Pluto began life near the end of the 20th century as a duo in London, England, and over the next few years morphed into a fully fledged band whilst recording their first album in Auckland, New Zealand. They signed to indie label Antenna and released Red Light Syndrome to critical acclaim in 2001.
Pluto's first appearance with the full lineup was opening for Neil Finn in 2001. It was a gig that brought them out of the shadows and one they initially turned down due to being double booked. Tim recalls, “I got a call from Neil’s tour manager asking if we wanted to open for him at the Hastings Opera House. I turned them down as we had a tiny little gig in Auckland booked already. I called Milan to tell him the bad news and he gently asked me “wtf did you do that for?” I called back and we took the gig. Mike Hall had just joined a few days prior. The band was complete. We were on our way.”
Pluto first debuted in the Official New Zealand Top 40 Albums on 9 September 2001 with the album Redlightsyndrome. There are five entries by Pluto in the charts.