[3] The initial press attention enjoyed by the band came as a result of the positive reviews of their live shows, coupled with complimentary comparisons to The Smiths.

In March 1994, an article by Dave Simpson of Melody Maker, charting the aspirations of "the UK's brightest hopes", stated that;[6] "...Shed Seven's beautifully posed, epic music is different.

Their debut single, the double A-side "Mark"/"Casino Girl"—labelled by NME as "spirited 'Barbarism Begins at Home' skirl"[7] – was released on 7 March 1994 to considerable acclaim from some sections of the music press,[4] but failed to make the UK Top 40, peaking at number 80.

[3] Despite their third single release, "Speakeasy", entering the UK charts at number 24 and giving them their biggest hit to date,[2] the first negative press reviews began to emerge.

Writing for the UK music magazine NME in August 1994, John Mulvey believed that it represented "[f]our clumsy blokes trying to come over all sensuous, fragile and complex.

"—"Speakeasy" was later to be re-written as an advertising jingle in 1999, for the mobile phone company The Link,[9] with Witter later admitting regret at his re-recording and re-wording of the original.

As a result, the song was omitted from Shed Seven setlists for a number of years, only making its live comeback as a stripped-down acoustic version on their "farewell" tour in December 2003.

[2] As well as enjoying popularity in both the UK and Australia, Shed Seven also found an audience in Thailand, where they managed to beat Take That to the Christmas number 1 spot with their fourth single release, "Ocean Pie".

The release of the latter was forced upon the band by their record company, Polydor,[12] after Let It Ride failed to match the album sales of its predecessor, which sold 250,000 copies in Britain alone.

"Disco Down" went on to become the last Banks-era hit for the band, peaking at number 13,[2] whilst "High Hopes" was sidelined by Polydor in favour of a proposed re-release of the previous single, "Going For Gold".

However, the band refused to comply, leading to Shed Seven and Polydor Records parting company in late 1999;[12] The Greatest Hits wasn't our idea—we felt it was a few years too early—but agreed to do it on the understanding that we would release two new singles from the album.

'Disco Down' did really well and we were all prepared to follow it up with 'High Hopes', the video script was approved and it was ready to go to radio, when some higher authority decided it would be a better idea to re-release 'Going For Gold' instead.

In fact, most people at the label thought it was an awful idea.By 1998, keyboardist Fraser Smith had been recruited as a session player to join the band on tour.

In December 1999, guitarist Paul Banks left the band by mutual consent with Rick Witter citing "musical differences" for the split.

Now officially a five piece and with a new song writing team consisting of Witter, Johnson and Smith, the band signed a new contract with Artful Records and in May 2001 went on to release their fourth studio album, Truth Be Told, which was preceded by the lead single "Cry For Help".

As a consequence, the band announced their imminent split via a statement issued through the official Shed Seven website on 23 November 2003, explaining that their then-current UK tour—which took place between November and December 2003—would become the group's "farewell tour":[17] Although we feel that certain aspects of the music industry have put a strain on the recording side of things in recent years, the one thing that has remained consistent throughout has been the band's love of performing live and the ability to please the fans by giving 100% every time.

[18] The band played several low-key gigs in Scotland as well as two sold-out shows in York shortly before Christmas of the same year, before embarking on a month-long tour in April and May 2006.

[1] The reformed line-up featured all of the band's original members, including both Joe Johnson and Paul Banks, who appeared together for the very first time; keyboardist and songwriter Fraser Smith, however, took no part in the reunion.

Although Shed Seven did not undertake a further tour of their own, 2008 saw the band return to two of the UK's biggest festivals; T in the Park in Balado, Scotland, and V in both Chelmsford and Staffordshire.

Released on 15 October 2007, the track list was hand-picked by the band, with sleeve notes written by Paul Banks and artwork featuring rare photos from the recording of the sessions at the BBC's studios.

The CD was limited to 777 hand numbered copies available exclusively from their official website, though digital versions are freely available from the major online retailers.

[25] On 3 February 2023, Shed Seven announced that they would be recording a new album in Spain, once again with producer Youth and new band members Tim Wills (keyboards and guitar) and Rob Maxfield (drums).