Her's
{{short description|British indie rock duo}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=December 2021}}
{{Use British English|date=March 2019}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Her's
| image = Hers, Beach House, Brighton (Great Escape 2018) (40781084310).jpg
| landscape = yes
| alt =
| caption = Her's performing in 2018
| alias =
| origin = Liverpool, England
| genre = {{hlist|Indie rock|indie pop|dream pop}}
| years_active = {{start date|2015}}–{{end date|2019}}
| label = Heist or Hit
| associated_acts =
| website = {{URL|thatbandofhers.com}}
| current_members =
| past_members = {{plainlist|
- Stephen Fitzpatrick
- Audun Laading}}
}}
Her's (also written as thatbandofhers) was an indie rock band from Liverpool, England composed of English guitarist and singer Stephen Fitzpatrick and Norwegian bassist and backing vocalist Audun Laading. They released a compilation album, Songs of Her's (2017), followed by a full-length studio album, Invitation to Her's (2018).
The duo and their tour manager were killed in a road traffic collision in Arizona while touring the United States in 2019.{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/2019/music/news/both-members-british-band-hers-die-car-crash-1203175844/|title=Both Members of British Band Her's, and Their Tour Manager, Die in U.S. Car Crash|first1=Stewart|last1=Clarke|date=29 March 2019|website=variety.com}} Heist or Hit Records said of the band's legacy: "their energy, vibrancy, and talent came to define our label".{{Cite web |last=Lim |first=Alex |date=June 26, 2023 |title=KRUA album review: 'Songs of Her's' by Her's |url=https://www.thenorthernlight.org/stories/krua-album-review-songs-of-hers-by-hers#:~:text=Because%20%E2%80%9CSong%20of%20Her's%E2%80%9D%20is,melancholy%20as%20it%20is%20comforting. |access-date=September 11, 2023 |website=The Northern Light}}
Members
{{multiple image
| align = left
| direction = vertical
| image1 = Her's - Way Back When Festival 2017 - Alexander Kellner - 2.jpg
| image2 = Her's - Way Back When Festival 2017 - Alexander Kellner - 3.jpg
| caption2 = Fitzpatrick (top) and Laading (bottom) performing at Way Back When Festival, 2017
}}
The band's line-up consisted of Stephen Fitzpatrick, from Barrow-in-Furness, Cumbria, England, who sang lead vocals and played guitar, and Audun Laading, from Flekkerøy, Kristiansand, Norway, who played bass guitar and sang backing vocals. Fitzpatrick was also a drummer, but the band used a drum machine with both members contributing to its programming.{{cite news |url=https://www.newsandstar.co.uk/news/17536261.cumbrian-musician-dies-in-us-crash-alongside-bandmate/ |title=Cumbrian musician dies in US crash alongside bandmate |author= |date=29 March 2019 |work=News & Star with The Cumberland News |access-date=29 March 2019}}{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2019/mar/29/liverpool-hers-duo-killed-car-accident-us-stephen-fitzpatrick-audun-laading- |title=Her's: Liverpool's indie scene reels at death of 'the loveliest lads' |last1=Torpey |first1=Christopher |date=29 March 2019 |work=The Guardian |access-date=29 March 2019}}
History
Fitzpatrick and Laading met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts,{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/aug/25/hers-one-to-watch-invitation-to-hers-liverpool-duo |title=Ones to watch: Her's |last=Mackay |first=Emily |date=25 August 2018 |work=The Guardian |access-date=28 March 2019}} (from which they both graduated in 2016 after three-year music degrees, being presented with their certificates by Paul McCartney at a graduation ceremony).{{Cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZqLz7SEUFYo|title=Stephen & Audun Graduate from LIPA|via=YouTube}} Whilst still students they formed Her's in 2015, after having previously played together in the rhythm section of another Liverpool band named 'The Sundogs'.{{Cite web |url=https://metro.co.uk/2017/09/25/aotd-2509-dream-pop-duo-hers-announce-uk-tour-following-their-critically-acclaimed-release-6948729/ |title=New dream-pop duo Her's are well worth listening to |last=Dhillon |first=Achal |date=25 September 2017 |website=Metro |access-date=29 March 2019}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2019/03/hers-killed-in-car-crash.html |title=Liverpool Duo Her's Have Died While on Tour |last=Clare |first=Martin |date=29 March 2019 |website=Paste |access-date=29 March 2019}} The duo initially formed Her's in jest, travelling around Liverpool filming comedic music videos and posting them on YouTube.{{Cite web |url=http://diymag.com/2017/06/23/no-joke-hers-neu-interview-june-2017 |title=No Joke: Her's |last=Milton |first=Jamie |date=23 June 2017 |website=DIY| access-date=29 March 2019}}
