They charted in the United Kingdom with their debut album, Good Deeds and Dirty Rags and single release "The Rattler", but the band were hindered by record company conflicts and failed to break through outside the UK.

[2] The band split up in 1993, leaving Manson, Metcalfe, Wilson and Kelly to form Angelfish to continue recording music.

[3] Their first single was released through a pilot music industry course run by Bathgate College under the Youth Training Scheme, a split-single 7-inch format of "Death of a Salesman" in 1984.

Capitol ended the year by releasing Fish Heads and Tails, a mid-price live and B-side compilation,[3] while the band relocated to studios in Berlin to record their second album.

Gary Kurfirst, who managed Talking Heads and Debbie Harry, bought the band's contract from Parlophone and signed them to his own label, Radioactive, a subsidiary of MCA.

[6] Radioactive meanwhile released a compilation of the band's two albums self-titled as Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie in North America, Europe, Australia and Japan.

Gary Kurfirst wanted to keep working with the band and suggested they record a whole album with Shirley Manson on lead vocals.

[3] Derek Kelly, Fin Wilson and Martin Metcalfe formed a new band, Isa & the Filthy Tongues, with American singer Stacey Chavis.

In an interview with the Edinburgh Evening News on 4 April 2019, Martin Metcalfe announced that Goodbye Mr Mackenzie would be reforming and would be performing a mini Scottish Tour.

[9] Warm up gigs were performed in Dundee on 17 May and Dunfermline on 18 May, followed by full shows in Glasgow at The Garage (venue of their farewell concert) on 22 May, Aberdeen Lemon Tree on 23 May and Edinburgh Liquid Rooms on 25 and 26 May 2019.

[11] During interviews to promote their tour, Metcalfe revealed that a number of hurdles had to be overcome to reunite the band, including Duncan's multiple sclerosis and the fact that Scobie had not played keyboard in over 20 years.

[13] A live album entitled A Night in the Windy City was released in February 2021 and featured their 2019 performance at the Glasgow Barrowlands.