Felt's Original Members Reunite as Feel for First Show in 37 Years
Three original members of English jangle pop band Felt played their first show together in 37 years on Saturday, August 15, appearing under a new name, Feel, at Scotland's annual independent music festival Glas-Goes Pop. It was the trio's first time on stage together since Felt's final show in Birmingham in December 1989. The set reworked Felt songs into instrumental versions, and two guest vocalists joined for a rendition of the 1984 track "Primitive Painters." According to NME, it marked the first time in decades the three had performed together.
Who's in Feel
Feel is built around three founding Felt members: drummer Gary Ainge (who played on all ten Felt albums), bassist Marco Thomas, and rhythm guitarist Philip King. They're joined by keyboardist Martin Davies and lead guitarist Andy Wellings.
Instrumental versions, by design
When the band announced the project on Instagram last month, they described Feel as "Felt in the present tense" — an instrumental approach to the band's catalog focused on the melodic writing of Maurice Deebank and Martin Duffy, with some songs originally sung by frontman Lawrence reworked as instrumentals. The announcement quoted Felt's own album liner notes, which described songs as being "coloured in by the band" — the same approach taken for this performance.
Stuart Murdoch and Rhadika join for "Primitive Painters"
Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch and rising artist Rhadika appeared as surprise guests during the set, joining the band for the 1984 song "Primitive Painters."
Rhadika said afterward on social media that her father played her Felt's music growing up, and that it was part of what drew her toward dream pop songwriting. She also recounted Murdoch telling her onstage that they were both "playing their heroes" that night.
Felt's decade of albums
Felt formed in the late 1970s and released ten albums throughout the 1980s, from their 1982 debut Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty to 1989's Me and a Monkey on the Moon. The band has not reunited or performed together as a group in the more than three decades since.