After demoing punk songs, they shifted their focus on to pop, and recruited two female singers, Andie and Liz, who were spotted at the Academy of Contemporary Music by Jimmy's brother, Bruce (also from Little Angels).
Humour was an ingredient from the outset, with no drummer recruited as, in Jimmy's words, they "would just get in the way" and "take up loads of room in the van". By the end of the year they had enough catchy pop songs to convince V2 to sign them, and the next year was spent recording and touring.
Having described themselves as 'council house' with tongues firmly in cheeks, a better comparison might be the Human League, Shampoo, the Pet Shop Boys and some of the more throwaway elements of early '80's new wave. Lyrical themes mainly revolved around class divisions, and the stifling effect that growing up on a council estate can have on the horizons of a young mind (all with an ironic twist, of course . . . the lyrics often seem more loving than judging).
The band's fun-factor was in evidence when they embarked on a tour of Asda supermarkets towards the end of the summer, before joining My Life Story around the UK in the Autumn.
After a few singles (including a cover of the Cure's 'In Between Days') and one album, the band disappeared in 2000 and have yet to re-emerge, although no official split was ever announced.
IF YOU LIKE THESE YOU'LL LIKE YOUNGER YOUNGER 28'S: Shampoo, Human League, Pet Shop Boys, the Cure, The Waitresses, My Life Story, Pulp.