Recent from talks
Nothing was collected or created yet.
The Feelers
View on WikipediaThis article has multiple issues. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. (Learn how and when to remove these messages)
|
The Feelers are a New Zealand pop rock band formed in the early 1990s in Christchurch by James Reid (singer/guitarist) and Hamish Gee (drums/guitar).
Key Information
History
[edit]The Feelers were signed by Warner Music and released their first album, Supersystem. The album went to number 1 in New Zealand in September 1998, and became the second biggest selling album in the country that year. An instrumental version of single "Pressure Man" featured in 1999 American film Drop Dead Gorgeous during Kirsten Dunst's tap-dancing act. At the 1999 New Zealand Music Awards Supersystem won Album of the Year, Song Writer of the Year (James Reid), Band of the Year, and Producer of the Year (The Feelers and Malcolm Welsford). The band was also awarded the most played song on New Zealand Radio two years running, with "Supersystem" 1998 and "Venus" the following year.
After extensive touring the band started work on their next album, recording demos with Des Broadbery (U2) before starting production with British producer Gil Norton.(The Pixies, Foo Fighters) Released in 2001, Communicate debuted at Number 1.
The band's 2003 album Playground Battle was seen by the band as a new direction. Hitting the number 1 spot again, the album earned The Feelers their third award for the APRA most played song on New Zealand Radio, for "Stand Up".
The band wrote the song "Venus", which, in 1999, won an Apra Silver Scroll award for Most Performed Work.[1]
After further touring around Australasia, USA and Europe, the band started on their fourth album, One World. Released on 13 November 2006, the self-produced album debuted at number one on the New Zealand Album Charts,[2] and also went Platinum in its first week of release,[3] their fourth album to hit the number 1 slot.
In July 2008, The Feelers played a sellout show at the Octagon in Dunedin before an All Blacks vs South Africa test match at Carisbrook. The band performed two new songs, "Beautiful Feeling" and "Narrow Lanes". That October The Feelers embarked on a national "Heartland" Tour, playing acoustic shows in 18 small towns away from the cities, as a way of saying thanks to those who had supported it over its first ten years.
The Feelers released a greatest hits album entitled The Feelers: The Best: '98–'08 in November 2008, which contained 18 songs including two brand new tracks; "Beautiful Feeling" and "Whoever Said". In October 2009 the album earned The Feelers a Tui in the Vodafone New Zealand Music Awards for the highest selling album.
In May 2009 The Feelers members announced that a new album was in production.[4] In September they released details of a competition with MasterCard, where two winners would fly to the Cook Islands, and sing and appear in the video of their single "Blue Skies". In an interview with radio station The Rock FM from Rarotonga that October, The Feelers mentioned that the new album would not be released for several months, but the album did not appear. After extended delays, a new album was finally announced for release in August 2011.
In November 2009, the Feelers announced an annual summer tour, adding an as yet unreleased song to the live gigs, "Open Up The Ground".
In March 2010, the band released a cover version of Jesus Jones hit, "Right Here, Right Now", as the anthem to the 2011 Rugby World Cup advertising campaign. The New Zealand Herald wrote that the announcement had been "widely panned by New Zealanders posting on the social networking site Twitter",[5] though the newspaper added that some had expressed relief that The Feelers had been chosen, over other Kiwi bands.
In 2011, the band released the album Hope Nature Forgives. Their song "Stand Up" featured as the campaign song for the New Zealand National Party during the 2011 New Zealand election.
James Reid's brother is singer-songwriter Donald Reid. Matt Thomas' brother is Gareth Thomas, keyboardist in New Zealand band Goodshirt.
Solo careers
[edit]Members
[edit]From its formation in the early 1990s until 2008, The Feelers consisted of the same members. In 2008 bassist Matt Thomas departed, replaced by Matt Short and shortly after, long time friend of the band Clint Harris from Opshop joined the band. Guitarist Andy Lynch, who had played guitar for The Feelers on some previous tours, was added permanently to the line-up in 2006.[7]
Current
[edit]- James Reid – vocals, guitar (1992–present)
- Hamish Gee – drums, guitar (1992–present)
- Andy Lynch – guitar (2008–present)
- Clinton Harris – bass (2011–present)
- Andy "Keys" Cochrane – keyboards, guitar (2023–present)
Previous
[edit]- Matt Thomas – bass (1993–2008)
- Tim Skedden – Guitar (1993–2007)
- Matt Short – bass (2008–2011)
Timeline
[edit]
Discography
[edit]The Feelers
[edit]- Supersystem (1998)
- Communicate (2001)
- Playground Battle (2003)
- One World (2006)
- Hope Nature Forgives (2011)
- larger than life - reimagined (2023)
Solo albums
[edit]James Reid
[edit]- Saint (2013)
References
[edit]- ^ NZ Music, Commission. "The Feelers". NZ Music Commission. Retrieved 24 July 2023.
- ^ "the feelers". Thefeelers.co.nz. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ [1] Archived 3 January 2007 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ [2] Archived 25 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ "World Cup song fails to strike a chord with online audience". The New Zealand Herald. 30 March 2010. Retrieved 21 November 2011.
