The band originated in Perth, Western Australia in the late 1970s. They went through various line-up changes until the early 1980s when they moved to Sydney and later Melbourne and released their first LP Treeless Plain. The band toured extensively in Europe and caught the attention of the UK music press, being featured on the cover of NME twice. Four albums followed - Born Sandy Devotional, In The Pines, Calenture and The Black Swan - before the group disbanded in 1989. David McComb and "Evil" Graham Lee joined The Blackeyed Susans while Martyn P Casey joined Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds.