Dream pop cult icons the Telescopes formed in Burton-on-Trent, England, in 1986 — singer/guitarist Stephen Lawrie, guitarist/singer Jo Doran, lead guitarist David Fitzgerald, bassist Robert Brookes, and drummer Dominic Dillon comprised the original lineup, which in 1988 issued its first single, Forever Close Your Eyes, a split flexidisc with Loop issued on Cheree in honor of the two groups joint New Years Eve performance. The Telescopes official debut single, Kick the Wall, followed a year later, its feedback-laden trance-rock earning the band critical comparison to the Jesus and Mary Chain and Spacemen 3 — 7th # Disaster appeared in the spring, and in the summer of 1989 the group issued its breakthrough effort, The Perfect Needle, its debut for the American indie label What Goes On. The Telescopes debut LP, Taste, closed out the year, and in 1990 the Fierce label also issued a live LP, Trade Mark of Quality.