Kevin Rowland (vocals, a trained hairdresser), Ghislaine "Gil" Weston (a.k.a. "Gem", bass guitar), and Mark Philips (guitar) had been members of the mid-1970s Roxy Music-inspired band Lucy & the Lovers.[1] With the advent of punk rock, Rowland wrote new songs and started The Killjoys, adding Heather Tonge (backing vocals) and Joe 45 (Lee Burton, drums).[1][2] The band relocated to London and took up lodgings in a disused branch of Barclays Bank. The band came to the attention of Raw Records boss Lee Wood, who signed the band for the single "Johnny Won't Get to Heaven"/"Naïve", which went on to sell 18,000 copies.[1] This was the largest-selling single that Raw Records ever had.[3] At the time, the band contained two couples: Philips and Weston, and Rowland and Tonge.[4] This line-up lasted for eighteen months, and several recording sessions took place for a debut album.[3] The Killjoys recorded two sessions for John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show: the first in October 1977, the second in February 1978, by which time Keith Rimell (guitar) and Bob Peach (drums) had been recruited, replacing Philips and Burton; Rowland used his hairdressing talents to give the new members short haircuts.[1] Tonge also left the group; according to Wood, the rumor was that Rowland had returned home early and found her in bed with someone else.[3]
The band disintegrated when Rowland's enforced eight-hour practice sessions began to take their toll, especially because other members of the band had a vision of it that was different than Rowland's.[4][5] The tension between Rowland and the rest of the band was clear; Rimell described the atmosphere as "us against him", and Gareth Holder of The Shapes noted "the level of hatred that the rest of the Killjoys appear to have for [Rowland]".[1] Rimell left the band after an argument with Rowland,[4] to be replaced by Kevin Archer, who Rowland insisted should be renamed "Al" Archer as he did not want another "Kevin" in the band.[1] A story circulated that Rowland rejected a £20,000 contract with Bronze Records because it was only a singles deal, to the disdain of other band members;[1] however, in 2004 Weston questioned the validity of the story,[4] and in 2007 Rowland said the story was "nonsense".[5]
Peach, Philips and Weston soon left to form Out of Nowhere (later called Alternating, and then Luxound Deluxe), with Weston later joining Girlschool on the recommendation of Lemmy.[1] Rowland, disillusioned with punk rock, immersed himself in vintage soul music, particularly the records of Geno Washington, and (with Archer) formed a new band, Dexys Midnight Runners.[6]