The band was formed by Morris, Urlich, Coleman and Dobbyn, students at Sacred Heart College in Auckland, the same school that Neil (Crowded House and Split Enz) and Tim Finn (Split Enz) attended. The band name derived from the "Lone Groover" comic strip in the English music paper, "NME". The band's sound was heavily influenced by the British scene, especially The Beatles, David Bowie and The Rolling Stones, and later by the Punk and New Wave sounds of Iggy Pop, Elvis Costello, Nick Lowe, Roxy Music, The Stranglers and The Clash.