They were signed to Rough Trade Record Company, (home of many notable acts such as The Strokes and The Long Blondes), when they were spotted at only their sixth gig, (a first for Rough Trade) and have released one album, Cookies. Lead singer Jackie (nee John) McKeown and bassist, Jamie McMorrow, were the founding members of Scottish Indie band The Yummy Fur. The line-up over the years that The Yummy Fur existed changed on numerous occasions. At one point, both Franz Ferdinand singer Alex Kapranos and drummer Paul Thomson were members of the group. 1990s drummer, Michael
McGaughrin was also in Glasgow band, V-Twin before 1990s were formed.

In recent months 1990s have supported Babyshambles at the Glasgow Barrowlands, and Franz Ferdinand at the SECC and Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre, as well as releasing their debut single, "You Made Me Like It/Arcade Precinct" on limited edition vinyl. They have played at the Indian Summer festival at Victoria Park in Glasgow on September 2, 2006, alongside bands such as Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Fall and Antony and the Johnsons and also Bestival on the Isle of Wight. 1990s went on tour in October 2006 with The Long Blondes, and with CSS in November. According to the band, they play music "like a blonde gets out of a car".

On the official website it was revealed Jamie McMorrow has left the band on September 5th 2007. He was replaced by Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub on the 2007 European tour. Dino Bardot of Stinky Munchkins (also formerly of V-Twin alongside Michael McGaughrin), played the bass on the Australian and North American shows in autumn 2007, and was confirmed as a new member of the band on their MySpace page early in 2008.