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New Fast Automatic Daffodils were formed in Manchester, England, in 1988 by guitarist Dolan Hewison, bassist Justin Crawford, drummer Perry Saunders, and vocalist Andy Spearpoint; the band’s name derives from a poem by Adrian Henri. Their first single, "Lions", appeared in 1989 on Playtime Records, followed by the Music Is Shit EP the same year, establishing their presence in the alternative scene. In 1990 the single "Big" attracted attention, leading to a contract with Play It Again Sam Records and the release of their debut album Pigeonhole, which entered the UK charts at number 49. The band toured extensively across the UK, Europe, and the United States, securing a distribution deal with Mute/Elektra in America. In 1991 they released the single "Get Better" and a compilation of John Peel sessions, while 1992 saw the experimental album Body Exit Mind reach number 57 in the UK and the single "Stockholm" peak at number 30 on the Billboard Modern Rock chart. In 1994 the group shortened their name to New FADS and issued two EPs before releasing the final album Love It All in 1995; the band disbanded later that year. After the split, members pursued various projects: Andy Spearpoint studied music in Ireland, Dolan Hewison became Managing Director of Ear to the Ground and released music as Au‑Turn, and Justin Crawford joined the DJ duo Unabombers.