PHATFISH PLAYING LIVE
HISTORY/
1994-1997/
In January 1994, Dave Fellingham formed Purple Phatfish in his hometown of Brighton. Dave had a vision for a Christian band that would make their mark through outstanding song writing, vocals and musicianship and be respected by Christians and non-Christians alike. He prayed for anointing from the outset, that the band would touch lives with the power and presence of God.

The founder members were Dave’s two sons; Nathan & Luke Fellingham (drums & bass), Mike Blow (guitar), Adrian Watts (percussion), Lou Hunt (vocals) who later married Nathan and became Lou Fellingham, Michael Sandeman (keyboards) and Rachel Head (rapper).

Initially the band was a jazz/funk/rap outfit at a time when acid jazz was prominent in the UK and US charts. Keen to be ‘salt & light’ in the secular scene, the band spent the first year performing their own material in local secular clubs. This quickly gained them a loyal and diverse following. Most of the early songs were not overtly Christian in content, but they did address contemporary issues from a Christian perspective.


At the end of 1994 Rachel Head rapped her last gig and moved on. The band decided to drop the Purple and became simply Phatfish. Over the next few years Phatfish began to build their reputation further afield, regularly headlining in top London clubs and universities around the UK. They were in high demand with churches too, who booked them for major youth and outreach events.

During this prolific and evolving period the band made several recordings that were eagerly snapped up by their rapidly growing fan base. These have since been re-released and packaged under the title An Audience with God.