It’s been over 20 years since Black Box Recorder last released an album and they had no plans for a reunion … until Billie Eilish appeared.
The little-known British group, consisting of Sarah Nixey, Luke Haines and John Moore, were shocked to see the Grammy winner randomly share their 1998 track on her social media.
Billie’s dedicated fans rushed to listen to the rogue recommendation, giving them a surprise surge in popularity, bigger than when they first debuted.
Despite never cracking the Top 40, Child Psychology now has over 63,000,000 streams on Spotify, with the group at almost two million monthly listeners.
In celebration of their newfound popularity, Black Box Recorder have announced a massive show at the London Palladium next year.
So far, this one-off gig on May 22, 2026, is the only live performance the band have announced.
It will mark three years, almost to the day, since Billie shared the song on her Instagram story prompting a revival of interest in the group.
At the time, Sarah shared the snap and wrote on X: ‘Child Psychology shared by @billieeilish. The song was released 25 years on Chrysalis Records who thought it would make a great first single for our debut album, #EnglandMadeMe.
‘No one was more surprised than me.’
In 2018, she spoke about the track to Electricity Club, and shared: ‘The chorus in Child Psychology is a very British, wry response to a young woman recounting her privileged but unhappy childhood. I laughed when I first heard that song, although I do realise that not everyone shares this humour.
‘Perhaps the tough love chorus in Child Psychology is too brutal now, given that we have seen a rise in child and adolescent mental health illness with this generation of young people. In 1998, when I was a young woman myself, it seemed quite amusing.’
England Made Me, named after Graham Greene’s 1935 novel, earned the group comparisons to Portishead, with general praise from critics.
Their follow-up album, Facts of Life, took a synth turn and produced their first major hit, leading to the band playing Glastonbury in 2000.
In 2003, Black Box Recorder dropped their final full studio album, Passionoia, bringing a more dance-pop sound.
There were rumours of a fourth album in 2009 but it was never released, and the band quietly went into a permanent hiatus.
By this time, in their personal lives, Sarah and John, who had been married in 2001 and had one child together, had split, but they have worked together in the years since.
The London Palladium show will be the first time in 17 years that the band has headlined their own gig.
Sarah did join John and Luke on stage for a surprise guest appearance in 2018, after they re-released a box set of Black Box Recorder songs.
‘Luke called me the night before and asked if I wanted to do it,’ she told Electricity Club. I was excited but nervous, as I hadn’t been on stage for years, and we hadn’t rehearsed.
‘It felt good though, and I have always loved being on stage with Luke and John.’
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