Formed in March 1979 and taking their name from the title of The Only Ones debut single, the initial line up was Michael Vance (vocals / guitar), Martin Williamson (guitar), Michael Williamson (bass), Ronan Maguire (electric piano / vocals), Jeremy Bell (drums). The band made their live debut the following month at Spuds in Portstewart, however Jeremy quit the band the following month to be replaced by Gary Hunter.

The band were dogged by line up changes and a few months later Michael Vance quit to be replaced by Ronan Maguire on vocals duties and Gary Hunter split and was replaced by Barra McGrory who stayed with the band until the end of the year when he was replaced by Mark Bradley.

A chance meeting with Hughie Friel, drummer of The Atrix, led to the band getting support gigs with them in Drogheda and Dublin. Lovers Of Today never entered a recording studio but a number of rehearsal tapes were made before the band eventually split in 1980. Sadly none of these tapes still survive. Michael Vance takes up the story “The Lovers tapes are all gone sadly after someone who had them in their possession sadly passed away and we failed to be able to retrieve them. I would give my eye-teeth to have them back in my possession. They included a rehearsal tape which I recorded just after we had formed the final line-up and written new songs. Although the Guilties versions went on to develop the songs further, the earliest versions had a power I'll not forget”

Lovers Of Today played about thirty shows over a 12 month period. They gigged in Belfast, Portrush, Portstewart, Lisburn and Omagh often supporting Shock Treatment and/or the Xdreamysts. Original songs included 'Conveniently Dead', 'Nothing Left To Do', 'Blood Bath' and 'Light vs Dark'. These tracks were all written by the last incarnation of the band, so it is hardly surprising then that when the band split in 1980 that all these songs would reemerge in Guilty Achievements, the band Maguire, and Vance went on to form after Lovers Of Today split.
Mark Bradley had a stint with Reflex Action before he Maguire, and Vance went on to form the Guilty Achievements in 1980.

Lovers of Today reformed in 2016 following the offer of a gig in Portstewart with Shock Treatment 21, after which it was decided that it was worth recording some material, as they had never previously released anything. Three tracks were duly recorded in a Southhamton studio, "Nothing Left To Do", "Uisce Beatha" and "No Dancing At The Harp Tonight". All three tracks are from the original incarnation of the band and date back to the late 70's. If you wish to listen or purchase these tracks, there is a link on our Northern Ireland PuNk links page.