Stump formed in London in 1983 after Irish drummer Rob McKahey left Microdisney and answered an advertisement for a singer and drummer by English musicians Kev Hopper (bass) and Chris Salmon (guitarist), who had met during the summer holidays of 1982 in Whitstable as Hopper completed his studies at the Canterbury College of Art.

Becoming popular in indie circles for the band's unique, experimental sound, they built a following and released the four track EP Mud on a Colon in 1986 through the Ron Johnson record label.

According to The Quietus, "the four tracks suggest Stump came out of the womb fully formed; the beguiling mélange of thwarted funk, traditional Irish drum rhythms (many of McKahey's time signature are concomitant with that of Irish jigs, usually performed in 12/8 time) and Lynch's lyrics, which tended to play continual tricks with the English language, piling up Surrealist imagery with a humorous scorn for syntax.

"[1] Their newly recorded song "Buffalo" featured on the NME's influential cassette compilation C86, featuring 22 tracks from underground bands within the British indie music scene, although Stump were said to stand out from the other jangle pop bands associated with the scene due to their quirky avant-garde bent.

The band recorded Quirk Out at Rockfield Studios, Monmouthshire with prolific post-punk producer Hugh Jones in July 1986.

[4] Jones recalled that he "really loved [Stump]; they just didn’t sound like anything else so we financed Quirk Out and we went down to Rockfield Studios and recorded it down there.

"[3] Jones recalled that "because so much of what they did was visual, one of the things I do remember is that, when we were doing vocals with Mick he kind of almost had to turn himself inside out to exaggerate what he was doing to the point where it seemed funny just by listening to it rather than having the additional benefit of seeing him jerking himself around.

[1] Louder Than War characterised Quirk Out as being "full of colliding riffs and a deep, weird groove that was coalesced by Mick’s onstage charisma and natural charm.

"[7] According to music journalist Martin C. Strong, Quirk Out was "zany, ludicrous and er… fishy as previous encounters, ideas and concepts were plucked from another planet where nutty professors head-danced to 'Tupperware Stripper', 'Bit Part Actor' and 'Kitchen Table'; sanity was restored for the rather well-balanced but still weird, 'Our Fathers'.

[9] In an interview with International Musician in March 1987, Hopper said that the band's sound is "rooted in not allowing [themselves] to get lazy:" "when we're writing songs we stretch ourselves to the limits of what we can play.

"[10] On the album, McKhay plays a standard Sonor 5-drum kit, with McKhay being interested in "what can be done on a normal kit" and wanting "to avoid that 'oh, I've run out of ideas, I'll get another piece of kit' syndrome,"[10] Hopper plays a fretless Wal through a HH Baby Bass, a compressor which Hopper described as making "a hell of a noise but I like it on full all the time,"[10] whilst Salmon plays his offbeat, "wobbly" lines on a standard Stratocaster through an old Selmer Treble n' Bass amplifier and Marshall cap, without any effects.

[10] Music journalist Ron Rom said that the "manic" opening song "Tupperware Stripper" "catches the listener out with its offbeat sketch of everyday life.

"[11] The song is about a man wearing yellowing Y-fronts performing his trademarked exotic dance to a group of middle aged "Tupperware ladies.

According to Pitchfork Media, the band exhibit a "bona fide musical virtuosity" on the song, "even if it's bent toward a Carl-Stalling-meets-Captain Beefheart cartoonishness that ultimately provides one of C86's most singular, brilliant moments.

[19] In spring 1987, Stuff Records re-released the album as a cassette in the UK with the band's earlier EP Mud as a Colon as bonus tracks on the second side.

[18] By April 1987, Quirk Out had completed its 20th consecutive week in the chart, an achievement only matched at the time by The Smiths’ The Queen is Dead.

I felt like a professional musician, although you couldn’t afford a car or something you could just about ask for a loan for an instrument and gear and then you’d have enough for basic living on top of that.

"[26] Simon Bailie of Record Mirror said the album "really set [their] taste buds off," noting that "there had been some pointers to the band's talent before this, but with the benefit of a decent budget and an understanding producer, we got a lot closer to their unique vision.

Like Cathal Coughlan from Microdisney, another native of Cork, Mick has an extremely fertile imagination that often touches on the surreal."

[27] In a positive review believed to be written for Sounds, Ron Rom the band had "finally reached their dazzling potential.

Tim Peacock of Record Collector said that Quirk Out remains "Stump’s most satisfying listen, with the cacophonous likes of "Bit-Part Actor" tempered by the discipline of Hugh Jones’ production and the irrepressibly catchy "Our Fathers" even parading a (cough) distinct pop sensibility.

"[32] When including Stump in their 2014 list of "50 Unfashionable But Brilliant 80s Bands That Time Cruelly Forgot", the NME said that Quirk Out was "the indie chart legend.

"[34] Get Into This said that "those brave enough to venture further could find much to enjoy on the Mud on a Colon 12” E.P and their mini-album Quirk Out which found "Buffalo" alongside the equally manic "Tupperware Stripper.

"[3] He expressed similar sentiments in his original Melody Maker review, where he called it an "unfortunate title" and a "step into a trap.

"[3] Prior to filming, there was a technical hitch in the studio so the band "had to adjourn to the local pub for three hours" and became drunk on Newcastle Brown by the time of the video shooting; MacKahey said "I think it actually helped.

[3] The performance followed the infamous incident in which the series' presenter Jools Holland swore on air during a daytime live promo for the show, so "the broadcasting people" were paying close attention to The Tube which they were close to axing due to the controversy, and as such, the show's producer Malcolm Gerrie was worried that the band could cause offence with the lyrics of "Tupperware Stripper", so the band had to change the lyrics slightly and the track became "Censorship Stripper" instead; similarly, though Lynch was nervous, he was careful not to swear, which was "quite prone to doing", "that was it Tyne Tees Television goodbye.

[1] As such, they also appeared on the final ever episode of the show in April 1987 "to hang out and party," where Lynch, McKahey and Steve Mack from That Petrol Emotion were interviewed by Muriel Gray without necessarily promoting Quirk Out or its material; McKahey recalled "the camera was right in our faces and I assumed it was just for close-up shots, but it was actually a very wide-angled camera and I was scratching my nuts [laughing] for the whole interview.

"[1] Lynch said that "I came home to Cork on my holidays, I came back for a week or something, it was after The Tube appearance, it was really frightening, I was almost afraid to go out at night, I hadn’t realised how big an impact it had made.

[1] The combination of Quirk Out, the band's relentless touring and their appearances on The Tube, especially "Buffalo"−The Quietus rhapsodising "Lynch bellowing and blaring 'How much is the fish?'

: Early and Late Works 1986–1989, a single CD compilation featuring remastered editions of all the band's originally released material except A Fierce Pancake.