Janet Smith knew Porl Thompson, the erstwhile "second" guitarist of The Cure, since they were children, and the pair began dating during Thompson's early tenure as lead guitarist for Malice and the Easy Cure. As well as having participated in the Crawley Goat Band since around 1973, Janet played keyboards as a member of Cult Hero in 1979, and their older sister Margaret contributed backing vocals to the project. Janet, together with Simon Gallup's then-girlfriend Carol (both dressed as schoolgirls), with real-life schoolboys "the Obtainers", sang backing vocals for the Cult Heroes' live performance at the Marquee Club, opening for the Passions in March 1980.