The Lemonheads While at Commonwealth, Dando met
Ben Deily and
Jesse Peretz, and in 1986 they formed the Whelps The band recorded an EP,
Laughing All the Way to the Cleaners, which got the attention of
Taang! Records, a local label. Dando brought in David Ryan on drums, and the group signed with
Atlantic Records, releasing the album
Lovey in 1990. Dando spent some time in Australia to write songs with friends
Nic Dalton and
Tom Morgan, who later started the band
Sneeze. Some of his songs formed the basis for The Lemonheads' fifth album, ''
It's a Shame About Ray''. In 1992, The Lemonheads recorded a
punk-inflected cover of
Simon and Garfunkel's hit "
Mrs. Robinson" to help promote the
VHS release of
The Graduate for the film's 25th anniversary. The song reached number 19 on the
UK Singles Chart in December 1992, and was included in the album's re-release as a bonus track. Dando initially disliked the song's inclusion on the album, feeling like he was tricked by his label, who asked him to record it. After seeing the track being played in
Martin Scorsese's
The Wolf of Wall Street, however, his opinions towards the track changed. Dando's face appeared on several magazine covers, and
People listed him among the "50 Most Beautiful People". In an interview with
Q magazine, he admitted he smoked
crack cocaine and regretted it. In late 1993, the group released the album
Come on Feel the Lemonheads, which featured singles "It's About Time", "Big Gay Heart", and "
Into Your Arms". During the group's touring in 1994, Dando befriended
Oasis and appeared at some of their live shows. He also made a cameo appearance at the end of the 1994 film
Reality Bites. Dando re-formed The Lemonheads with former member
John Strohm on guitar, Bill Gibson, former bassist of Australian band
The Eastern Dark, and
Patrick Murphy, a former member of
Dinosaur Jr., on drums. The group released the album
Car Button Cloth in 1996. In 1997 the band went on tour and played its final gig at the
Reading Festival, after which the band went on hiatus. In 2005, Dando put together a new lineup for The Lemonheads which included
Karl Alvarez and
Bill Stevenson, formerly of the
Descendents. In April 2006, they signed with
Vagrant Records, and released a
self-titled album in September. Dando also had a lineup which included bassist Vess Ruhtenberg and drummer Devon Ashley of the Pieces where they toured the UK, Europe and the United States. In late 2007, Alvarez and Stevenson toured with Dando for the first time live on the US tour. In 2008, he toured with Ruhtenberg and Ashley to promote the re-release of a deluxe version of ''It's a Shame About Ray
, and then toured with Ruhtenberg and drummer P. David Hazel of Beta Male for a European Tour. On April 23, 2008, at the inaugural NME US Awards ceremony held at the El Rey in Los Angeles, Dando received a Classic Album award for It's A Shame About Ray
, although Entertainment Weekly'' reported that he threw the award in the garbage offstage, and then returned to perform "Ray" and "My Drug Buddy". In 2009 the Lemonheads released
Varshons, a collection of 11 covers, including tracks originally recorded by
Gram Parsons,
Wire,
GG Allin,
Christina Aguilera; the album featured vocal performances by actress
Liv Tyler and model
Kate Moss. For many of the tours since 2010, The Lemonheads have included the entire ''It's a Shame About Ray'' album on the setlist.
Solo career and collaborations Dando worked with Australian musicians
Nic Dalton and
Tom Morgan, both of whom have been involved with The Lemonheads. In Sydney, he joined Dalton, Morgan, and a number of
Half A Cow artists on a self-titled album by the band
Sneeze and the album
Coastal by
Godstar. Dando participated in the Australian band the Givegoods, which featured
Paul Dempsey of
Something for Kate. Dando has worked regularly with
Juliana Hatfield where he appeared on several
Blake Babies songs and she in turn played with The Lemonheads. He also collaborated on Hatfield's album
Hey Babe, released in 1994. In 1999, he recorded a duet with Hatfield for the 1999 album,
Return of the Grievous Angel: A Tribute to Gram Parsons. The two sang
Gram Parsons' "$1000 Wedding". Their long-time relationship inspired a line in the
Barenaked Ladies' song "
Jane": "No promises as vague as heaven. No Juliana next to my Evan". In late 2000, Dando sang with the
Blake Babies and played some acoustic shows with them. In 2011, Dando and Hatfield paired up again for a series of live performances. In 1995, he had a small role in
James Mangold's indie film
Heavy, and contributed two cover songs to the soundtrack. In June 1995, Dando's collaboration with English singer-songwriter
Kirsty MacColl, a cover of "
Perfect Day", was released; the single peaked at number 75 on the
UK Singles Chart a week after release. During an acoustic world tour in early 2001, Dando garnered renewed interest in his back catalog. With touring musicians
Ben Lee and
Ben Kweller, he performed a mix of Lemonheads songs and solo songs. His performance at the
Brattle Theatre in Cambridge on October 18, 2000, was recorded and officially released in the fall of 2001 as
Live at the Brattle Theatre; the album was packaged with an additional disc, an EP titled
Griffith Sunset that featured covers of country songs. In February 2003 Dando released his first solo album, ''
Baby I'm Bored'', which reached the top 40 of the
UK Albums chart. == Personal life ==