They achieved chart success with their third single, "Hard to Beat" and then followed by other successful singles such as "Living for the Weekend" and "Cash Machine", which all reached the top 20 of the UK Singles Chart. Their debut album Stars of CCTV was released on 4 July 2005, and although receiving critical acclaim (NME called it the 23rd best album of 2005 and it was nominated for the Mercury Prize and two Brit Awards; Best British Group and Best British Rock Act), it did not reach No. 1 on the UK Albums Chart until six months later on 22 January 2006. It originally entered the charts at number 6. The band's second album Once Upon a Time in the West was released on 3 September 2007 and reached number 1 in its first week. Their third album Killer Sounds, which features the singles "Good for Nothing", "Fire in the House" and "Bring It On", was released on 19 August 2011 and debuted at number 9 on the UK Albums Chart.
Richard Archer decided to return to his hometown of Staines, crushed by the lack of success of his former band Contempo and the death of his father from cancer. He said "I moved back to Staines because I ran out of money and it was quite a shock."
Archer claims that music business insiders tried to dissuade the band's manager Warren Clarke from managing him. When Archer asked his publishers for some money to record the new songs that he had written, they terminated his contract instead. "People told him, don't bother with Archer, he's damaged goods, you're wasting your time."

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