The band was formed by guitarist/songwriter Chris Reed and vocalist Mark Sweeney, along with bassist Steve Smith and drummer Mick Brown (who would later join The Mission).

The group's sound, featuring a numbing guitar drone, powerfully throbbing bass, pounding drum machine, and Reed's cavernous vocal tones, caused the Lorries (as their fans came to call them) to be quickly lumped into the then-developing gothic rock scene by pop journalists, although the band themselves denied they were ever associated with goth and preferred to cite Wire as an influence,[1] and said they "were primarily inspired by MC5.

"[2] In 1982, the Lorries' manager Dave Hall provided independent record label Red Rhino with a cassette of the group's demos.

3 on the NME indie chart[11]) in 1986, a single ("Cut Down") and a four track EP ("Crawling Mantra", utilizing the one-time band name change to "The Lorries"), before signing to Situation Two, an offshoot of Beggars Banquet Records.

Singles, including "Only Dreaming (Wide Awake)" and "Open Up" (which upon its release was chosen as NME’s 'Single of the Week'[12]), also failed to chart, and the band was subsequently dropped by the label.