Katrina and the Waves were started up in 1983 by Katrina Leskanich, Vince de la Cruz, Alex Cooper and Kimberley Rew. Though the band often struggled to maintain popularity, their contributions to the world of music cannot be denied. They were often underrated and underappreciated throughout their time together. Even though two of the original members, Leskanich and de la Cruz, were both American, the band was started in Cambridge, England in 1981 and kept England as their base for the duration of their time together.

The band's first album was Walking on Sunshine which was released in 1983. The album contained the hit single by the same name, which rose to the top of the charts all over the world. The song is still alive today. The song proves that the band was not only a capable group, but also that they had a solid set of abilities in their craft, despite the fact that their career often lagged. Their first album is considered one of the few perfect pop albums to ever be released, earning praise as a memorable and irresistible musical masterpiece that is still recommended 25 years on.

While the band went pretty strong through the ‘80s, struggling through the sometimes terrifying ‘80s concert scene that was driven by that culturally insane, big-hair period, the group was able to keep themselves going. In the ‘90s, however, their career really sagged. They had a short come-back in '97, when they played for England in the politically driven Eurovision song contest. The group won by a landslide at the competition which took place in Dublin, with their song "Love Shine a Light," giving Britain the first win in 16 years and their fifth since the contest first began in 1956. Not long after that, however, the group split up and has not performed together since then.