Fur Patrol were a New Zealand rock band, which formed in Wellington in May 1996 by Andrew Bain on bass guitar, Simon Braxton on drums, Julia Deans on lead vocals and guitar, and Steve Wells on lead guitar. Their debut studio album, Pet (September 2000) reached No. 7 on the Official Aotearoa Music Albums Chart. It provided their number-one hit, "Lydia" (2000) and two top 40 hits "Andrew" and "Spinning a Line" (both 2001). They relocated to Melbourne, Australia in 2001 and issued their second studio album, Collider (2003). In the following year, Wells left Fur Patrol. The three-piece line-up released a third album, Local Kid (2008) before disbanding. The group undertook a reunion tour in 2016.
History
Fur Patrol were formed in Wellington on 15 May 1996. Founders were Andrew Bain on bass guitar and keyboards, Simon Braxton on drums, percussion, theremin and backing vocals, Julia Deans on lead vocals, guitars, keyboards and violin, and Steve Wells on lead guitar and backing vocals. Wellington schoolmates, Bain and Wells had worked together in different bands since 1990, It peaked at No. 17 on the Official Aotearoa Music Singles Chart. Shaun Chait of NZ Musician observed, they "have always had that all important edge. Their gigs have always been bigger, their songs better – and they've always impressed the right people." At the 1999 bNet NZ Music Awards the EP won Best Independent Release and Deans was named Female Fox.
Their debut studio album Pet was produced by David Long, and was released in September 2000, also on Wishbone Records. It peaked at No. 7 on the Official Aotearoa Music Albums Chart and was accredited double platinum for shipment of 30,000 units. It was promoted by a New Zealand tour with support acts, Weta and Shihad. They were signed to record with Universal Music Australia. and Australia in April the next year. The album was produced by British-born Mark Wallis<!-- not greyhound trainer -->, recorded in Melbourne's Sing Sing studios and mastered by Chris Blair<!-- not at dab page --> at Abbey Road Studios, London. It has a "rawer, noisier attitude" than Pet, as the group were "tight and they pushed the rock pedal a bit harder." The first single, "Precious" (2003), which peaked at No. 18 in New Zealand, Undercovers Tim Cashmere felt its "unbelievably catchy hook will have you singing along as though it were an old favourite." The group disbanded in late 2018, with periodic reunion shows of the trio line-up, including a New Zealand tour in 2016.
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| rowspan=2 | 1998
| "Man in a Box"
| align="center" | —
| rowspan=3 | Starlifter
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| "Dominoes"
| align="center" | —
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| rowspan=2 | 1999
| "Beautiful"
| align="center" | —
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| "Now"
| align="center" | —
| rowspan=5 | Pet
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| rowspan=2 | 2000
| "Holy"
| align="center" | —
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| "Lydia"
| align="center" | 1
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| rowspan=2 | 2001
| "Andrew"
| align="center" | 24
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| "Spinning a Line"
| align="center" | 40
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| rowspan=3 | 2003
| "Fade Away"
| align="center" | —
| Non-album single
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| "Precious/Enemy (Live)"
| align="center" | —
| Non-album single
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| "Precious"
| align="center" | 18
| rowspan=3 | Collider
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| rowspan=2 | 2004
| "Enemy"
| align="center" | —
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| "Get Along"
| align="center" | —
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| 2007
| "Hand on an Anchor"
| align="center" | —
| Long Distance Runner
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| rowspan=3 | 2008
| "Great Leap Forward"
| align="center" | —
| rowspan=4 | Local Kid
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| "Silences and Distances"
| align="center" | —
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| "Hidden Agenda"
| align="center" | —
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| 2009
| "Little Fists"
| align="center" | —
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|colspan="4" style="font-size:90%" align="center" | "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
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Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Year
! Award
! Category
! Work
! Result
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| rowspan="5"|1999
| rowspan="5"|bNet NZ Music Awards
| Best Independent Release
| Starlifter
|
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| Best Rock Release
| Starlifter
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| Top Female Vocalist
| Julia Deans
|