Straitjacket Fits were a four-piece alternative indie rock band that formed in Dunedin, New Zealand, in 1986 and broke up in 1994.

The accidental death of Elsey saw Carter and Collie join forces with David Wood (ex-Working With Walt) in 1986 to form Straitjacket Fits.

[1] Andrew Brough (from The Orange) signed on the following year, adding a foil in the form of a pop sensibility to Carter's more raucous songwriting.

From their inception, the sound of the band was marked by the seemingly incongruous but effective pairing of Carter's rough abrasive voice and strident guitar and Andrew Brough's sweet vocals and pop hooks.

The edgy lead vocal (from Carter) was underpinned with a dynamic jagged guitar and stabs of strings which tumbled into a churning melodic chorus on which Brough's voice soared.

The opposite approach was taken on "Sparkle That Shines", its gentle downbeat melody sung by Brough giving way to a chorus laced with Carter's knife-edge harmonies.

The band left Dunedin, briefly moving to Christchurch, before making the shift to the country's main marketplace, Auckland in 1988.

Their first album Hail was produced by Terry Moore (a former member of The Chills) and was released later that year (it would later be re-released on CD, accompanied by the four songs from Life in One Chord).

Andrew Brough released one album with the band Bike, before moving back to Dunedin and retreating from the music scene.

[10] The imminent closure of Auckland venue the King's Arms in 2018 led to of a one-off reunion of Dimmer (Shayne Carter's post-SJF band) and a group of "special guests" on 9 February.

Those guests were John Collie and Mark Petersen who, along with Carter and Dimmer bassist Vaughan Williams, played a set of Straitjacket Fits songs (without taking on the band name).