The core members of the group throughout their career were vocalist Janet Anderton and the three Kettle brothers: John (guitarist and principal songwriter), Bob (mandolin, guitar and harmonica) and Andrew, sometimes credited simply as "Kek" (vocalist). Anderton had previously been in a band called The Bonny Saloons with John and Bob. The name "Tansad" came from a brand of child's pushchair. The band's style blended elements of folk, punk and indie with lyrics generally focusing on the vagaries of Northern working-class life. Anderton and Andrew Kettle shared lead vocals, with some tracks featuring one or other alone and others featuring the interplay of Anderton's clear voice with Kettle's raspy delivery.

The band achieved significant local success in their home town of Wigan, and in the early 1990s were supported by another local band, The Verve (then simply Verve). At the time the two acts were seen as the two big names on the local Wigan scene.Other bands who supported the Tansads included Pulp, Cast and Kula Shaker. In 1991 they released their debut album Shandyland on an independent label, its title track featuring a lyric (reproduced on the album's front cover) which summed up their vision of Northern life and people: "Chips and egg would make them high/But God has poked them in the eye".

Two years later they released Up the Shirkers on the more established MusiDisc label, which had previously released the debut album by The Levellers, a band to whom the Tansads were often compared. Their chaotic, frenetic live shows were generating much interest, but they also began a series of regular line-up changes, with only Anderton and the three Kettle brothers remaining constant members. Guy Keegan, formerly of The Railway Children, was a member for one album.

In 1994 they moved to Transatlantic Records for the album Flock.