CJ had first gained attention with the band Tattooed Love Boys and then became a founding member of The Wildhearts (playing second guitar and singing harmony vocals).
Willie Dowling, a Multi-instrumentalist, was once a member of The Grip and then joined The Wildhearts as a keyboard player for live performances and recording sessions (contributing to their debut album Earth Vs.
[1] With Dowling opting to front the band on lead vocals and guitar (and CJ playing a similar role to the one he had performed with the Wildhearts), the Honeycrack line-up was completed by the addition of third guitarist Mark McCrae (previously with hotly tipped London rock band Rub Ultra), session drummer Hugo Degenhardt and bass player Pete Clarke.
[1] All members sang, providing a dense harmony vocal sound to complement the band's driving rock songs (predominantly written by Dowling and following the same pattern of rough-edged pop sensibility as those of The Wildhearts).
formed the pop-punk outfit The Jellys (with ex-Wolfsbane bass player Jeff Hately and ex-Wildhearts drummer Stidi) and would re-join the Wildhearts in 2001.