Vocalist Nick Van Eede founded the group along with Canadian guitarist Kevin Scott MacMichael in 1985, and made demos that led to a recording contract, before bassist Colin Farley and drummer Martin Beadle joined in 1986.

Their first album, Broadcast, released in 1986, was the first U.S. number one album for Richard Branson's Virgin Records. It included "(I Just) Died in Your Arms", their most popular single, which reached number one in the U.S., and number four in the UK; the album also yielded an additional U.S. top-ten hit with "I've Been in Love Before". The band received a Grammy nomination in 1987, for "Best New Artist".

After the band broke up in 1993, guitarist Kevin MacMichael joined forces with Robert Plant, and played on his critically acclaimed Fate of Nations album. MacMichael died of lung cancer on New Year's Eve 2002, at his home in Nova Scotia, at the age of 51.

The band was reformed in 2006 by Nick Van Eede, with a completely new line-up. They have released one album, Grinning Souls, in February 2006 on the Hypertension record label. The new band toured Germany early the same year and are currently planning tours in the UK and Denmark.