"[15] In 1999, Burnel retreated to the secluded Norfolk village of Holme-next-the-Sea, bringing along his guitars and recording equipment, looking for inspiration to write songs.

[16] Inspired by the beautiful coastline, the seclusion, and what was going on in his head at that time, "I just wrote a body of work which we used in the Norfolk Coast album.

[20][21] The band made the decision to play every song live before recording it, which meant that they were in the studio for very little time, according to Burnel.

In addition to "Norfolk Coast" and "Big Thing Coming", Burnel also wrote "Lost Control",[22] and Warne contributed "Long Black Veil", "Dutch Moon", "Into the Fire" and "I've Been Wild",[20] the latter written specifically about Burnel, in the first person and from his point of view.

[22] The album saw the re-emergence of some of the Stranglers' signature sounds, such as Dave Greenfield's swirling keyboards, in a contemporary setting.

[26] Norfolk Coast was also the name of a short film starring Jean Jacques Burnel, which premiered in March 2006.