JOEYFAT

Albums Suit Of Lights, Ye Bloody Flux, House of Fat

Joeyfat formed about 30 years ago in Tunbridge Wells in Kent in a haze of spite and self-righteousness, armed with a love of their own peculiar talents and a distaste for music careerists.

Critics mostly adored them, record companies eventually mostly ignored them, especially after their representatives were chased out of venues and their calls and letters were met with a combination of petulance and indifference.

They’ve released a few singles (two of which made the old Indie charts), four albums, played some shows and built up a small but devoted following, including the late John Peel.

We’re aware that at best that sounds like an excuse for failure, at worst a euphemism for hopelessness, but Joeyfat aren’t like other bands or groups or whatever you call them.

I know you’ve heard that a lot, but it’s true.

They don’t tour, have no schedule for releases and don’t have ambitions to go down in the pantheon of rock history, sell millions of records, or have rockumentaries and hagiographies based on them.

The music they make springs from the duo that originally formed the band - the skewed spoken word meanderings of M Edward Cole, the knotweed dozen-riffs-a-song compositions of Jason Dormon over circuit-bent percussion.

It’s not an exaggeration to say they’ve influenced a lot of musicians (gratifyingly some who have made a success of themselves are even starting to admit it). Not in a David Bowie kind of way, more like a Kentish Velvet Underground. That is, the ones who get it really get it mostly use it to do good. Mostly.

"Joeyfat add rapier wit, nagging chords and a clownish cunning of their own... Therein begins a hardcore show more evil than most". (NME)

"Joeyfat prove that they’re so enduring for one reason: they fucking rule live." (Drowned In Sound)