Ludes were a South London based band, influenced by The Rolling Stones and other luminaries of the past. Preceded by 2003's She Was Just A Girl and 2004's Radio and Your Dog Don't Bark, the band spent most of 2005 recording their debut album "The Dark Art Of Happiness", which was released in 2006. However, the album didn't make any significant dent in sales figures and the band broke up towards the end of the summer. David Ashby, Matt Allchin and James McCool reformed as Rum Shebeen in October 2006.