The band takes its name from an article the Beastie Boys published in their Grand Royal magazine about a man they hired to track down classic sneakers.
[8] Chris Corner and Liam Howe met as teenagers in the 1980s,[1] both taking an interest in recording and studio experimentation.
[12] The following year, they recruited Ian Pickering to help write lyrics for what would become Sneaker Pimps' debut album, Becoming X.
[7] Corner recorded vocals for several demo tracks, but the band decided the kind of music they were writing would better suit a female voice.
[14] The group was presented as a trio featuring Howe, Corner, and Ali; while bassist Joe Wilson and drummer Dave Westlake were added as supporting musicians.
[13] The band toured for two years to support the album, including gigs alongside Aphex Twin.
Howe and Corner then developed their own studio, also called Line of Flight after their earlier production work, and began sessions for the second Sneaker Pimps album.
[9][17] Due to other ongoing personality conflicts and the band's concern about being stereotyped as a faddish female-fronted trip-hop act,[2][5] Ali was fired and Corner took over on lead vocals.
[18] Howe and Corner also gained notice by writing and producing for other artists, including Natalie Imbruglia, and for remixing songs under the name Line of Flight.
The album, which started as the soundtrack for an abandoned indie film project called Blind Michael,[7] is referred to in fan circles as SP4.