The Levellers have been a thorn in the side of conservative politicians in the UK for the past 20 years, but are considered a rare gem by their numerous fans. Vocalist, guitarist and harmonica player Mark Chadwick met bassist and vocalist Jeremy Cunningham at a public housing unit in Brighton, England in 1988. Both had been in bands before but had recently left. They bonded almost instantly over their leftist politics and hard-partying ways. They decided to form a band together and added drummer Charlie Heather, fiddler John Sevink, guitarist David Buckmeister and guitarist, vocalist and mandolin player Alan Miles.

Buckmeister didn't last long in the lineup and Miles was replaced in 1990 by Simon Friend. The newly-formed Levellers released two EPs in 1989 before being picked up by Musidisc. They released their debut album in 1990 with A Weapon Called the Word, which eventually went platinum. Problems with Musidisc led to the band switching labels after the release. Next they released Levelling the Land, an album that saw more chart success than their first release by reaching number 14 in the UK. They set out on a successful tour, leading to the signing of the band to an American label to release their albums stateside.

The Levellers released a series of studio, compilation and live albums over the next couple of years including Levellers and Zeitgeist. Their fame had faded somewhat by the mid 1990s, pushing the band to change their sound for 1997's Mouth to Mouth album. The band released a greatest hits album the next year and then took a hiatus until 2003 when they dropped Green Blade Rising, which seemed up to par with the band's earlier work. They followed up that release with Truth and Lies in 2005 and a live greatest hits album in 2007.