[1] Four of the 1997 line-up (Pringle, Vickers, Simian and Small) had previously worked together on the short-lived Scottish music magazine, Sun Zoom Spark.
Initially a duo (Vickers and Simian), the band released a mail-order EP, entitled So Far So Spitfire in December 1996.
[1] John Peel and Mark Radcliffe, BBC Radio 1 DJs gave the EP substantial airplay.
While on tour in the UK during early 2006, the band took part in the Abbey Road Sessions for American satellite radio station U-Pop and enjoyed video plays on MTV2, whilst Mojo, NME, Uncut, and Q all carried reviews of their fifth studio album, Fangs.
In 2006 ten years was celebrated with a 22-track singles collection, the first 1,000 copies of which included a free DVD, featuring live footage, videos and interviews.