The band released their debut album Do It Yourself in 1997, and began work on a follow-up before splitting up due to musical differences, during recording sessions in January 1999.

The Seahorses was more a rash reaction to leaving the Roses than a considered option", and that "I don't think I'm the kind of artist who can cope in a proper band democracy.

He first recruited bassist Stuart Fletcher, who he saw by chance at the Fibbers venue in York where he was drinking with his guitar tech Martin Herbet.

Following several auditions and the prompting of his manager, Squire eventually settled on Helme, despite being hesitant because he "closed his eyes when he sang and only folk singers do that".

[5] Due to Squire's past work with the Stone Roses, the band were met with intense media interest and speculation before they had recorded or released anything.

However, in 2019 bassist Stuart Fletcher revealed that they had actually been working with a drummer called Mark McNeill who had to be dismissed from the band following several failed rehab visits as "he couldn’t remember anything we rehearsed".

Just weeks after Watts joined, the band played secret warm-up gigs in Buckley, Greenock and Lancaster,[8] before heading to North Hollywood to record with David Bowie and T. Rex producer Tony Visconti.

The band released their debut single "Love Is the Law" on 28 April 1997 via Geffen Records,[9] to whom Squire was still signed following his departure from the Stone Roses.

[7] Watts was temporarily replaced by session players Mal Scott (who toured with the band throughout 1997 and played on the standalone Squire/Helme co-written single "You Can Talk to Me" in December 1997) and Toby Drummond.

They previewed several new songs during secret fan club gigs and festival appearances, including "City in the Sky", "700 Horses", "Tombraid" and two Helme compositions "Won't Let You Fall" and "Moth".

The band entered Olympic Studios with producer David Bottrill in January 1999 to record the album, with the working titles of Minus Blue and Motocade, and tensions came to a head between Squire and Helme.

[14] A spokesman for the band later informed the NME that Squire had "become increasingly dissatisfied with the material being produced by Helme until it reached a point where their partnership was no longer possible".

Following the split of The Shining, Heaney carried on working as a drum teacher and session musician, appearing on Squire's first solo album Time Changes Everything.

He joined post-punk icons Gang of Four in 2005, and continued working as a session drummer for artists such as Badly Drawn Boy and Klaxons.