Biography
Formed in 1986, noisy New Zealand guitar pop outfit Straitjacket Fits placed singer/guitarist Shayne Carter in front, with drummer John Collie—his onetime Doublehappys bandmate—and bassist David Wood completing the lineup; second guitarist Andrew Brough came aboard soon afterward. Debut release Life in One Chord, the 1987 EP, delivered a minor hit via the wonderful “She Speeds.” The group resurfaced the following year with the widely praised LP Hail. After a world tour the quartet entered the studio for 1990’s Melt, which featured the hit single “Bad Note for a Heart.” Brough departed following an exhausting trek to start his own band Bike, with guitarist Mark Peterson stepping in. Stripped of Brough’s melodic input, Straitjacket Fits moved toward a still-rawer approach, first heard on the 1992 EP Done. The 1993 LP Blow followed the same path, yet after an American tour alongside the Bats and the JPS Experience the members chose to disband amicably. Carter later reemerged fronting Dimmer. Andrew Brough died on February 4, 2020.
Albums
