Several members of jangle pop group Felt have reunited for the first time in almost 40 years, performing together under the new name ‘Feel’.
The British group emerged near the end of the 1970s and released 10 albums during the following decade. Their catalogue began with the 1982 debut ‘Crumbling the Antiseptic Beauty’ and concluded with 1989’s ‘Me and a Monkey on the Moon’.
The musicians had not appeared together or shared a stage as part of the group for more than three decades, having played their final concert in Birmingham in December 1989. That lengthy absence ended on Saturday night, August 15, when three former members reunited.
Original drummer Gary Ainge, bassist Marco Thomas and guitarist Philip King performed together at Glas-Goes Pop, Scotland’s annual festival celebrating independent music, using the name ‘Feel’.
Plans for the reunion were shared on Instagram last month. The musicians explained that they would perform instrumental arrangements of Felt songs under the new title, which they described as “the present tense of Felt”.
“Feel is a new group made up of original Felt members Gary Ainge (who played drums on all ten albums), Marco Thomas on bass and Philip King on rhythm guitar,” they wrote at the time. “Along with Martin Davies on keys and Andy Wellings on lead guitar, they will be honouring the beauty of Felt’s music – by playing instrumental Felt songs – and Felt songs instrumentally.”
Their announcement continued: “As it says so accurately on the Felt album sleeves – the songs were ‘coloured in by the band’ – and that’s what they intend to do. As well as showcasing the melodic ingenuity of Maurice Deebank and Martin Duffy, they will also be performing instrumental interpretations of some of the songs of Lawrence.”
During the performance, the musicians welcomed Belle and Sebastian’s Stuart Murdoch and emerging artist Rhadika as unexpected guests. Both joined the group for a version of Felt’s 1984 song ‘Primitive Painters’.
Find footage from the gig below.
Following the show, Rhadika reflected on what the invitation meant to her. She wrote: “Felt reunited for the first time in [37] years and I somehow got to be a part of it.”
“Last night was a night that I will never forget… I got to sing with original members of Felt. Performing ‘Primitive Painters’ was truly everything and more, a song that has held my soul for many years.
“I was holding back tears of joy as well as reflection. Growing up my dad adored Felt and always played me their songs, they are a big reason why I subconsciously started creating dream pop music.
“As Stuart Murdoch said on stage, we were both embodying our heroes yesterday, some moments feel too special to put into words. Thank you for letting me be a part of something I’ve loved for so long.”
