The longest-serving line-up of Furniture (from 1983 to 1990), comprised founder members Jim Irvin (vocals), singer/multi-instrumentalist Tim Whelan and drummer Hamilton Lee, plus bass player/occasional singer Sally Still and keyboard player Maya Gilder.
Noted for the bad luck and practical frustration that prevented them from making a long term-breakthrough, Furniture have been described as "one of the most unfortunate of bands, and a salutory lesson for any young hopefuls being courted by minor labels.
Furniture's musical style was eclectic and has been described as a fusion of "new wave, jazz, blues, post-punk, alt-rock, and about a dozen other genres with some of the most poetic lyrics ever written.
In 1981, the band set up their own independent record label (The Guy from Paraguay) and released their first single, "Shaking Story"/"Take a Walk Downtown".
[1] Switching fully to Survival in spring 1984, Furniture released their second single, "Dancing the Hard Bargain", which was produced by former Blue Zoo member, Tim Parry.
[1] In 1986, Furniture signed to a higher-profile independent label, Stiff Records, and released the sardonically wistful single "Brilliant Mind".
[1][4] It was accompanied by a moody, jazz-inspired video clip recorded at the Wag Club in Soho, London (on the same day and with the same director and setting as Dave Stewart & Barbara Gaskin's version of "The Locomotion").
[citation needed] It has been used as TV incidental music (e.g., on World Shut Your Mouth for the character with the cymbals) and was re-recorded for use in the John Hughes film Some Kind of Wonderful.
The album featured Whelan and Lee's growing and prominent use of instruments which were not generally used in Western pop music – such as tongue drums and the yangqin zither – which presaged their later work in Transglobal Underground.
Unfortunately, the three years of lawsuits had dissipated Furniture's career momentum and media profile, and the album was not a commercial success.
[citation needed] The band decided to split up and the compilation album – now titled She Gets Out the Scrapbook: The Best of Furniture – was released on vinyl and CD by Survival in 1991.
[citation needed] From 1992, Tim Whelan and Hamilton Lee went on to enjoy success with their subsequent project, Transglobal Underground, a world-dance troupe with an ever-changing line-up.
In 2002 Irvin signed a new deal as a songwriter with Warner Chappell, initially specialising in dance music with acts Special Unit and Miami Ice.
[1] She was later involved in promoting, encouraging and managing female underground rock acts (partially inspired by the Riot Grrl movement).
[citation needed] In the early 1990s, Sally Still and Hamilton Lee played as members of the band Catwalk (a musical project by the journalist Chris Roberts).
[citation needed] In 2019, Emotional Rescue reissued Furniture's debut, six-song mini-album, When the Boom Was On (1983) and an EP of 12" mixes called On Broken Glass.