[4] The band have stated that the original inspiration for The Long Blondes was to form a fantasy pop group: "Nico, Nancy Sinatra, Diana Dors and Barbara Windsor.

[6] In July 2004, The Long Blondes released their debut single "New Idols" on the local Thee Sheffield Phonographic Corporation label.

[7][8] Still unsigned, in February 2006 the band were recipients of the NME Philip Hall Radar Award, which in previous years was won by Franz Ferdinand and Kaiser Chiefs.

[9] As they were unsigned, during the early success of the band, members remained working in various day jobs; Jackson sold vintage clothing on eBay, Cox was working in the University of Sheffield Department of Law, Hollis in the Media Studies department of a nearby college, Chaplin in a Leeds art library and Louder in the Home Office.

[13] Reviews picked up on the predominant themes of the album; outsider status, popular culture references from the 1950s and 60s and relationships from a female perspective.

For example, a four-star review in The Guardian said that "if talent borrows but genius steals ... the Long Blondes should be taking their Mensa tests", comparing the album's style to Franz Ferdinand and 80s indie-pop band The Flatmates.

[14] Some noted the impact of Jackson's voice; Colin Roberts of Drowned in Sound said "her delivery is like a public address call across a Sunday marketplace"[15] while The Guardian said it was "marvellously belting, if unsubtle".

[18] The band stated that the album drew influences from Italo disco revival acts such as Glass Candy[19][20] and the Italians Do It Better label.

Cox stated that "...there's something really innocent about Abba videos... really kinda funny, futuristic but old fashioned at the same time and that's how we see our music on this album.".

[25] A mixed 6/10 review in NME said the album was "not terrible, but disappointing" and "whereas once they sang of suburban boredom tempered with the thrill of escape, now they’ve started to sound like they’d be happy to stay put".

On 9 June 2008, the band posted on their official website that Cox had fallen ill and that he had to be rushed to hospital, which meant that they had to cancel all their live appearances until the end of July.

[citation needed] On 20 October 2008, Guitarist Dorian Cox posted a message on their official website that the band had split up.

The announcement was made the same day their compilation "Singles" was released, with the inside of the rear album art also containing news of the break-up.

[32] Their debut single features three cover versions—"Lullaby" by The Cure, "Love Is Blind" by Pulp and "Romantic Rights" by Death From Above 1979.

In early 2022 it was confirmed on a podcast interview with Martyn Ware that Jackson and Cox had begun work on a new album by The Long Blondes.

In April 2022 it was announced that the duo would be making their official live debut at Green Man Festival in Powys, Wales in the summer.

On August 11, 2022, Jackson announced she would be stepping away from the Long Blondes due to allegations made against Cox by his ex-girlfriend Victoria Lane via social media until the matter was resolved by the police.

[35] The Long Blondes' songs reflect a number of influences, including 60s pop, Buzzcocks, The Fall, The Ramones, Suede,[citation needed] post-punk and new wave.

Jackson's vocals have been compared to Ari Up of The Slits, Deborah Harry of Blondie and Lesley Woods of Au Pairs[citation needed].

[38] Louder said about them: "[Siouxsie and the Banshees] made much more interesting records than any of the instant hits could manage, and they didn’t run out of ideas after the first few singles.