They released their debut single, "Dorothy", on 7 April 2016.{{cite web |url=http://www.heistorhit.com/2016/04/07/hear-debut-track-dorothy/ |title=Introducing Her's: Hear debut track 'Dorothy' |publisher=Heist or Hit |date=7 April 2016 |access-date=29 March 2019 |archive-date=28 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728124011/http://www.heistorhit.com/2016/04/07/hear-debut-track-dorothy/ |url-status=dead }} They performed on the 2016 Green Man Festival Rising Stage. A nine-track compilation titled Songs of Her's was released on 12 May 2017.{{cite web |title=Her's debut new song, 'I'll Try' |url=http://diymag.com/2017/04/10/hers-new-song-ill-try-songs-of-hers |work=DIY |date=10 April 2017 |access-date=29 March 2019}} The compilation received four stars from The Skinny.{{cite web |last=Fitzpatrick |first=Will |title=Her's – Songs of Her's |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/reviews/albums/hers-songs-of-hers |work=The Skinny |date=8 May 2017 |access-date=29 March 2019}} Writing for NME in April 2017, Thomas Smith said:{{cite web |title=New Music Of The Day: Her's' I'll Try |url=https://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-radar/hers-ill-try-listen-nme-2043735 |last=Smith |first=Thomas |date=10 April 2017 |website=NME |access-date=29 March 2019}}
{{Quote|Her's are not a group to stand still. Each song they produce, from the lo-fi bedroom pop power of debut track to 'Dorothy' to the duo's equally melodic take on slacker-rock on 'Marcel', sees the Liverpool-based duo shift and float between sounds. Never really fitting into one genre, but somehow nailing whatever they end up doing.}}
The band later released their debut full-length album, Invitation to Her's, on Heist or Hit Records on 24 August 2018.{{cite web |last=Goggins |first=Joe |title=Her's – Invitation To... |url=http://diymag.com/2018/08/24/hers-invitation-to-album-review |work=DIY |date=24 August 2018 |access-date=29 March 2019}}{{cite web |title=Her's announce debut album 'Invitation To Her's' with new track 'Low Beam' |url=http://diymag.com/2018/05/24/hers-debut-album-invitation-to-hers-new-track-low-beam-listen |work=DIY |date=24 May 2018 |access-date=29 March 2019}}{{cite web |last=Maicki |first=Salvatore |title=Her's announce debut album, share new single 'Low Beam' |url=https://www.thefader.com/2018/05/28/hers-announce-debut-album-share-new-single-low-beam |website=The Fader |date=28 May 2018 |access-date=29 March 2019}} Her's were featured on Paste{{'}}s list titled "The 15 New Liverpool Bands You Need to Know in 2018".{{cite web |last=Manno |first=Lizzie |title=The 15 New Liverpool Bands You Need to Know in 2018 |url=https://www.pastemagazine.com/articles/2018/08/the-15-new-liverpool-bands-you-need-to-know-in-201.html |website=Paste |date=20 August 2018 |access-date=29 March 2019}} An acoustic performance by the band at the 2019 South by Southwest festival in Austin, Texas, US was also featured on BBC Music Introducing. The album includes the single "Harvey" which according to Genius, is a reference to the 1950 film Harvey.{{Cite web |last=Crane |first=Natalie |date=2019-04-02 |title=In Memoriam: Remembering the Life, Spirit, and Energy of Her's |url=https://atwoodmagazine.com/htbc-hers-band-tribute/ |access-date=2023-11-06 |website=Atwood Magazine |language=en-US}}
Equipment
The duo were very loyal to their choice of guitar and bass. Laading used a Rickenbacker 4001 for his main bass while Fitzpatrick used a Fender Blacktop Series Jaguar HH for his main guitar. There were times where they didn't use their main instruments live. During live performances, both of them use a drum machine (specifically the Novation Launchpad USB MIDI Controller for Ableton Live) hooked to a MacBook Pro.{{Cite web |title=Her's {{!}} Equipboard |url=https://equipboard.com/pros/her-s |access-date=2024-11-03 |website=equipboard.com}}
