The band have released two albums as Last Party, and six as The Bitter Springs and also played with Vic Godard as Subway Sect, on and off for nine years.
They were the support act at The Stone Roses' first London gig, at the Greyhound in Fulham, and were favourites with John Peel, recording two sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show, one in 1987 and a second in 1989.
[3][4] In 1995, the band members at the time (singer Simon Rivers, bass player Daniel Ashkenazy, Kim Ashford, and Neil Palmer) decided on a new name, The Bitter Springs, changing their name "in the hope that journalists who had ignored the Last Party would give us another listen".
[5][6][7] Allmusic's Stewart Mason described the album as "entirely typical of the band's output, showing both their strengths and weaknesses", and noted Rivers' "wry sense of humor and an eye for romantic futility".
[8] Lyricist and singer Simon Rivers has also performed solo, the first time in 2007 supporting The Band of Holy Joy.