The Hours were formed in 2004 by Antony Genn and Martin Slattery, formerly of Joe Strummer's backing group, Joe Strummer and The Mescaleros. Their sound has been described as a cross between Elbow and Bloc Party. They released their first single, "Ali In The Jungle," in November 2006 and their debut album, Narcissus Road, two months later.
Genn played briefly with Elastica and Pulp before the Mescaleros; he has also worked as a producer, most notably for electronic act UNKLE's Never Never Land album. Slattery is an accomplished keyboard player who previously toured with Shaun Ryder’s mid-90s group Black Grape.
The band is managed by Jeanette Lee, who runs Rough Trade with Geoff Travis and former Pulp bassist Steve Mackey. They have received vocal support from Radio One DJ Zane Lowe and Jarvis Cocker.