiving a slew of positive reviews, Leisure Noise only reached No. 14 and was considered a sales disappointment.

Taking time out to lick their wounds, the paired-down trio re-emerged in 2001 with a new record deal and album, Transmission. Predictably it bombed, failing to reach the charts at all, while leading single 'Now Always and Forever' fell just short of the Top 40. Tom Edwards