Officially founded in 2004 in the Georgian Bay town of Midland, Ontario, the band is composed of frontman Luke Lalonde, bassist Mitch DeRosier, drummer Steve Hamelin, and keyboardist Maddy Wilde.

The band formed in 2002 when cousins Lalonde and DeRosier met drummer Steve Hamelin at Midland Secondary School .

Originally formed under the name Mornington Drive, they self-released an album called Makeshift Metric Catastrophe.

[2] After some local performances and a growing online reputation, the band was signed to the UK electronic music label Warp Records.

[4] Born Ruffians' Red, Yellow & Blue was nominated in the 8th Annual Independent Music Awards for Pop/Rock Album of the year.

They appeared in an episode of the second season of British teen drama Skins, playing their song "Hummingbird" in a night club.

[5] The song is also featured in a television advert in the UK for Orange mobile telecommunications' "Animal" campaign.

On July 31, 2009, the Born Ruffians played for Nirvana the Band at The Rivoli for the wrap of their web-series.

[8] They toured Australia in January and February 2009 as part of St Jerome's Laneway Festival along with Girl Talk, Stereolab, Architecture In Helsinki, The Hold Steady, The Drones, Cut Off Your Hands, Four Tet, Tame Impala, El Guincho, Jay Reatard, Buraka Som Sistema Dj/Mc Set, The Temper Trap, No Age and more.

Following the record, drummer Hamelin took leave of the band to pursue a degree in history and international relations.

[12] Lalonde revealed in an interview with Revue Magazine that he has been working on an acoustic Born Ruffians EP since the summer after Birthmarks was released.

In an interview, DeRosier explained, "Shondi Festoon is the biggest inside joke that we share with our fans.