Ian McNabb (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Chris Layhe (bass, vocals, keyboards, percussion) and Chris Sharrock (drums) had all been playing music since their early teens, but this was their first attempt at inhabiting a band that existed solely on its own material.

Echo And the Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes, two Liverpool-based groups which preceded The Icicle Works by a few years, were a major influence on their style, along with the likes of Be Bop Deluxe, The Who, The Walker Brothers and The Byrd’s. The name came from a short science fiction story by Frederik Pohl called ‘The Day the Icicle Works Closed.’

The group scored hits in the UK and America with four highly regarded albums released between 1984 – 1988.

McNabb began a successful solo career in 1991 and was nominated for the Mercury Prize in 1994 for his album ‘Head Like a Rock.’ He has released over twenty solo albums since 1993, working with the Waterboys, Danny Thompson, Ringo Starr, Neil Young, Peter Buck, and Lightning Seeds amongst others.

In 2023 Ian McNabb and Chris Layhe decided to reunite for a series of acoustic performances.