Redundant and Prosthetic Head both got “wide mixes” back in the day and it always puzzled me. Why in 1997 would you create a mix specifically dedicated to a wide soundstage mix?
Car stereos.
Mid-late ‘90’s is when CD players in cars started to become prevalent and unlike most hi-fi setups or even computer speakers, car stereos are wide by their very nature because of the speaker’s position in the doors. Makes sense to experiment with mixing towards that at the time.