The band had a brief period of high-profile domestic success in which their debut album Vehicles & Animals (2003) was a platinum seller in 2005 and Mercury Music Prize nomination.

Athlete's subsequent two albums, Beyond the Neighbourhood (2007) and Black Swan (2009), saw the band exploring different styles, influenced by the works of artists such as Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds.

[2] Friends since the age of fourteen, Athlete took their wide ranging influences such as Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips and started jamming and practising in the basement of The Bear, a pub which was converted into a church and sandwich bar, on Deptford High Street in 1999.

The band came to prominence in 2003 with their debut album, Vehicles and Animals, producing popular singles such as "You Got the Style" and "El Salvador".

"By the time we played V at the end of the summer it seemed like everybody there knew the record,' said Joel Pott, 'There was 20,000 people, all singing along.'

In the UK charts, the band has frequently been frustrated by singles just missing out on top 40 placings, due to inconsistent support by music television channels and radio stations.

[4] The album was recorded by the band themselves in their own studio, and mixed by Ben Allen and Michael Brauer, who had worked on Tourist.

Released on 3 September 2007, Beyond the Neighbourhood was a self-produced collection of low-key songs, viewed as a disappointment by some,[5] and an interesting sidestep by others.

American producer Tom Rothrock collaborated with the group long distance after hearing only a few acoustic demos.

On 12 June 2009, Athlete released the song "Summer Sun" as a free download for email-subscribers.

The song is not included in the track listing confirmed by band member Carey Willetts, and is likely to be considered as a b-side from the upcoming album.

After the release Athlete completed a tour of Britain, Europe and North America from March till December 2010, performing the hits from the non-bonus edition.

[10] The band toured in July across Britain, and in August headlined Union Chapel, and also took the stage at Bingley Music Live and Brownstock Festival in 3 and 4 September 2011.

[13] In May 2013, the band embarked on Vehicles & Animals 10th Anniversary Tour, with dates at Bristol Academy, Cambridge Junction and Shepherd's Bush Empire.

Pott turned to songwriting and production duties for other artists, forging working relationship with George Ezra, co-writing and producing his first two studio albums: Wanted on Voyage (2014) and Staying at Tamara's (2018), as well as co-writing Shura's debut effort Nothing's Real (2016).