On 24 October 1995, Spacehog released its first album, "Resident Alien". It went gold on the Billboard charts, selling over 500,000 copies and spawned the hit single and video "In the Meantime" as well as the single "Cruel To Be Kind". "In the Meantime" received heavy video and radio play, and was used as background music to BBC's "Match of the Day" football programme. The band performed the song on Channel 4's "TFI Friday" in 1996. The band's second album, "The Chinese Album", was released on 10 March 1998. Though it did not sell as well as "Resident Alien", the band's popularity continued to increase as Spacehog opened for more popular acts such as Pearl Jam and Supergrass. "The Chinese Album" had a more "artsy" sound, with the Pink Floyd-like piano on the opening track and Michael Stipe of R.E.M. contributing vocals to the song "Almond Kisses".