Dead Famous People are a

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

band formed in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, active from the latter half of the 1980s onward. Dead Famous People are still active today, Savage using various collaborators, with a new album being recorded in Auckland New Zealand, following an extended break taken to raise her son, Harry. "Looking at Girls" their first single on

Fire Records (UK) Fire Records is a British independent record label, run by James Nicholls, with offices in London, England and New York, United States. The label was founded by music journalist Johnny Waller and Clive Solomon in 1985 and released early recor ...

, was released on 24 October 2019. Their second single "Groovy Girl" was released on 12 February 2020, also on Fire Records. The ten-track album "Harry" was released on 9 October 2020 on Fire records. Their new album "Ballet boy" was released on May 29, 2023, recorded in Auckland, New Zealand It features 10 new tracks.

History

The band formed in 1986 and comprised Dons Savage (vocals), Elizabeth (Biddy) Leyland (keyboards and vocals), Wendy Kjestrup (guitar and vocals), Jenny Renals (bass guitar) and Robyn Tearle (drums).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 294 After a couple of releases in New Zealand, including an EP on

Flying Nun Records Flying Nun Records is a New Zealand independent record label formed in Christchurch in 1981 by music store manager Roger Shepherd. Described by ''The Guardian'' as "one of the world's great independent labels", Flying Nun is notable for bringi ...

, giving them some success in their homeland, they relocated to London, where they signed for

Billy Bragg Stephen William Bragg (born 20 December 1957) is an English singer, songwriter, musician, author and political activist. His music blends elements of folk music, punk rock and protest songs, with lyrics that mostly span political or romantic th ...

Utility Records In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...

label, with Gill Moon replacing Tearle.Larkin, Colin (1998) ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 118-9 Utility issued the band's ''Arriving Late in Torn and Filthy Jeans''

mini-LP A mini-LP or mini-album is a short record album or LP, usually retailing at a lower price than an album that would be considered full-length. It is distinct from an EP due to containing more tracks and a slightly longer running length. A mini- ...

in 1989, and it became the label's biggest-selling release. They received regular airplay from

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

and recorded a session for his

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

show in 1989.11/06/1989 – Dead Famous People
, ''Keeping It Peel'',

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

, retrieved 19 June 2010 Jenny Renals and Wendy Kjestrup left the band in 1990. Savage joined Saint Etienne on their

cover version In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...

of The Field Mice's "Let's Kiss and Make Up", and subsequently recorded as a solo artist, as did Leyland. Savage also provided backing vocals on

The Chills The Chills are a New Zealand indie rock band that formed in Dunedin in 1980. The band were fronted by founding mainstay singer-songwriter, guitarist Martin Phillipps (singer), Martin Phillipps (2 July 1963 – 28 July 2024). During the mid-1 ...

' " Heavenly Pop Hit"."Dead Famous People" ''All Hail The Daffodil'' (review), '' Option'', 1992 The band contributed a version of "True Love Leaves No Traces" to the 1991

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

tribute album ''

I'm Your Fan ''I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen'' is a tribute album to Leonard Cohen, released in 1991, produced by the French music magazine ''Les Inrockuptibles''. The album features Cohen's songs interpreted by some of the most respected rock act ...

''.Wice, Nathaniel (1992)
Various Artists ''I'm Your Fan: The Songs of Leonard Cohen''
, ''

SPIN Spin or spinning most often refers to: * Spin (physics) or particle spin, a fundamental property of elementary particles * Spin quantum number, a number which defines the value of a particle's spin * Spinning (textiles), the creation of yarn or thr ...

'', January 1992, retrieved 19 June 2010 Savage continues with the Dead Famous People name, with various collaborators, and another album, ''Secret Girls Business'', was issued in 2002, featuring six previously unreleased tracks. Dead Famous People released a 10-song album in 2020, titled ''Harry'', which was recorded in Auckland and released on

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the l ...

Discography

Singles, EPs

*"Drive Away" (1987), Craft – split

Flexi-disc The flexi disc (also known as a phonosheet, Sonosheet or Soundsheet, a trademark) is a Gramophone record, phonograph record made of a thin, flexible Polyvinyl chloride, vinyl sheet with a molded-in spiral Phonograph pickup, stylus groove, and is ...

with Screeming Custard *''Lost Persons Area'' (1987), Flying Nun – 12-inch vinyl EP *"Looking at Girls" Digital single (24 October 2019)-

Albums

*''Arriving Late in Torn and Filthy Jeans'' (1989), Utility *''All Hail The Daffodil'' (1994), La-Di-Da – 'best of' compilation *''Secret Girls Business'' (2002), Global Routes *''Harry'' (2020) *''Ballet Boy'' (2023), digital release

Compilation appearances

*'' In Love With These Times'' (1989), Flying Nun: "Barlow's House" *''Borobudur'' (1990), La-Di-Da: "All Hail The Daffodil" *''

'' (1991),

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the Age of Discovery, it was known for se ...

: "True Love leaves No Traces" *''La Di Da..so far'' (1991), La-Di-Da: "With Wings We'll Soar The Heavens" *''La Di Bloody Da'' (1994), La-Di-Da: "Desperate Orange Love Plunge" *''25 Years Box'' (2006), Flying Nun: "Barlow's House"

References

External links

Dead Famous People at Fire Records
{{Authority control New Zealand indie pop groups Flying Nun Records artists Musical groups from Auckland Fire Records (UK) artists