This charismatic UK band was formed towards the end of the 90s by main songwriters Tom Meighan (b. Thomas Meighan, 11 January 1981, Leicester, England; vocals) and Sergio Pizzorno (b. 15 December 1980, Newton Abbot, Devon, England; guitar/keyboards). Raised in Leicester, the duo originally began writing together while still at school. Meighan and Pizzorno were subsequently joined in their new musical venture by Chris Edwards (bass) and Christopher Karloff (guitar/keyboards). The quartet took their unusual moniker from the name of notorious mass murderer Charles Manson's getaway driver, Linda Kasabian. They also set up communal living quarters in an old farmhouse in the Rutland countryside, building up a loyal following (dubbed "The Movement") and espousing a vaguely political personal philosophy. After a number of failed attempts to land a recording contract a demo tape came to the attention of RCA Records, and a major label contract was struck at the start of 2003. Fashioning a sound drawing heavily on the late 80s indie dance scene popularised by the Happy Mondays and Stone Roses, the quartet enjoyed breakthrough hits in 2004 and 2005 with "Club Foot", "L.S.F. (Lost Souls Forever)" and "Cutt Off". A prominent support slot on a Who tour, plenty of media coverage and well-received sets on the summer festival circuit, helped push their debut album into the upper regions of the UK charts.
Drummer Ian Matthews was added to the line-up in 2005 as the band's popularity continued to rise. Later in the year a download-only live album, taped at London's Brixton Academy at the end of 2004, was released. Shortly after completing the recording of their second album, the band announced that lead guitarist Karloff had left the line-up.
