Niadem's Ghost spent the second half of 1985 writing new songs and rehearsing for their live debut at The Gallery in Manchester in December. This was to be swiftly followed in the same month by their London debut, at the prestigious Marquee club, where they received an enthusiastic response from the audience. The early months of 1986 found the band in hiding in Manchester's Playtime Studios, recording their album In Sheltered Winds, an independent self financed venture. Released in July, the album introduced Niadem's Ghost to the international market, with orders coming from as far afield as Italy, Germany, Hong Kong, Sweden , Canada and the USA.

At the start of 1987, the band were offered a session with Piccadilly Radio in Manchester. This gave them the opportunity to record some of the new songs they'd been writing since the completion of the album. When the session was broadcast Endless Times was repeated within a week due to listener response. In January, the Sounds Readers' Poll provided evidence of Niadem's Ghost's growing public profile when they were voted 18th best new band, an achievement made all the more remarkable by the fact that they were the only unsigned band in the section.

Through energetic and dynamic concert performances at venues ranging from Manchester's The Boardwalk to The Cafe Berlin in Liverpool through to London's Marquee club, Niadem's Ghost went on to build a solid live following. March 1987 saw the release of their three track cassette Thirst. Finally, it was the lack of response from the major record companies which forced the band to call it a day towards the end of that year.