The group first formed in 1985 when Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna Ó Braonáin, who had known each other as children in an Irish-speaking school, Coláiste Eoin in Booterstown, Dublin, began performing as street musicians, also known as buskers, on the streets of Dublin as "The Incomparable Benzini Brothers".
They were soon joined by Peter O'Toole and had won a street-entertainer award within a year.
They renamed the group "Hothouse Flowers" (the name was suggested by singer Maria Doyle Kennedy during a brain-storming by band-members and friends in the Trinity College Arts Block café) and began writing songs and performing throughout Ireland.
Rolling Stone magazine called them "the best-unsigned band in Europe".

In 1986, Bono from the band U2 saw the Flowers performing on television and offered his support.
They released their first single, "Love Don't Work This Way", on U2's Mother Records label, which quickly led to a deal with the PolyGram subsidiary London Records.

Their first album, People, was released in May 1988 and was the most successful debut album in Irish history.
It reached the #1 slot in Ireland within a week and eventually reached No.
2 in the UK Albums Chart.
The first single off the album "Feet on the Ground" shot to the No.
1 slot in Ireland on 19 March 1988.
The international success of the album received a boost when a music video for the first single, "Don't Go", was played in the interval between contestants and the scoring in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest.
This propelled the song to No.
11 in the UK Singles Chart, the highest position the band would ever achieve in this chart.
In September 1988, the band appeared on the bill at the Reading Festival.
In June 1989 they played at the Glastonbury Festival, and appeared there again the following year.

The group's second album, Home was released in June 1990.
It was recorded sporadically during extensive touring; with sessions in Dublin, London, a rented house with a mobile recording set-up in Carlow, Ireland, and one day of work with Daniel Lanois in New Orleans, while Bob Dylan was taking a break from his sessions with Lanois.
The album did not have the overwhelming success of the first record, but it did reach No.
1 in Australia in 1991. "
Give It Up" and "I Can See Clearly Now" (a cover version of the Johnny Nash song) from the album reached No.
30 and 23 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.

In 1989, the Flowers collaborated with the Indigo Girls on their song "Closer To Fine", which became a US hit, and led to some exposure in the United States for the group (albeit limited, as their contribution to the song was uncredited).

In January 1992, the group appeared (as themselves) in an episode of the popular BBC drama series Lovejoy, entitled No Strings.

In 1992, Hothouse Flowers joined Def Leppard – the combined group going by the name The Acoustic Hippies From Hell – to record three songs ("From the Inside", a cover of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing") that were included as B-sides on Def Leppard's single "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", from their album Adrenalize.

Songs From the Rain was released in March 1993.
Though it received good reviews and achieved some chart success in Australia and Ireland, worldwide sales were disappointing.
In an attempt to boost record sales (and especially to break into the United States charts), the record label and the band's management kept the group on the road almost continuously for the entire year.
The band also participated in the Another Roadside Attraction tour in Canada that year, and collaborated with The Tragically Hip, Crash Vegas, Midnight Oil and Daniel Lanois on the one-off single "Land" to protest forest clearcutting in British Columbia.

By early 1994, Ó Maonlaí had decided that the group was suffering from physical, mental and creative exhaustion, and he called for a year-long sabbatical.

The year-long break turned into several years, as the band members recouped their energy and experienced changes in their personal lives, inclu
The group first formed in 1985 when Liam Ó Maonlaí and Fiachna Ó Braonáin, who had known each other as children in an Irish-speaking school, Coláiste Eoin in Booterstown, Dublin, began performing as street musicians, also known as buskers, on the streets of Dublin as "The Incomparable Benzini Brothers". They were soon joined by Peter O'Toole and had won a street-entertainer award within a year. They renamed the group "Hothouse Flowers" (the name was suggested by singer Maria Doyle Kennedy during a brain-storming by band-members and friends in the Trinity College Arts Block café) and began writing songs and performing throughout Ireland. Rolling Stone magazine called them "the best-unsigned band in Europe".
In 1986, Bono from the band U2 saw the Flowers performing on television and offered his support. They released their first single, "Love Don't Work This Way", on U2's Mother Records label, which quickly led to a deal with the PolyGram subsidiary London Records.
Their first album, People, was released in May 1988 and was the most successful debut album in Irish history. It reached the #1 slot in Ireland within a week and eventually reached No. 2 in the UK Albums Chart. The first single off the album "Feet on the Ground" shot to the No. 1 slot in Ireland on 19 March 1988. The international success of the album received a boost when a music video for the first single, "Don't Go", was played in the interval between contestants and the scoring in the 1988 Eurovision Song Contest. This propelled the song to No. 11 in the UK Singles Chart, the highest position the band would ever achieve in this chart. In September 1988, the band appeared on the bill at the Reading Festival. In June 1989 they played at the Glastonbury Festival, and appeared there again the following year.
The group's second album, Home was released in June 1990. It was recorded sporadically during extensive touring; with sessions in Dublin, London, a rented house with a mobile recording set-up in Carlow, Ireland, and one day of work with Daniel Lanois in New Orleans, while Bob Dylan was taking a break from his sessions with Lanois. The album did not have the overwhelming success of the first record, but it did reach No. 1 in Australia in 1991. "Give It Up" and "I Can See Clearly Now" (a cover version of the Johnny Nash song) from the album reached No. 30 and 23 respectively in the UK Singles Chart.
In 1989, the Flowers collaborated with the Indigo Girls on their song "Closer To Fine", which became a US hit, and led to some exposure in the United States for the group (albeit limited, as their contribution to the song was uncredited).
In January 1992, the group appeared (as themselves) in an episode of the popular BBC drama series Lovejoy, entitled No Strings.
In 1992, Hothouse Flowers joined Def Leppard – the combined group going by the name The Acoustic Hippies From Hell – to record three songs ("From the Inside", a cover of the Rolling Stones' "You Can't Always Get What You Want", and a cover of Jimi Hendrix's "Little Wing") that were included as B-sides on Def Leppard's single "Have You Ever Needed Someone So Bad", from their album Adrenalize.
Songs From the Rain was released in March 1993. Though it received good reviews and achieved some chart success in Australia and Ireland, worldwide sales were disappointing. In an attempt to boost record sales (and especially to break into the United States charts), the record label and the band's management kept the group on the road almost continuously for the entire year. The band also participated in the Another Roadside Attraction tour in Canada that year, and collaborated with The Tragically Hip, Crash Vegas, Midnight Oil and Daniel Lanois on the one-off single "Land" to protest forest clearcutting in British Columbia.
By early 1994, Ó Maonlaí had decided that the group was suffering from physical, mental and creative exhaustion, and he called for a year-long sabbatical.
The year-long break turned into several years, as the band members recouped their energy and experienced changes in their personal lives, inclu
Hothouse Flowers