The band made it’s debut at the Jericho’s Tavern in their hometown, Oxford a few years later, in 1987. They named themselves On A Friday. Their first demo was made in 1991. A classmate of Thom and Colin, John Butcher brought the tape to Courtyard Studios. The studio was run by two former musicians Bryce Edge and Chris Hufford. Chris Hufford: “The demo had some good tunes but ut was all obviously ripped off mercilessly.” He might have ignored it were it not for the 15th track. “It was a weird looped-up dance thing which was very different. I asked if they had anything else. After about six months John Butcher brought in a another tape with Stop Whispering and What’s that you say on it. These were great songs. Now they had an identity.”
Another tape later, the Manic Hedgehog Demo (named after an Oxford record shop) brought the band to another gig in the Jericho Tavern. In the meantime they’ve already been on the cover of “Curfew”, a magazine based in Oxford. Things went fast. On A Friday were booked for gigs frequently. Various record labels got interested and finally EMI signed the band.
After a show at The Venue they had their first review. Reviewer John Harris: “News of their signing had spread and there was a real sense of expectation.” In the set at the time were “Prove Yourself“, “Thinking About You” and “I Can’t“. Though he submitted a positive review, Harris wasn’t wholly impressed; “Musically they were all over the place. They started with something Rickenbackery that sounded like All Mod Cons-Period Jam, then tey’d flip it with something that sounded like the Pixies.”
The review prompted discussion in the band. On A Friday had been chosen when they were a weekend outfit of jamming schoolboys. Now they had to conceede that the critic had a point: their name was at best, mundane. They decided to swap it for the title of a cod-reggea tune on Talking Heads’ True Stories album, Radio Head.
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