The debut album "Paranoid & Sunburnt" by British band Skunk Anansie, released in 1995, had everything it needed to be controversial. While the Britpop hype was raging in the UK, driven by pale-faced, hedonistic men with a penchant for 60s sounds, the multi-ethnic quartet founded in London in 1994 by bald frontwoman Deborah Anne Dyer ("Skin") focused on politically explicit, i.e. feminist and anti-racist lyrics.

Musically, Skunk Anansie were in the tradition of Black Sabbath, Sly & the Family Stone and Living Color. The band name combined the mythical West African figure Anansi with the cannabis strain Skunk. in 1995, One Little Indian released their debut single "Selling Jesus", followed by "Paranoid & Sunburnt" on September 21. The album was particularly well received in Europe and reached number 8 in the UK charts.

In addition to Skin, Martin Ivor Kent (guitar) and Richard Keith Lewis (bass) were involved in the recordings. Robbie France was on drums, but he was replaced by Mark Richardson in 1995 and is therefore not featured on the cover.