Music like Hefner

Hefner were a British indie rock band formed in east London in 1995. They were active from about 1996 until 2002; since then they have played together only once, for a tribute to the DJ John Peel, who was a strong supporter of theirs.

Hefner's roots stretch back to 1992, when Darren Hayman and Antony Harding met at art school in Kent. The band started playing live in 1995 and, after several line up changes, became a solo project of Darren Hayman. In 1996 he recorded a tape for Sticky Records (named The Devotion Chamber) on which all instruments were played by Hayman himself. His friend from art school, Antony Harding, assisted, providing backing vocals.

The band's first release was in April 1997 when the 7" single "A Better Friend" was released by Boogle Wonderland. The single featured Harding on drums and John Morrison (from Rhatigan) on bass. Shortly after the release, the record label Too Pure offered a record deal to Darren, who extended the offer to Antony and John.