Guitarist and violinist Russell Senior left Pulp in 1997 and began writing and demoing songs with vocalist/lyricist Debbie Lime (real name Debbie Russell-Williams) in the Spring of 1998[1][2][3] Through what Senior described as "bizarre coincidences"[4] they were able to recruit Daniel Hunt on keyboards, Nick Eastwood on bass, and Rob Barton on drums[5] over the following months.
Their first public performance was supporting Rialto at a Warwick University Freshers’ Ball[6] and they went on to play a number of other gigs around the UK, including Glastonbury and Reading & Leeds festivals.
Gaining a fair amount of attention in the media, the band's awkward, experimental brand of artpop was lauded by some[3] but received a lukewarm or outright hostile[7] reception in the music press.
[8] Hunt's involvement in the group ceased when his other band Ladytron began to release records,[2] and he was replaced by Michael Ash.
[11] Russell Senior announced before Venini's split that he was quitting music to open an antique shop, but in recent years he has played guest violin with The Long Blondes and joined Pulp for several of their reunion shows in 2011.