Deaths
On 27 March 2019, around 1 a.m., Fitzpatrick and Laading (both aged 25), along with their tour manager, Trevor Engelbrektson (aged 37) from Minneapolis, were killed in a head-on traffic collision and subsequent vehicle fire near Milepost 68 on Interstate 10, west of Tonopah, Arizona.{{cite web |last=Daly |first=Rhian |title=Liverpool band Her's have died while on tour in the US |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/liverpool-band-hers-died-tour-us-2468466 |work=NME |date=28 March 2019 |access-date=28 March 2019}}{{cite magazine |last=Stiernberg |first=Bonnie |title=Liverpool Band Her's Killed in Car Accident While Touring America |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/8504674/liverpool-band-hers-killed-in-car-accident-while-touring-america |magazine=Billboard |date=28 March 2019 |access-date=28 March 2019}}{{cite web |last1=Loose |first1=Ashley |title=UK music duo was killed in AZ I-10 wrong-way crash, BBC says |url=https://www.abc15.com/news/state/bbc-reports-uk-music-duo-hers-was-killed-in-i-10-wrong-way-crash |website=KNXV |access-date=29 March 2019 |date=29 March 2019}}{{cite web |title=Wrong-way crash: Members of British indie duo Her's identified as victims |url=https://www.parkerpioneer.net/news/article_c4a0e434-5226-11e9-81f3-13f2f5d87545.html |website=Parker Pioneer |date=29 March 2019 |access-date=29 March 2019}} They were travelling from Phoenix, Arizona, where they had played at the Rebel Lounge{{Cite web|url=https://www.azcentral.com/story/entertainment/music/2019/03/29/hers-fans-react-uk-band-killed-by-arizona-wrong-way-driver-after-phoenix-show/3312916002/|title=Fans react to news that Liverpool band Her's were killed by wrong-way driver after Phoenix show|website=Azcentral.com|language=en|access-date=2 July 2019}} on 26 March, to perform a show on the following evening in Santa Ana, California, some {{convert|350|miles|km}} away, as part of a 19-date second tour of North America.{{cite web |title=Her's: Liverpool band killed in US crash |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-47742694 |author= |date=29 March 2019 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=29 March 2019}} The Arizona Department of Public Safety confirmed that Engelbrektson had been driving the band's Ford tour van at the time of the crash.{{cite web |title=Her's, British indie duo, killed in wrong-way collision in Arizona |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/hers-british-indie-band-killed-wrong-way-collision-arizona-interstate-10/ |website=Cbsnews.com |date=29 March 2019 |access-date=29 March 2019}} The driver of a Nissan pick-up truck, Francisco Rebollar, aged 64, from Murrieta, California, was also killed in the collision; a subsequent police investigation of the scene located a bottle of alcohol in the wreckage.{{Cite web|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-merseyside-47751801|title=Her's: Band's crash caused by 'wrong-way driver'|date=29 March 2019|access-date=23 May 2023|website=Bbc.co.uk}} At the time of the crash, the Arizona Department of Public Safety was already responding to reports of the Nissan pick-up truck travelling at speed in the wrong direction going eastbound in the westbound highway lanes.{{cite web |title=British band 'killed by wrong-way driver' |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-merseyside-47751801 |publisher=BBC News |access-date=29 March 2019 |date=29 March 2019}}
A requiem mass for Fitzpatrick was held at St. Mary's (Roman Catholic) Church, Barrow-in-Furness, on 23 April 2019.{{Cite web|url=https://www.nwemail.co.uk/memorials/death-notices/death/17578632.stephen-joshua-fitzpatrick/|title=Stephen Joshua Fitzpatrick|website=The Mail|access-date=23 May 2023}}
Legacy
