[2] The son of working-class Irish immigrant parents, he began recording and performing during the punk rock movement in 1977, after working briefly as an actor.
His early songs were generally short, sarcastic efforts, recorded with just an acoustic guitar and occasional studio effects, with lyrics containing a large amount of social comment.
Two singles ("All Sewn Up" and "Improve Myself") were released by Polydor, either side of the album and Fitzgerald undertook a tour with a new group of musicians: Colin Peacock (guitar), Charlie Francis (bass) (later to join Toyah), and Rab Fae Beith on drums (later of The Wall and UK Subs).
Fitzgerald appeared in the post-punk documentary Rough Cut and Ready Dubbed in 1979/80 contributing the title song "Island of Lost Souls" and one performance of "Tonight" with Colin Peacock on keyboards.
After being dropped by Polydor, he continued to play solo acoustic concerts, gradually forsaking the ironic, sarcastic mode for a more deeply etched, darker formulation.
At this point, Patrik Fitzgerald formed a small group of solo performers, working under the banner Ghosts of Individuals, and featuring himself, David Harrow, U.V.
The early 1990s saw Fitzgerald return to playing gigs again, and he also re-launched an acting career, the most high-profile engagement of which was a version of Molière's The Miser at Stratford.
An early rough cut of a documentary called All the Years of Trying directed by Dom Shaw[6] previewed on 6 March 2009 at the Kosmorama Film Festival in Trondheim, Norway.
The finished film incorporates footage of the tribute gig, an earlier performance at London's historic 12 Bar Club in Tin Pan Alley, and Patrik's music video produced in New Zealand by Ken Clark.