“What Once Was” is probably a song you’ve heard over the years – through social events, friends, and social media. Yet, the song comes from a British boy band called Her’s. Her’s is a two-member band with the main singer/guitarist being Stephen Fitzpatrick, and Audenun Laading as the backing vocalist/bassist. Their music genre is classified under alternative indie.
Fitzpatrick and Audenun first met at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. Both boys were attending school to pursue a degree in music. They created the band Her’s in 2015. However, their first debut release, “Dorothy,” wasn’t until mid-2016. Later on, they produced two albums, yet they weren’t fully recognized until their second album, Invitation to Her’s.
A couple of months after their second album was released, they started a North American tour in November of 2018. They only performed four shows in California, but they decided to go back again, this time it was in March of 2019. The first leg of the tour would start in Toronto, Ontario and end in San Diego, California.
Her’s was on the final stretch of their tour when tragedy struck them. While the band and their tour manager were traveling to Santa Ana, California, from Phoenix, Arizona, where they had just performed at the Rebel Lounge, a sudden head-on collision happened between the tour van and another car. The accident was caused by a wrong-way driver on Interstate 10 in northern Arizona. All victims of the crash died on the scene. After their death, many of their fans flooded their Instagram posts to pay their respects to the late band.
One fan, Darren Chua, wrote on Instagram, “If the afterlife is real, I hope you boys are doing great and still making good music. Missing someone you don’t even know on a personal level is surreal, but that’s how I feel. Rest easy, lads.”
A couple of years after their death, the band is still beloved by their dedicated fans. They even grew in audience size through TikTok. Some of their songs, “What Once Was” and “Harvey” were massively listened to in the summer of 2022. Once new fans join the fandom, they slowly learn the band is no more because of their passing.
Memories of Her’s, a memorial tribute concert, took place at the final location where Her’s performed in June this past year at the Rebel Lounge in Phoenix, Arizona. Many local bands in the area sang Her’s discography. All the proceeds from the event were donated to Fitpatrick and Audenun.
Here are some of my favorite tracks:
Invitation to Her’s
- “She Needs Him”
- “Blue Lips”
- “Harvey”
- “If You Know What’s Right”
Songs of Her’s
- “What Once Was”
- “Marcel”
- “Harvey”
The legacy of the band will continue.