Recorded in late 1997 following a tumultuous year for the group, Tin Planet was a continuation of the eclectic blend of musical styles explored on their debut album Spiders.

However, it was noted that the more abrasive aspects of their sound were toned down considerably from their debut, with the songs being more melodic with a prominent cabaret and easy listening influence.

[3] The songs "Avenging Angels", "The Ballad of Tom Jones" (a duet with Cerys Matthews of the band Catatonia), "Begin Again" and "Bad Days" were released as singles, all hitting the UK top 40.

Combining surreal, darkly humorous lyrics and a large number of styles and genres, including rock, techno, hip hop and funk, a result of the different musical tastes of the band members, the album was a critical and commercial success, reaching number 5 on the UK Albums Chart[1] and becoming certified Platinum by the British Phonographic Industry in December 1996 for sales of over 300,000.

[5] The band were constantly under stress, which reached such an extent that keyboardist Franny Griffiths developed an ulcer, lyricist and vocalist Tommy Scott lost his voice and the band's guitarist and other lyricist and vocalist, Jamie Murphy, "still only 21, simply lost it completely and had a spell in psychiatric care being fed anti-depressants and milk.

[12] Very shortly after the completion of the album, but prior to its release, drummer Andy Parle left the band, instantly being replaced by Leon Caffrey, formerly of Proper.

[6] For "The Ballad of Tom Jones", Cerys Matthews of the Welsh band Catatonia, who Space had supported live back in 1996, was brought in to duet with Scott, which fueled rumours in the press that the two were linked romantically, when in fact they were just good friends.

Mike Badger, a Liverpool-based musician and fine art sculptor, as well as a founding member of The La's, was commissioned by the band to create the visuals for Tin Planet, as they wanted a local artist that they knew personally to work with them.

Badger had been constructing sculptures out of scrapped metal objects and appliances shaped to look like aliens and robots, and was planning to use them for an animated Super 8 film he was working on with Paul Simpson in their spare time, entitled Tin Planet.

"[19] Later reflections on the album have been mixed, with bandmembers voicing their disappointment with the slicker sound compared to Spiders, and feeling that their label Gut Records were trying to manipulate them into becoming, in their words, "the next Beautiful South".

After touring and promotional commitments of Tin Planet concluded in late 1998, Space returned to the studio to commence work on their third album, tentatively titled Love You More than Football.

However, Gut Records objected to Edwyn Collins being chosen as producer, and forced the band to rework the material several times, delaying its release for over two years until it was eventually scrapped in July 2001.

As a result, Space, now reduced to a four-piece, laid low for a couple of years, sporadically releasing several songs as a free-to-download MP3s through their website, becoming one of the first major groups to do so.