- ^ "Saint | Amplifier NZ Music". Amplifier.co.nz. Archived from the original on 11 October 2015. Retrieved 8 November 2015.
- ^ [3] Archived 25 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
External links
[edit]The Feelers
View on GrokipediaHistory
Formation and Early Career
The Feelers originated in Christchurch, New Zealand, where school friends James Reid and Hamish Gee formed the band in 1993.[1][10] Reid served as lead vocalist and guitarist, while Gee played drums and guitar.[1] The duo, who had known each other since childhood, drew from early musical experiences including Reid's start playing at age four.[11] Bassist Matt Thomas joined shortly after, solidifying the core trio that characterized the band's initial lineup.[1] Without institutional support or a recording contract, the group relied on self-driven efforts, performing unpaid or low-paying local gigs in Christchurch during the mid-1990s.[12] These activities underscored a pattern of sustained grassroots activity, as the members balanced music with dropping out of tertiary studies amid financial pressures.[4] From their early teens, Reid and Gee busked on Christchurch streets, including Cashel Mall and outside Ballantynes department store during school holidays, honing their performance skills through direct public exposure.[13][4] This period involved practical hardships such as occasional sleeping in cars during travel for opportunities, reflecting the causal role of persistence in navigating an unsigned status without external funding or networks.[4] By 1997, these foundational experiences positioned the band for their first industry contract after relocating to Auckland.[4]Breakthrough and Commercial Peak
The Feelers signed with Warner Music New Zealand prior to the release of their debut album Supersystem on September 21, 1998, marking their transition from independent efforts to major-label support. The album debuted at number one on the New Zealand charts and became the second highest-selling album of the year, certified five times platinum with estimated sales exceeding 75,000 units domestically.[14] [15] This commercial ascent was driven by lead single "Pressure Man," written by frontman James Reid, which earned nominations for six categories at the 1998 New Zealand Music Awards, including single of the year, and propelled the band's visibility through radio airplay and live performances.[12] Following Supersystem's momentum, the band released Communicate on October 12, 2001, which also topped the New Zealand album charts and yielded hits like "Astronaut" and "Communicate," both reaching number one on the singles chart. Reid's songwriting continued to anchor the albums' appeal, blending accessible rock hooks with introspective lyrics that resonated in the local market. The band undertook extensive Australasian tours during this period, performing across New Zealand and Australia to capitalize on regional demand, solidifying their status as a stadium-filling act. [16] By the late 2000s, The Feelers had amassed over 250,000 album sales in New Zealand alone across their early releases, outpacing many contemporaries through consistent chart dominance and Reid's prolific output rather than fleeting trends. This peak reflected empirical market validation, with multi-platinum certifications and headlining slots underscoring sustained fan engagement over the 1998–2003 timeframe.[16] [4]Challenges, Hiatus, and Reunions
Following the band's commercial successes in the early 2000s, The Feelers encountered challenges including lineup instability and diminished album sales, attributed in part to the rise of illegal downloading.[3] In 2008, founding bassist Matt Thomas left after 15 years, with both parties citing personal and artistic differences as the reasons for the split.[17] Thomas was replaced by Matt Short on bass, and guitarist Andy Lynch, who had previously supported tours, joined as a full member.[3] That November, the band released the compilation album The Best: '98-'08, which included two new tracks and served as a retrospective amid the transition.[18] Activity slowed in the ensuing years, with no new studio albums until 2011's Hope Nature Forgives, which did not achieve the chart prominence of earlier releases like Supersystem (1998) or Play It Strange (2006).[3] The band maintained sporadic live performances and regional tours, but faced extended periods of lower visibility without consistent recording output or major promotions. By 2011, bassist Clinton Harris replaced Short, further adjusting the lineup. This phase reflected broader market saturation for established New Zealand rock acts, as streaming and piracy eroded traditional sales models.[3] Revival efforts gained momentum in 2023 with the release of Reimagined – Greatest Hits on July 7, featuring 11 reinterpreted tracks from their catalog.[19] The album supported a nationwide summer tour of 17 dates, commencing December 30 in Napier and concluding February 2, 2024, in Hamilton, emphasizing acoustic and refreshed arrangements to engage longtime fans.[20] These performances demonstrated enduring domestic appeal, with shows selling out in select venues despite the hiatus-like gaps in prior activity.[5]Musical Style and Influences
Core Characteristics
