The Mystic Deckchairs were an Indie rock

Indie rock

Indie rock is a genre of alternative rock that originated in the United Kingdom and the United States in the 1980s. Indie rock is extremely diverse, with sub-genres that include lo-fi, post-rock, math rock, indie pop, dream pop, noise rock, space rock, sadcore, riot grrrl and emo, among others...

 band that formed in Cheshire

Cheshire

Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...

 in early 1988. The founding members were Dick Hooton (vocals & guitar), Jem Shaw (bass) and Simon Pardoe (guitar) - all attending Sir John Deane's College

Sir John Deane's College

Sir John Deane's College is a sixth form college in Northwich, Cheshire, UK. It was formerly Sir John Deane's Grammar School, which was founded in 1557.-History:...

 in Northwich

Northwich

Northwich is a town and civil parish in the unitary authority of Cheshire West and Chester and the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. It lies in the heart of the Cheshire Plain, at the confluence of the rivers Weaver and Dane...

 at the time. Steve Hewitt

Steve Hewitt

Steven James Hewitt is the singer and guitarist in Love Amongst Ruin, having previously been the drummer for Placebo between mid-1996 and October 2007.-Personal life:...

 (drums) joined later that year after leaving his brother's local band Misadventure.

Two of their tracks, For The Day and Keep Your Head On, appeared on the 1989 compilation LP 'Drunk' released by Emergency Records - the latter of which was played by John Peel

John Peel

John Robert Parker Ravenscroft, OBE , known professionally as John Peel, was an English disc jockey, radio presenter, record producer and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original BBC Radio 1 DJs, broadcasting regularly from 1967 until his death in 2004...

 on his BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1

BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation which also broadcasts internationally, specialising in current popular music and chart hits throughout the day. Radio 1 provides alternative genres after 7:00pm including electronic dance, hip hop, rock...

 show.

After Dick Hooton & Steve Hewitt left they went through various line-ups, by then based in Manchester

Manchester

Manchester is a city and metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. According to the Office for National Statistics, the 2010 mid-year population estimate for Manchester was 498,800. Manchester lies within one of the UK's largest metropolitan areas, the metropolitan county of Greater...

, as just The Deckchairs. For several years Paul "Jez" Fitzgerald (vocals, guitar & mandolin) and Julien Helme (drums) completed the foursome - and after various other incarnations and name changes including Flux, Bastard Amber & Pike they dis-banded in 1996.

Steve Hewitt later went on to play with such bands as Boo Radleys, Breed & Placebo

Placebo (band)

Placebo are a British rock band from London, England, formed in 1994 by singer and guitarist Brian Molko and bass guitarist Stefan Olsdal. The band was joined by drummer Robert Schultzberg, who was later replaced by Steve Hewitt after conflicts with Molko. Hewitt left the band in October 2007 and...

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