Gay Dad were one of the last UK Britpop bands to be launched in the late 1990s. They generated massive news media interest and had moderate chart success, but they failed to sustain their popularity and broke up in 2002. The original line-up consisted of Cliff Jones (guitarist/vocalist), James Riseboro (keyboardist), Nigel Hoyle (bassist), Charley Stone (guitarist) and Nicholas "Baz" Crowe (drummer). Gay Dad was first formed in 1994 by former Mojo and The Face journalist Cliff Jones along with his Berkshire teenage friends Dominic Stinton (vocals), Tim Forster (keyboards), Nick Crowe (drums), and bassist Nigel Hoyle, who had originally played in a band called Brutus with Stinton a year or two earlier. Jones, Stinton, Forster and Crowe had played together in various incarnations of Gay Dad ten years previously, such as The Timothy and the Astral Projection Society, performing songs about 'freaking out in Sunninghill Sky St (sic)' etc. Their first demo, consisting of earthy psych songs heavily indebted to Gene Clark, Sandy Denny and Dennis Wilson, was produced by Jim Irvin and funded by legendary Rolling Stones record producer, Andrew Loog Oldham and his original Immediate business partner Tony Calder. Gay Dad went on to make their live debut in 1995 at the now defunct Orange Club in West Kensington. Early gigs were often a shambles, and by 1996 the band had fallen apart. Jones, Crowe and Hoyle however rose from the ashes to create a new incarnation of the band with a slicker, more futuristic sound, with elements of krautrock and glam thrown in for good measure. Joined by new keyboardist James Riseboro , they recorded several new tracks at Raezor Studio, Wandsworth, including a song called "To Earth With Love". Although it was only intended to win them some live dates, the demo attracted keen record company interest and the band signed to London Records in December 1997. With (female) guitarist Charley Stone (formerly of Salad) they toured the UK in early 1998 before starting recording sessions at The Dairy studio in Brixton with producers/sound engineers Gary Langan (ex-Art of Noise) and Chris Hughes (ex-Adam and the Ants).