In 1979, they met and formed a post-punk/new wave project called Fingerprintz, and released three albums under that name: "The Very Dab", "Distinguishing Marks" and "Beat Noir". They earned some critical recognition and notable appearances on John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show and the BBC's "In Concert" radio series. The group split in 1985. Then O'Neill formed a duo with electropop singer Jacqui Brookes and they released two singles in 1983: "Haunted Cocktails" and "Lost Without Your Love". When Brookes subsequently released solo album "Sob Stories", O'Neill wrote or co-wrote a majority of the tracks and played guitar and other instruments on the album.