Ride formed in Oxford, England in 1988 and consisted of members Andy Bell, Laurence Colbert, Mark Gardener, and Steve Queralt. Before the group’s formation Bell and Garderner were involved in musical theatre at Cheney School in Oxford, but eventually went on to study art and design at North Oxfordshire located in Banbury. They met fellow student Colbert there and recruited him to be the band’s drummer. Queralt (who was in the reggae/pop band the Spiderbacks with Bell) became the group’s bassist. The members shared a love for 60s psychedelic rock bands like the Velvet Underground, Pink Floyd and the Byrds as well as 80s noise-pop acts such as Spaceman 3 and Sonic Youth; however, Ride reportedly owes it’s existence to The Smiths (one of their performances was a life-altering experience for Bell).