Felt (band)

Felt
Origin	Birmingham, England
Genres	Alternative rock, post-punk, indie pop, jangle pop
Years active	1979–89
Labels	Cherry Red (1981–85) Creation (1986–88) él (1989)
Associated acts	Denim, Go-Kart Mozart, Primal Scream
Website	Facebook page
Past members	Lawrence Gary Ainge Maurice Deebank Martin Duffy Nick Gilbert Mick Lloyd Marco Thomas Mick Bund

Felt were an alternative rock band founded in Birmingham, England in 1979 and led by the mononymous Lawrence. The band's name was inspired by Tom Verlaine's emphasis of the word "felt" in the Television song "Venus". They existed for ten years, throughout the 1980s, during which time they released ten singles and ten albums.

Felt have been cited as an influence by Belle and Sebastian's Stuart Murdoch and Tim Burgess of The Charlatans, as well as by alternative rock bands Manic Street Preachers,Girls, and The Tyde.

The band is not to be confused with the American early 1970s psychedelic rock band of the same name.

Lawrence established Felt in 1979 with the release of the single "Index", a self-published solo recording. A noisy effort unlike Felt's subsequent records, it was later awarded single of the week by Dave McCullough in music paper Sounds.

With Lawrence on vocals and guitar, the band was formed properly in 1980 with the addition of schoolfriend Nick Gilbert (on drums) and local guitarist Maurice Deebank. Becoming co-writer with Lawrence, Deebank's classical style of playing would provide the band's signature sound in its early years.

The band performed as a trio before deciding that bass guitar was needed. Gilbert switched to bass and drummer Tony Race was added. He was replaced soon after by Gary Ainge who would remain the only constant member besides Lawrence throughout the rest of Felt's existence.

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