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Kitchens of Distinction
Background information
Origin	South London, England
Genre(s)	Shoegaze, Alternative rock, Britpop
Years active	1986 to 1996
Label(s)	One Little Indian (U.K./Europe) A&M (U.S.)
Members
Patrick Fitzgerald Julian Swales Dan Goodwin

Kitchens of Distinction (often shortened colloquially to KOD) were a three-person alternative rock band from South London, England, active from 1986 to 1996.

Contents 1 History 2 Members 3 Discography 4 Charting singles 5 External links

Dan Goodwin met Julian Swales at college in 1980, and Swales met Patrick Fitzgerald at a party circa 1985. The band formed in 1986. Their name was taken from an advertisement for a home decor/sink company of the same name, spotted by Swales on the side of a bus while riding his bike. Medical doctor Patrick Fitzgerald put his career on hold to be the band's lead singer/bassist. Kitchens' first single, recorded in just one day on an eight track in a Kennington basement^{[citation needed]}, earned single of the week in NME, and the following singles "Prize" and "The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule," released on One Little Indian Records, earned similar levels of praise.

Fitzgerald's impassioned, wordy, often bluntly-personal vocals careened over what sounded like a mass of swirling guitars, though the band only had one guitarist. KOD's catchy yet abstract sound made them peripherally part of the shoegazing and Britpop scenes. Swales' chiming, effects pedal-laden style of playing drew him comparisons to the guitarists of The Chameleons, Cocteau Twins, U2, and A R Kane.

Despite the promising start, the band faced a subdued reception from the music industry, perhaps due to their lyrical content; "Margaret's Injection," on the 1989 Elephantine EP, was a fantasy about killing Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. Even the more indie focused television programs like SnubTV and Rapido refused to give them any coverage, although it should be noted that SnubTV played the video for single "Drive That Fast." Likewise, John Peel refused the band a BBC session for many years^{[citation needed]}, though they eventually did one.

1991 album Strange Free World spawned some moderately-successful singles. 1992 album The Death Of Cool was named in honor of the passing of Miles Davis, who had released an influential album titled Birth of the Cool in the 1950s. One Little Indian brought in Pascal Gabriel to put a commercial spin on the lead tracks on final album Cowboys And Aliens, but it failed to garner them any mainstream hits.

Kitchens of Distinction disbanded in the summer of 1996 after a farewell gig at London's Kings Cross, despite the fact that new single "Feel My Genie" had been named Melody Maker's Single Of The Week. Fitzgerald continued to record as Fruit, Lost Girls, and Stephen Hero, and has returned to his medical career. Despite rumours of a collaboration with Terry Bickers (of The House Of Love/ Levitation)^{[citation needed]}, Swales moved into writing scores for film, theatre, and dance.

KOD sometimes performed "secret" gigs under the alter ego "Toilets Of Destruction." An example was at the Bull And Gate Pop Club in Kentish Town on August 6, 1990, where the band appeared in drag and played ABBA, Bowie and Bauhaus covers. (KOD are not known to have covered any other band's songs on record, however.)

Bands whose sound has been influenced by the Kitchens include Interpol, The Verve, Mansun, Longpigs, and Springhouse.

"The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule" made it on the NME Writers' 100 Best Indie Singles Ever list, published July 25, 1992.

• Patrick Fitzgerald (vocals/songwriting, bass)
• Dan Goodwin (drums)
• Julian Swales (guitar)

Albums

• Love Is Hell (1989, One Little Indian/ A&M) (CD copies contained Elephantine EP on U.S. [A&M] CD version)
• Strange Free World (1991, One Little Indian/ A&M) (UK #45)
• The Death Of Cool (1992, One Little Indian/ A&M) (UK #72)
• Cowboys And Aliens (1994, One Little Indian; 1995, A&M)

Best-of compilation

• Capsule - The Best Of KOD: 1988-1994 (2003, One Little Indian) (first 2500 copies have bonus disc of rarities/ acoustic versions)

Singles, EPs

• "Last Gasp Death Shuffle"/ "Escape" 7" (1987, Gold Rush)
• "Prize" (1988, One Little Indian)
• "The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule" (1988, One Little Indian)
• Elephantine EP (1989, One Little Indian)
• Gorgeous Love CD EP (1990, A&M)
• "Quick As Rainbows" (1990, One Little Indian)
• Drive That Fast EP (1991, One Little Indian) (UK #93)
• "Innocent" 3-inch CD single (1991, Rough Trade)
• Breathing Fear EP (1992, One Little Indian)
• 4 Men CD EP (1992, A&M) (promotional only)
• When In Heaven EP (1992, One Little Indian)
• "Smiling" CD single (1992, A&M)
• Cowboys And Aliens CD EP (1994, One Little Indian)
• "Now It's Time To Say Goodbye" (1994, One Little Indian)
• "Feel My Genie"/ "To Love A Star" CD single (1996, Fierce Panda) (as "Kitchens O.D.")

Year	Title	Chart positions	Album
		US Modern Rock
1991	"Drive That Fast"	#12	Strange Free World
1991	"Quick As Rainbows"	#18	Strange Free World
1992	"Smiling"	The Death Of Cool
1992	"4 Men"	#28	The Death Of Cool

• Stephen Hero site
• The Death of Cool KOD fansite
• Trouser Press entry