Fur Patrol were formed in Wellington on 15 May 1996. Founders were Andrew Bain on bass guitar and keyboards, Simon Braxton on drums, percussion,
theremin and backing vocals,
Julia Deans on lead vocals, guitars, keyboards and violin, and Steve Wells on lead guitar and backing vocals. Wellington schoolmates, Bain and Wells had worked together in different bands since 1990, It peaked at No. 17 on the
Official Aotearoa Music Singles Chart. Shaun Chait of
NZ Musician observed, they "have always had that all important edge. Their gigs have always been bigger, their songs better – and they've always impressed the right people." At the 1999
bNet NZ Music Awards the EP won Best Independent Release and Deans was named Female Fox. Their debut studio album
Pet was produced by
David Long, and was released in September 2000, also on Wishbone Records. It peaked at No. 7 on the Official Aotearoa Music Albums Chart and was accredited double platinum for shipment of 30,000 units. It was promoted by a New Zealand tour with support acts,
Weta and
Shihad. They were signed to record with
Universal Music Australia. and Australia in April the next year. The album was produced by British-born Mark Wallis, recorded in Melbourne's Sing Sing studios and mastered by Chris Blair at Abbey Road Studios, London. It has a "rawer, noisier attitude" than
Pet, as the group were "tight and they pushed the rock pedal a bit harder." The group disbanded in late 2018, with periodic reunion shows of the trio line-up, including a New Zealand tour in 2016. Deans has had a solo career with two charting studio albums,
Modern Fables (2010) and
We Light Fire (2018), joined
the Adults ( 2011) and collaborated with fellow artists. ==Members==