Vent 414

Vent 414

Company type	Independent rock band
Industry	Music
Founded	1994
Founder	Miles Hunt
Defunct	1997
Headquarters	United Kingdom , United Kingdom
Key people	Miles Hunt, Billy Duffy, Morgan Nicholls, Pete Howard, Malcolm Treece
Products	Music albums and singles

Vent 414 was an independent rock ensemble from the United Kingdom active during the mid-1990s. The lineup included musicians from prominent groups such as The Wonder Stuff (Miles Hunt), The Cult (Billy Duffy), and Senseless Things, The Streets, and Muse (Morgan Nicholls). Drummer Pete Howard had previously been a member of The Clash and Eat.

History

Established in December 1994 under the name 'Vent', the group quickly attracted media interest, largely due to Hunt's participation, which led to a BBC Radio 1 session before any official recordings were made. Their first live performance took place at the 1995 Reading Festival, followed by tours across the United States and the United Kingdom, where they supported Therapy?. Shortly before the UK tour commenced, Billy Duffy exited the band.

In 1996, they launched their eponymous album, produced by Steve Albini, and embarked on a UK headline tour. Due to legal complications with an American band sharing their original name, they adopted the name Vent 414.

By early 1997, Morgan Nicholls left the group, expressing dissatisfaction with how Polydor Records handled their promotion. Subsequently, Polydor dropped the band. Malcolm Treece joined thereafter; however, after failing to obtain label backing for a follow-up album, Hunt decided to dissolve Vent 414. Later on, Hunt and Treece resumed their collaboration within the reassembled Wonder Stuff.

In 2020, Hunt revealed intentions to revive Vent 414 alongside Nicholls, sharing newly recorded demos created during the COVID-19 lockdown period through Hunt's Bandcamp platform.

Discography

Albums

• Vent 414 (1996)
• The Post Album Demos (2009)

Singles

• "Fixer" (1996) – UK No. 71
• "Life Before You" (1996) – UK No. 95