2021–2022: Formation, Are You Alright?, and Pebble Brain Lovejoy was founded by
William Gold and Joe Goldsmith in 2021. The two met from previously playing in the same
folk group. Gold previously gained a following online for his
Twitch streams and
YouTube videos, The band was originally called "Hang the DJ". The current name is after Benedict Lovejoy, a friend of the band, who would sit with them during their early days of songwriting. Before joining Lovejoy, drummer Mark Boardman had been studying
editing at university, bass guitarist Ash Kabosu was working in
TV broadcasting, and lead guitarist Joe Goldsmith was a
tree surgeon. Gold met Kabosu, a friend of a friend, in a
Smashburger shop in
Brighton, and asked him if he'd like to join the band. During
studio recording, the band hired Boardman on
Fiverr, and after watching him perform, Gold invited him to join as a permanent member. It was released on 8 May 2021, which saw Lovejoy debut at number 10 on
Billboards
Emerging Artists chart on 20 May 2021. Their second EP,
Pebble Brain, was recorded in August 2021 at Small Pond Recording Studios in
Brighton, and released on 14 October 2021. The EP peaked at number 12 on the UK Albums Chart. The songs of this EP had the theme of failed romantic relationships, but also expand to political unrest. In October 2022, the band issued their first two EPs, as well as their cover of "
Knee Deep at ATP", to
vinyl for the first time. Prior to their large concert and festival performances, Lovejoy performed unadvertised gigs under
pseudonyms. From November 2022, the band began to receive attention on
mainstream radio, with airtime on
BBC Radio 1, and on Dutch radio show "" (). Their songs have also been featured on
BBC Music Introducing.
2023–2024: ''Wake Up & It's Over, and From Studio 4'' performing in Chicago, 2023 On 10 February 2023, Lovejoy released the single "
Call Me What You Like" through
AWAL. The single peaked at number 32 on the
Official UK Top 40 chart. On 7 April 2023, under the Anvil Cat alias, the band
surprise-released an EP titled
From Studio 4. It contains
acoustic versions of the songs from their debut EP,
Are You Alright?, as well as a previously unreleased track, "Tomorrow". In May 2023, the band performed in London for a
Spotify event titled
Our Generation. They released two songs from the session as part of Spotify Singles, including an acoustic version of "Call Me What You Like" and a cover of "The Perfect Pair" by
Beabadoobee. Gold said the band had "been huge admirers of Beabadoobee for a while now and love the melody of this song, so it was great to give it our own Lovejoy twist". In June 2023, the band appeared on the front cover of issue 77 of the music magazine
Dork. On 25 June 2023, Lovejoy performed at
Glastonbury Festival on the
BBC Music Introducing stage. They have also performed at
Rock Werchter,
TRNSMT, the
Montreux Jazz Festival,
Osheaga, and
Lollapalooza. They performed at
Leeds Festival on 25 August 2023, and
Reading Festival on 27 August 2023. They started their Wake Up & It's Over Tour across the United Kingdom in September 2023, notably with
James Marriott as a support act for the
Birmingham,
London and
Manchester shows. On 16 January 2024, it was announced that Lovejoy would be playing at
Coachella. On 21 March, the band cancelled their Coachella, Boston Calling, Bonnaroo, and Fox Theater Pomona appearances, citing "concerns over Wilbur's mental health", before taking a short hiatus following allegations of
abuse against
Gold. In June 2024, the band announced their first Australian shows would be taking place from August.
2025–present: One Simple Trick On 22 May 2025, the band teased the release of their debut album on YouTube. Prior to this, two songs from the album were played live: "Wasted Summer" on 18 August 2025, and "Foxholes" on 27 August 2025, with the former not making it onto the album tracklist. On 20 June 2025, the band released "With Rob As My Witness", the first promotional single for their debut album. On 18 July 2025, Lovejoy posted on Instagram that their debut album, titled
One Simple Trick, would be released on 3 October 2025, stating it "took four years of overthinking". The band also announced the "One Simple Tour" - a tour of the United States and Canada to pair with the albums release. Their second single of the upcoming album, "Pay & Display", was released on 22 August 2025. On 3 October 2025, Lovejoy released
One Simple Trick worldwide on all platforms. == Musical style and influences ==