Before embracing Brit-pop in the late '90s, Doves' three members -- vocalist/bassist Jimi Goodwin, guitarist Jez Williams, and drummer Andy Williams -- figured prominently in the Madchester scene, where they scored a Top Five single as part of the dance combo Sub Sub. "Ain't No Love (Ain't No Use)" peaked at number three in the U.K., but Sub Sub failed to produce any significant follow-up hits, and a fire destroyed their recording studio in February 1995. After taking several years to restructure their sound, the musicians reappeared in 1998 as Doves, whose sweeping pop/rock material owed more to the Verve and Radiohead than Sub Sub's club-oriented peers.

Doves debuted in October 1998 with the Cedar EP, which sold out of its limited pressing and paved the way for the musicians' association with Badly Drawn Boy (who employed them as his backing band on several singles). Doves released two additional EPs, Sea and Here It Comes, before signing a European contract with Heavenly Records, the venerable London-based label that had recently scored a hit with Beth Orton. Heavenly issued Doves' full-length debut, Lost Souls, in April 2000, while an American release followed in October via the Astralwerks label. Marrying traces of Sub Sub's danceable past with an emphasis on live pop/rock instrumentation, Lost Souls earned a nomination for the Mercury Prize -- which the band ironically lost to Badly Drawn Boy -- and spawned three Top 40 singles in the U.K. By 2001, the band's American representation had been upgraded to Capitol Records, and Doves returned to the U.K. charts one year later with The Last Broadcast. The sophomore album debuted atop the charts in England and, like its predecessor, climbed to platinum status, propelled in part by the number three single "There Goes the Fear."

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