 Whilst working as a backing vocalist for the folk band Balloon, Sarah Nixey was approached by John Moore (who had been the drummer for The Jesus and Mary Chain) and Luke Haines (frontman of The Auteurs), who had formed a duo and were looking for a vocalist.The duo convinced Nixey to join them by promising her that she would become famous, and in 1998, Black Box Recorder released their first album, "England Made Me" to critical acclaim.Their second album, "The Facts of Life", followed in 2000, and spawned a top 20 single of the same name, which saw the group perform on BBC's "Top of the Pops".