Wheatus is an American rock group from Northport, New York, formed in 1995.
The original lineup comprised frontman Brendan B. Brown, his brother Peter McCarrick Brown (drums, backing vocals), Philip A. Jimenez (percussion, keyboards) and bassist Rich Leigey.
The band derives its name from the nickname “wedus” given to the Brown brothers by their father when they were children.
Wheatus’ first and largest hit was the single “Teenage dirtbag” (from the soundtrack of the movie “Loser”), their second single “A little respect” (an Erasure cover) also reached the higher regions of the charts. Their third single, a double A-side of “Leroy” and “Wannabe Gangstar” performed less well.
Due to disagreements with their record label, primarily caused by Brendan Brown’s insistence on self-producing the album (as he had done with their debut), Wheatus’ second album “Hand over your loved ones”, received little or no promotion and did not sell well, with the single “American in Amsterdam” failing to significantly impact the music charts.
In 2005, the band left the Columbia roster and created their own label to re-release “Hand over your loved ones” under a new title: “Suck Fony”. That same year also saw the release of Wheatus’ third album “Too soon monsoon”. The band toured and underwent lineup changes between 2005 and 2007, announcing a year later that new material was in the works. This culminated in a pair of EPs “Pop, songs & death” (2012) and “The Valentine LP” (2013).
Recently, Wheatus supported UK pop rock band Busted for their reunion tour.
Also a new album with a “80s metal direction” will be released later this year.
