In November 1996 Jones' bandmate from Crowded House, Nick Seymour, joined on bass guitar – allowing Palmer to concentrate on lead guitar for live performances. Stu Thomas had earlier been approached to join on bass but turned it down due to solid commitments in Kim Salmon and the Surrealists. Deadstar toured the United Kingdom where "Valentine's Day" was issued as the A-side of their debut single for Discordant Records. Late that year, Palmer started producing the debut solo album, "King Without a Clue", for Nick's older brother, Mark, which was released in the following year. Mark was Palmer's bandmate in Hunters & Collectors, Palmer co-wrote five tracks with Mark and provided lead guitar. Fellow deadstar members, Nick (on bass guitar, backing vocals and piano) and Jones (on drums and percussion), also worked on the album.