Kitchens of Distinction were an alternative rock band formed in Tooting, South London, in 1986.The band's lineup consisted of founding members Patrick Fitzgerald (vocals, bass), Julian Swales (guitar) and Dan Goodwin (drums). Kitchens' sound was somewhere between shoegaze and dreampop, and often included Fitzgerald's forthright lyrics about life as an openly gay man in the late 1980s and early 1990s.
After recording four albums - Love Is Hell (1989), Strange Free World (1991), The Death of Cool (1992), and Cowboys and Aliens (1994), the band disbanded in 1996, before reforming in 2013 for a one-off album called Folly. In between the band's first dissolution in 1996 and its reformation (as well as afterward), Fitzgerald continued as a solo artist under the name Stephen Hero, as well as contributing to the projects Fruit and Lost Girls. Swales meanwhile moved into writing scores for film, theatre, and dance
Links To Peel
Peel liked the band originally but in later years especially after 1991 wasn't that keen on them, but gave them what has been called a belated Peel Session in 1992 after seeing the band perform at Glastonbury.[1] Fitzgerald recalls that after that Glastonbury performance, Peel had said to them:
‘I don't like your records, but I think you're alright live.[2]'
Sessions
Kitchens of Distinction recorded one session for Peel's programme. The session was released on CD in 2017, as part of disc six of Kitchens' six-disc Watch Our Planet Circle box-set.[3]
