Rooney were a British DIY lo-fi band that released three EPs and three albums between 1997 and 2000, notably the debut album Time on Their Hands which received much support from John Peel. Initially a solo project by Paul Rooney, an artist and musician, the project became a gigging band when Colin Cromer and Ian S Jackson joined in 1999 prior to the band's first and only John Peel session that year. The project ended in 2002 when Paul Rooney decided to focus on other performance projects and gallery works.
Rooney were musically reminiscent of lo-fi contemporaries such as Arab Strap, Casiotone for the Painfully Alone, and Spare Snare, earlier bands like Sebadoh and (early) Pavement, along with northern English post-punk (particularly Half Man Half Biscuit and The Fall).