Around 1995, they won a "battle of the bands" contest and were rewarded with a chance to record their songs in a studio, including demo cassette "Oh Darcy".

Soon afterwards, the band signed with the Swedish label Speech Records, and over the next two years released three further singles, "Face Wet", "Oh Darling!"

In 1999, Sahara Hotnights released their debut studio album C'mon Let's Pretend, which earned two Grammis nominations.

The timing of its release coincided with a surge in interest in Swedish rock 'n' roll bands, such as The Hives, The (International) Noise Conspiracy, Mando Diao and Hellacopters.

The tour sprouted from a relationship between Maria Andersson and The Hives' frontman Howlin' Pelle Almqvist.

"Hot Night Crash" also appears on the soundtrack of Burnout 3: Takedown and Tony Hawk's Downhill Jam.