Monaco was a side project of New Order bassist Peter Hook. Together with David Potts, the only remaining member of Revenge, the band was formed in 1995. The group found success with the 1997 single "What Do You Want From Me?" and the album it was pulled from, Music for Pleasure, sold over half a million copies; success largely attributed to the band's similar sound to New Order, and that group's absence in the mid 1990's.

In 1999, Polydor Records rejected Monaco's follow up album, the self-titled Monaco, due to the radically changing trends in music at the time. Papillon Records agreed to pick up the album, though the planned single release of "I've Got A Feeling" was recalled in the UK due to sample clearance issues. Despite favorable reviews, the album was released with almost no promotion at all; it is now sought after as a collector's item and fetches fairly high prices on sites like Amazon.com and eBay. Tensions were mounting, and in 2000, following a "disastrous gig at the Eclipse Festival", Potts and Hook parted ways. Potts would go on to form RAM, and Hook would join a reunited New Order.

Despite the split of 2000, Hook and Potts have remained on good terms and since reformed Monaco more than once in support of one-off charity events. On 21 March 2007 they performed a selection of Monaco, New Order and Joy Division tracks in support of the Nordorff-Robbins charity at the Hard Rock Cafe, Manchester. Later that year and most recently, they played a similar set in support of Oxfam's "Oxjam" event at the The Ritz, Manchester on 28 October. On both occasions they were joined by Rowetta of Happy Mondays on vocals for the Joy Division track "Insight" and Hook's son Jack on additional bass.