[1] The two had met in early 1980,[2] and first performed together in May 1982 under the name Six Hip Princes,[3][4] but it was not until 1984, after Sudden had already issued two solo releases, that the duo adopted the name Jacobites (after the rebel movement to restore the Stuart line to the British thrones)[2] and completed the lineup by adding Nikki's brother Epic Soundtracks, also formerly of the Swell Maps, and bassist Mark Lemon.
[5] Sudden and Kusworth were both strongly influenced by The Faces, Bob Dylan, glam rock, and, most vitally, The Rolling Stones.
[9][10][11] The group released a string of albums and EPs between 1984 and 1985, garnering increasing critical interest, a certain appreciation in the British underground, and great popularity in Germany, but also began shedding its original members in the latter year — Soundtracks to Crime & the City Solution, Kusworth to a well-regarded but ill-remembered solo career.
An American compilation was released in 1986 after the band's boozy, weary-eyed brand of romantic songwriting gained the devoted support of the similarly minded Paul Westerberg, and another comp followed in 1988, but the group would not exist again in meaningful form until 1993, when Sudden and Kusworth rejoined forces to recreate the Jacobites with a new lineup that featured Glenn Tranter on guitar, Carl Eugene Picôt on bass, and Mark Williams on drums: all friends from Birmingham.
After God Save Us Poor Sinners appeared in 1998, the Jacobites remained silent while Sudden and Kusworth continued their solo careers.