Started in 1995 by Gary Olson, Edward Powers and Javier Villegas, The Ladybug Transistor released Marlborough Farms the same year on Park N' Ride records, adding and subtracting a couple of members and going on an international tour.
Powers left the band and the remaining members, with San Fadyl and Sasha Bell of The Essex Green and the solo act Finishing School, embarked on a United States tour.
In 2006, the band contributed heavily to the recording of Kevin Ayers' album The Unfairground, which Gary Olson produced.
For their seventh album, Clutching Stems, Olson, Forester and Rydholm gathered new recruits Mark Dzula (The Magic Caravan, Jukebox Radio), Eric Farber (The Lisps), and Michael O'Neill (MEN).
[1] In pop culture: In the 2000 film High Fidelity, a large poster for The Ladybug Transistor is featured on Rob Gordon's fridge.