Peter and Chris Coyne formed the Godfathers in the mid-'80s when the initial wave of punk rock had ended and new artists were taking that same attitude and applying it to new music. The band's blend of raw, punk style vocals with working-class lyrics blended with pop/rock guitar was genuinely unique.
Just a few years later with the release of She Gives Me Love, the Godfathers' sound had morphed into something that was still true to the original punk ethos with a dose of pop/rock guitar shot through for good measure. Although the first album was quite punk sounding, by time the Godfathers hit the Billboard Top 40 chart with the single “Birth, School, Work, Death” in 1989 its sound was more polished while retaining some of the jagged punk-style feel of its earlier work. This sound helped bring about the Britpop movement of the early '90s, characterized by bands like Oasis and Blur. The Godfathers had as much of an impact on British rock as equally underrated American counterparts the Pixies, who coincidentally share many similarities in sound and style.
