[1][2] Smith's first band was the Freuds, which he formed with school friend Bruce Abbot and Halley (of the Kryptonics) in Perth in 1987.

The Chevelles signed with Sydney-based independent label, Zero Hour Records,[1][2] (named after the Plimsouls' tune), operated by former the Stems roadie, George Matzkov.

Matzkow chose Lane's power pop rocker "Be My Friend" and Smith's "She Don't Come Around" for the band's first single.

[1][2] It was praised in pop zines such as Bucketfull of Brains, whose writer felt, "'Be My Friend' is a non-stop rocker in prime Hoodoo Gurus/Screaming Tribesman heyday fashion with hooks a plenty and loads of blazing guitars.

"[citation needed] Steve Gardener of Noise for Heroes opined, "[it] is harder and nastier than any Stems song.

In late 1990 they recorded five tracks for an extended play at Planet Studios: The Kids Ain't Hip, it was released in November.

[1][2] A trip to the east coast and high radio rotation for the track, "Show Me Your Love", confirmed the band's prospects.

A New Year's Eve concert at Wildwood Winery, alongside Boom Crash Opera, the Neptunes, the Kryptonics and the Dweebs, was the new line-up's first show.

The label compiled a ten-song retrospective CD of the band's Zero Hour material, The Kids Ain't Hip (1992) for release in Europe.

[6] For the remainder of that year they performed regular gigs in Perth, supporting Falling Joys, the Clouds and overseas acts the Smithereens.

Australian musicologist, Ian McFarlane, observed, "Rather than concentrating on traditional 1960s jangly guitar pop, [it] showcased the band's heavier and more textured, but still tuneful, approach.

[1][2] The band played gigs in Perth and Bunbury with Frisino and then made another trip to the eastern states in mid-1993.

Running Circle Records, whose manager, Michael Statesmann, had connections in Australia, organised six extra Spanish shows before the band headed home in January, and placed the Chevelles on a large support bill for a Summer Festival in the island of Majorca in July 1994.

Between the European and the Mallorca Festival Martin Moon left for personal reasons and was replaced by Julian Buckland on drums.

The band signed with Running Circle for a distribution deal for the second studio album, in Spain and the rest of Europe.

It was more varied than Gigantic, displaying a punk sound in "Delirium" and including a melodic ballad called "Fall".

Its 15 tracks made it a long album for a pop group but in essence it was tailor-made for Spanish rock and roll fans.

The record received strong reviews in established Spanish rock zines like Ruta 66, Beaten Generation and La Musica, in which the band were compared to Mariani's DM3 and to the Dubrovniks.

With no distribution deal they relied on sales at shows and through a small number of Perth and eastern states record stores.

Teaming with Grant Ferstat (ex-Month of Sundays), Dave Shaw of the Stems and Boom Babies) and Craig Maclean, he recorded an 11-track rock album.

David Hughes-Owen, the manager of Perth power pop label, Spinning Top, had known the band for years.

Smith had offered Rollerball Candy to Hughes-Owen for Australian release back in January 1995, but at the time the label felt it did not have the money or network to support it.

Spinning Top had an association with US label Not Lame, whose manager Bruce Brodeen was a fan of the group and accepted an offer to release some of their material.

Brodeen put together a compilation, At Second Glance, concentrating on the band's melodic pop sound rather than its rock aspect.

Drummer Julian Buckland resigned, Dave Shaw joined the group, and the album was launched in July 1998.

French label Hellfire Club Records released a four-track vinyl EP, Mezmerised,[2] which used the tougher-edged tracks from Rollerball Candy.

Three of the seven songs (including a version of Air Supply's "Lost in Love") were completed to demo level and then shopped by Spinning Top to various labels throughout Australia, Europe and the US.

A deal was set up with Spanish label Bittersweet for the release of Sunseekers (a compilation of the Sunbleached EP and six new tracks, which re-appear on Girl God).

Three UK dates were added to the Spanish tour and, at the request of a Brazilian radio station, two shows were booked in Brazil.

The Chevelles continued to demo new material in their Fremantle garage studio for an upcoming release on Wicked Cool Records in 2018.