Skinny was formed in London in 1996 by drummer and programmer Mathew Benbrook and guitarist‑singer Paul Herman, who met during a trip to India and later in London where they discovered shared musical interests. The duo signed to Cheeky Records in 1998 and released their debut single "Failure", which reached number 31 on the UK Singles Chart. In 1998 they issued the album The Weekend, followed by the studio album Taller in 2001, which included the track "Morning Light" that appeared on a Café del Mar sampler the same year. After releasing Taller and touring briefly, Skinny disbanded in 2001; Mathew Benbrook continued to release music under the Skinny name and worked as a songwriter for artists such as Paolo Nutini and Lena Meyer‑Landrut.
