Department S evolved from a previous punk/ska combo, Guns for Hire, fronted by Vaughn Toulouse and also featuring former Madness drummer John Hasler.
[1] Mike Herbage joined them on guitar and wrote Guns for Hire's only single, "I'm Gonna Rough My Girlfriend's Boyfriend Up Tonight", released on the Korova record label.
[1] The group then became Department S with the addition of bassist Tony Lordan, drummer Stuart Mizon and keyboardist Eddie Roxy (born Anthony Edward Lloyd-Barnes), taking their name from the British spy-fi adventure television series Department S, produced by ITC Entertainment.
The B-side, a cover version of T.Rex's "Solid Gold Easy Action", featured Thunderthighs on backing vocals.
The band's second single, "Going Left Right", was issued on 19 June 1981 on Stiff Records (after the label had rejected "Clap Now") and failed to chart as high, although it received positive reviews.
Department S began recording a debut album, Sub-Stance, in 1981 with Tickle producing, but the sessions were divisive and Lordan left, replaced partway through by Jimmy Hughes (formerly of the Banned, Cowboys International and Original Mirrors).
The album was finally issued under its correct title in 2002 by LTM, with several B-sides and live tracks appended.
In February 2007, a reunited Department S (guitarist Herbage, drummer Mizon and former keyboardist Roxy, now on vocals) recorded their first new single in 26 years, a cover version of Alvin Stardust's 1973 hit "My Coo-Ca-Choo", with guest musicians Mark Bedford of Madness on bass, Terry Edwards on brass and Michelle Brigandage on backing vocals.
The "God Squad Saviour" single was released in June 2011, followed by the album Mr Nutley's Strange Delusionarium (mainly consisting of remakes of older material) on 3 October,[5] both issued by Sartorial.
In April 2014, Pete Jones (formerly of Public Image Ltd, Cowboys International and Brian Brain) joined on bass guitar.
Their most recent single "Burn Down Tomorrow", the title track of the forthcoming studio album, was released in September 2022.