[1] Born in Delhi, India, before moving to England at the age of two, Madan had an atypical background for a pop star.

"[3][4][non-primary source needed] They soon teamed up with bass guitarist Alex Keyser and drummer Andy Henderson, who had previously played with PJ Harvey's band.

With Madan and Johansson as the band's songwriters, they recorded their debut EP, Bellyache, on the independent Pandemonium label in late 1993.

[1] The favourable response to Bellyache helped Echobelly secure a recording contract with Rhythm King, which was then part of Epic.

Madonna expressed interest in putting them on her Maverick label (existing contractual arrangements prevented that), and R.E.M.

While many of the songs lamented the state of things, others on the On album celebrated the endless possibilities of the human spirit.

[1] A four-year hiatus was brought to an end in 2001 when the band returned with the Digit EP and their fourth album, People Are Expensive (produced by Ben Hillier), which were released on their own Fry Up label.

In 2004, Echobelly released a fifth album, again through their own Fry Up label, Gravity Pulls (produced by Ian Grimble).

Madan and Johansson performed an acoustic show featuring brand-new songs and older Echobelly tracks in Manchester on 9 July 2009 at MoHo Live, supported by Spyglass.

On 21 July 2014, British independent record label 3 Loop Music released two-CD expanded editions of Echobelly's Everyone's Got One and On albums.

In October 2015, Echobelly made a successful return to stage, playing a sell-out gig at the 1,500-capacity Scala venue in London.