The feted songwriting talents of Paddy McAloon, a love of The Beatles and The
Beach Boys' guitar melodies and the production of 1980s synth pioneer Thomas
Dolby made Prefab Sprout "sophisticated pop" darlings of the 1980s, adored by
the critics as an antidote to the cheesy chart pouters of the era. Formed in Co.
Durham in the north east of England in 1982 by Paddy and his brother Martin
McAloon (bass), they were later joined by Wendy Smith (vocals, keyboards) and
Neil Conti (drums). Fabled Radio 1 DJ John Peel championed the band's
self-released single Lions In My Own Garden (Exi...