Delirious? beginnings goes back to 1992. The band started collection of musicians who were thrown together to be a Christian worship band for a youth outreach called "Cutting Edge". So at first they were just known as "The Cutting Edge Band". The Cutting Edge events were started by Arun Community Church in Littlehampton, West Sussex. Tim Jupp and Martin Smith, who became friends while working together at a recording studio were in the original Cutting Edge. Jupp had earlier worked with a youth worker and drummer named Stew Smith, so he was recruited. At the start of the early "Cutting Edge" band Dave Clifton played lead guitar and Jim Bryan played bass. The Cutting edge events became popular via word-of-mouth, leading the band to play at other "Cutting Edge" events that soon became monthly in Portsmouth and Southampton. The events in Southampton went on for three years. As this band became the house band for the events their became a desire for recordings by the people who attended, so they began to record and sell the 'Cutting Edge' cassette tapes. At first they would just sell them from the back of their car after the youth events. The turnout at these events grew and crowd sizes were as many as 1200 stretching the capacity of the small venues. In 1996, an event was held in the open air, on the green next to Littlehampton's beach. An estimated 4000 people attended, while Channel 4 filmed it for a documentary.
The Change To Full Time (1997–1998)
On August 30th 1995 Martin, his wife Anna and Jon Thatcher, were involved in a serious car accident. Jon and Anna were unhurt, but Martin was hospitalized for several weeks with broken bones. This event lead Martin to introspection about what his purpose and meaning of life were to be.
Delirious Goes "Mainstream" (1999–2002)
The bands next release was the album Mezzamorphis. It was released in 1999 and climbed to number 25 in the UK mainstream album charts (number two in the independent section), and soon became certified silver in the UK. During this time, the band found their was a resistance in the mainstream due to their "Christian" label, despite widespread critical acclaim in the music press. Mezzamorphis however was really aimed at a more "secular" audience, and this brought complaints from former fans claiming that Delirious? had "sold out" to mainstream markets. Several singles from Mezzamorphis gained some British chart success. For example, the first single, "See The Star", peaked at number sixteen on the charts (a career high for the band). What is strange was that it was one of the weaker songs on the record. The second single, "It's OK", subsequently reached number eighteen. In the US, "Gravity" was chosen over "See the Star" as lead radio single for promotion.
Exactly one year later, in 2000, the band released Glo (short for glorious). The subject matter of Glo really was not in any way mainstream or aimed at a "secular" audience outside of it's rock sound.
In 2001 the band released their next album called Audio Lessonover? (an anagram of 'Radio One Loves Us'). This album like Mezzamorphis was aimed at more of a mainstream audience. The band hired a music producer named Chuck Zwicky who had worked with Semisonic and Madonna. Zwicky wanted to go with a more stripped down sound than the sonically layered Mezzamorphis and Glo. The first single "Waiting For The Summer" reached number twenty-six on the charts, but recieved limited radio airplay. This led to a planned second single release, Take Me Away, being cancelled. this record received less favourable reviews in comparison to their previous three albums. Again they received criticism from Christian fans for "selling out" to achieve success in mainstream markets, and their tours as opening acts for Bon Jovi and Matchbox Twenty probably did not help that impression.
In 2002 Delirious? released it's first compilation album called, "Deeper". It was a double album, consisting of many remastered classic songs from the bands Cutting Edge days as well as tracks taken from previous work such as Glo and King Of Fools. It also included a new song, 'Not Forgotten'.
Later in 2002, the band released a edited and restyled Audio Lessonover? as under a new name "Touch".
Return to Worship (2003–2008)
In 2003, Delirious? released World Service, the first of what guitarist Stu G later described as 'a trilogy'. With this release the band released two free MP3 downloads on mp3.com, both topping the Guitar Rock charts (the first for a full month). The first MP3, "Majesty (Here I Am)", hit number fifteen on the worldwide charts; the second, "Rain Down", reached number twenty-eight. The two together had amassed over 500,000 listens/downloads after fifty days. The band’s American single 'Rain Down' became its biggest multi-format hit since "Deeper".
World Service was followed by the band's sixth studio album, The Mission Bell. Mission Bell was released in 2005 and the album received very positive reviews, with Christianity Today, Jesus Freak Hideout, and Cross Rhythms, all praising The Mission Bell for stretching the boundaries of Christian music. The Mission Bell was nominated for the Dove Awards, in the Rock/Contemporary Album of the Year Category. In 2005 Delirious? performed in front of the Pope and more than a million other people at the World youth Day event.
Retirement (2008–2009)
Prior to the release of 'Kingdom of Comfort', drummer Stew Smith announced that he would be leaving the band in April 2008. He made his final performance with the band in Sydney, Australia. His departure had a great impact upon the other members of the band, and they considered breaking up. But Martin Smith insisted that they should carry on. The band found Paul Evans to become the new drummer for Delirious?. He had already played with Delirious? before when Stew Smith was unable to perform during a tour of the US.
But on July 6th of the same year, the band announced via a press release that they would be "taking a break" at the end of 2009 to allow the band to focus on things close to them. Martin said that he wanted more time to spend with his family and devote more time to the CompassionArt project.
Delirious? finished their career by conducting a small farewell tour of Europe which concluded at the end of 2009. They played their final show in front of a sell-out crowd at London's Hammersmith Apollo on November 29th 2009. The three-and-a-half-hour final show was filmed for a live album, DVD and Blu-ray package, titled Farewell Show - Live In London. It was released in April 2010. In February 2010, there was a campaign to get History Maker into the UK charts for Easter. The campaign used the social networking site Facebook. In response to this, the version from the final live album was released as a single on 28 March 2010. The two versions of "History Makers" reached as high as numbers 3 and 21 on the iTunes Store and the combined sales placed the single at number 6 in the midweek charts of 31 March 2010. A grand way to finish up!
Away from the band, many of the members have started work on solo projects. Martin Smith has written an autobiography titled 'Delirious', providing a detailed account of his life and time with the band. It was released in February 2011. Martin has released some solo material called Gods Great Dance Floor Movement One and Movement Two and will even be going out and playing some live shows. Stu G and Jon Thatcher have teamed up with songwriter Jason Ingram and Hillsong UNITED drummer Paul Mabury in a band called One Sonic Society that has released three EPs that are color coded like the early Cutting Edge tapes were, and now are releasing an album called Forever Reign. So the music continues.