Musician and friend of the two, Strawberry Guy, has attributed his stage name to Her's (in which he got his name from a drunk question by Laading.){{efn|"Strawberry Guy's music is a testament to the memory of the missed duo as Her’s came up with the name Strawberry Guy. ‘It was Audun actually. We were walking back from a festival all quite drunk and we were talking about drinks for some reason. Audun asked me, “If you could have any drink right now that wasn’t alcohol, what would you have?” and I replied with “strawberry milkshake”. He then went “Ah, you’re a strawberry guy!”, and I thought it was a good artist name. He then went “Yeah, you’re Strawberry Guy now.” I knew then when I released music it would be under that name. I thought it was sweet, soft and smooth like my music hopefully.’"{{Cite web |last=Secret Meeting |date=2021-12-09 |title=Interview: Strawberry Guy |url=http://www.secretmeeting.co.uk/interview-strawberry-guy |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=Secret Meeting |language=en-US}}}}
The duo's favourite actor, Pierce Brosnan, paid tribute to the band with a Instagram post{{Cite web |last=Brosnan |first=Pierce |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/Bvrj1J7A96X/ |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=www.instagram.com}} after they toured with a cardboard cut-out of him (Fitzpatrick went as far to call Brosnan: "Our band spirit animal. Our third member"){{Cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/pierce-brosnan-pays-tribute-to-hers-after-late-liverpool-duo-decorated-stage-with-cardboard-cut-out-of-him-2469848|title=Pierce Brosnan Pays Tribute|website=NME|access-date=8 November 2024}}{{Cite web |title=Her's on LIPA, drum machines, and Songs of Her's - The Skinny |url=https://www.theskinny.co.uk/music/interviews/it-takes-two-hers-interview |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=www.theskinny.co.uk |language=en}}
On the five year anniversary of the duo's deaths, their families and friends opened the [https://www.friendsofhers.org/ Friends of Her's] memorial. The fund has aimed to help combat homelessness in Liverpool, United Kingdom, where the two met.
In June 30 2024, The Rebel Lounge hosted a memorial tribute concert for the two, featuring multiple local musicians. Proceeds were donated to Friends of Her's.{{Cite web|url=https://therebellounge.com/blog-post/memorial-tribute-concert-in-honor-of-english-indie-band-hers-announced-at-the-rebel-lounge|title=Her's Tribute Concert|website=The Rebel Lounge|access-date=8 November 2024}}
On November 8 2024, Heist or Hit Records released a "Songs of Her's" boxset where all proceeds went towards the memorial fund.{{Cite web |last=Heist or Hit |title=Instagram |url=https://www.instagram.com/p/DBjP-H1tjYI/ |access-date=2024-11-11 |website=www.instagram.com}}
Discography
=Albums=
==Studio albums==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Title
! scope="col" style="width:14em;"| Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Invitation to Her's
|
|
==Compilation albums==
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| scope="col" style="width:10em;"| Title
! scope="col" style="width:14em;"| Details |
|---|
| scope="row"| Songs of Her's
| |
=Singles=
=Music videos=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;" |
| Year
! style="width:18em;"| Title ! Director |
|---|
| 2017
! scope="row"| "Speed Racer" |
| 2018
! scope="row"| "Under Wraps" |
| rowspan="2"| 2019
! scope="row"| "Harvey" |
| scope="row"| "She Needs Him"
| Sébastien Séjourné{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YOMJHHKtKeA|title=Her's – She Needs Him|date=29 May 2019|website=YouTube| access-date=17 June 2019}} |
| 2020
! scope="row"| "Marcel" | Camille Laading{{Cite web |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9dPIjctOL8|title=Her's – Marcel|date=26 November 2020|website=YouTube| access-date=12 January 2021}} |
Notes
{{notelist}}
References
{{reflist}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{Official website}}
- {{Songkick}}
{{Authority control}}
Category:2015 establishments in England
Category:2019 disestablishments in England
Category:British dream pop musical groups
Category:English alternative rock groups
Category:English indie rock groups
Category:British male musical duos
Category:Musical groups disestablished in 2019
Category:Musical groups established in 2015
Category:Alternative rock groups from Liverpool