In 1978, Kevin Shields and Colm Ó Cíosóig were introduced to each other at a karate tournament in South Dublin. The duo became friends in what has been described as "an almost overnight friendship" and later formed The Complex, a punk rock band, with Liam Ó Maonlaí, Ó Cíosóig's friend from Coláiste Eoin. The band, who performed "a handful of gigs" consisting of Sex Pistols and Ramones songs, disbanded when Ó Maonlaí left to form Hothouse Flowers. Shields and Ó Cíosóig later formed A Life in the Day, a post-punk trio, but failed to secure performances with more than a hundred people present. Following A Life in the Day's dissolution, Shields and Ó Cíosóig formed My Bloody Valentine in early 1983 with lead vocalist David Conway. Conway, who performed under the pseudonym Dave Stelfox, suggested a number of potential band names, including the Burning Peacocks, before the trio settled on My Bloody Valentine. Shields has since claimed he was unaware that My Bloody Valentine was the title of a 1981 Canadian slasher film when the name was suggested.