This is a tale of a medical doctor who opted for indie over incisions and intubations.
Patrick Fitzgerald was born in Switzerland 🇨🇭 and is of Irish 🇮🇪 descent.
He became qualified as a medical doctor but gave it up at a young age to become a founding member, bass player and vocalist of the 10 year wonder that was KITCHENS OF DISTINCTION 🇬🇧.
The band was founded in Tooting, South London. The other band members were JULIAN SWALES (guitar) and DANIEL GOODWIN (drums).
They recorded 4 brilliant LPs between 1989 and 1994. Here is a fave track (or two) from each of these records.
Track – “The 3rd Time We Opened The Capsule”
Track “Quick As Rainbows”
And 2nd track – “Drive That Fast”
“The Death Of Cool” (One Little Indie- 1992)”
Track- “4 Men”
https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=Kitchebs+of+distinction+4+men
Track-“Come On Now” (Live)
Despite the excellent music, this outfit suffered gaining significant traction in part because FITZGERALD was openly gay. Sad that such bias existed even in the indie music world but it did.
Eventually they changed their name to KITCHENS O.D. Such moves never work and the band ceased to exist by the mid 1990s.
They did return for one final LP in 2013. Many are not even aware this LP exists. Here is a video of “Japan To Jupiter from this LP. Regrettably it does not appear to be on SPOTIFY.
https://m.youtube.com/results?sp=mAEA&search_query=Litchens+of+Distinction+japan
FITZGERALD then began recording as STEPHEN HERO. That name was based on the writings of JAMES JOYCE.
Here is a fave track “12 Stars” from the LP “57 Stars of the Almanac“ played live.
He has also performed as OSKAR’S DRUM. That name is taken, I assume, from the protagonist “Oskar” in the legendary 1959 novel “The Tin Drum” by GUNTER GRÄSS.
Here is my favourite track from the LP “A Cathedral Of Hands”
Now last year we get more good news. Out of the blue there is a new STEPHEN HERO LP! It is entitled “Convalescence”
Here is “Imagine Me Gone”
There are other artists that FITZGERALD has recorded this but I am not going down that rabbit hole now even though it leads to MIKI BERENYI of LUSH.
I have made a SPOTIFY playlist of these tunes (minus the last one). It is entitled “Stephen and Oskar’s Kitchen of Distinction.”
Enjoy.
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2KoWW7N0UI8K60ygJRUsfs?si=d6K_iz3gSVm9yT_olA8Npg&pi=WIRnXI1oThK__
(SONGS 1518- 1525)
2/1/2026
underground365 
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