The Feelers' sound is defined by a pop rock framework built on electric guitar riffs, bass lines, and drum patterns that emphasize melodic hooks and verse-chorus structures. James Reid's lead vocals, supported by guitar work, deliver lines culminating in anthemic choruses, as demonstrated in tracks such as "Venus" from their 1998 album Supersystem and "Fishing for Lisa" from 2001's Playground Battle.[3][2] This configuration relies on a core instrumentation of guitars, bass, and drums, occasionally incorporating subtle electronic elements without altering the primary rock orientation.[21] Production evolved from the raw, unpolished quality of early independent recordings—stemming from the band's Christchurch origins in the 1990s—to cleaner, more layered mixes during their Warner Music era starting with Supersystem in 1998.[3] This shift involved professional engineering that enhanced clarity in guitar tones and vocal presence, while preserving consistent elements like power chord sequences and mid-tempo rhythms around 100-120 beats per minute, observable in their chart-topping singles.[2] The band maintained a grounded approach, avoiding diversification into alternative genres or complex arrangements, which sustained a direct rock realism aligned with domestic New Zealand rock traditions through repetitive, riff-centric builds suited to live and radio playback.[21][3]Songwriting and Themes
James Reid has served as the primary songwriter for The Feelers since the band's inception in the early 1990s, crafting lyrics that emphasize personal experiences over abstract or ideological content.[2] His approach centers on relatable motifs such as emotional pressure, interpersonal dynamics, and momentary escape, evident in chart-topping tracks like "Pressure Man" from the 1998 debut album Supersystem, which portrays the grinding tensions of everyday existence through imagery of breaking barriers under strain.[22][23] Similarly, "Fishing for Lisa" from the 2001 album Communicate evokes the pursuit and regret in romantic endeavors, using metaphors of elusive connection to underscore resilience amid disappointment.[24][25] Drawing from the 1990s alternative rock landscape, Reid's narratives adapt gritty, introspective elements into concise, hook-driven structures suited for mainstream radio play, eschewing overt political or social commentary in favor of universal emotional anchors.[3] This pragmatic style aligns with the band's commercial trajectory, yielding multiple New Zealand number-one singles without delving into partisan messaging.[26] Reid's thematic consistency spans the band's discography, from early high-energy anthems to later releases like Playground Battle (2003), where motifs of strain and relational navigation recur without transitioning to deeper philosophical or autobiographical introspection, reflecting a deliberate emphasis on broad accessibility over evolving personal revelation.[27][28]Band Members
Current Members
The current performing lineup of The Feelers, as featured in their 2024 Reimagined tour and subsequent shows, consists of James Reid on lead vocals and guitar, Hamish Gee on drums and guitar, Andy Lynch on guitar and vocals, and Clinton Harris on bass.[29][30] Reid and Gee formed the band's core in 1992 and remain its only continuous members, handling songwriting, production, and live performances through multiple lineup changes.[6] Lynch, formerly of Zed, joined for tours starting in 2008 and contributes to arrangements and backing vocals.[31] Harris, previously with Opshop, has played bass since 2011, replacing earlier players like Matt Short.[32] Keyboardist Andy Cochrane has occasionally supported live sets since around 2023, adding synths and harmonies, though the quartet forms the primary touring unit.[6] This configuration emphasizes Reid's songwriting vision while leveraging experienced collaborators for robust live delivery, as evidenced by sold-out New Zealand dates in 2023–2024.[33]Former Members
Matt Thomas performed as the band's bassist from its inception in 1993 until April 2008, contributing to the foundational rhythm section alongside drummer Hamish Gee and providing the driving low-end on early albums such as Supersystem (1998) and Playground Battle (2001), which helped establish the group's pop-rock sound.[1][3] His departure was attributed to personal and artistic differences after 15 years with the band.[17] Tim Skedden handled lead guitar duties during the band's formative period from 1993 to 2007, participating in initial live residencies and recordings that shaped their high-energy style before the addition of subsequent guitarists.[3][4] He occasionally filled in for performances post-2007 but ceased regular involvement around that time, coinciding with lineup adjustments amid commercial pressures.[3] Matt Short briefly took over bass duties from 2008 to 2011 following Thomas's exit, supporting transitional recordings and tours during a phase of personnel flux.[3]Membership Timeline
The Feelers formed in Christchurch in the early 1990s as a trio consisting of James Reid on lead vocals and guitar, Hamish Gee on drums, and Matt Thomas on bass.[34][18] Tim Skedden contributed guitar during the band's initial years and occasional live performances thereafter.[3]| Year | Key Membership Change | Details and Associated Activity |
|---|---|---|
| Early 1990s | Core trio established: James Reid (vocals/guitar), Hamish Gee (drums), Matt Thomas (bass) | Formation in Christchurch; early recordings and local performances leading to debut EP The Leaving (1997) and album Supersystem (1998).[34][18] |
| 1990s–2007 | Lineup stable with occasional touring guitarists, including Andy Lynch on select tours | Core trio supported albums Communicate (2001) and Playground Battle (2003); no permanent changes reported.[34][3] |
| 2008 | Matt Thomas departs on bass; replaced initially by Matt Short; Andy Lynch joins permanently on guitar; Clint Harris joins on bass shortly after | Transition during post-Rough Grind era; Harris, formerly of Opshop, became long-term bassist.[34][18][3] |
| 2009–present | Stabilized lineup: James Reid, Hamish Gee, Andy Lynch, Clint Harris | Supported sporadic tours and releases, including 2011 Rugby World Cup song and 2022 national tour; no further core departures.[5][18] |