More Info on The Field MiceSimilar Undetermined MusicSearch Artistopia
Biography
Infobox musical artist| name = The Field Mice| image =| caption =| image_size =| background = group_or_band| alias =| origin = London , England| genre = Indie pop , twee pop | years_active = 1987& ndash;1991| label = Sarah Records | associated_acts =| website =| current_members =| past_members = Robert Wratten Michael Hiscock Harvey Williams Mark Dobson Annemari Davies| notable_instruments = The Field Mice were an English indie pop band on the Independent record label|indie label Sarah Records . Initially a duo from South London suburb of Mitcham comprising Robert Wratten and Michael Hiscock, their first Extended play|EP , ''Emma's House , was released in November 1988, and reached number 20 in the UK Independent Chart .Strong, Martin C. (2003) The Great Indie Discography , Canongate, ISBN 1-84195-335-0, p. 738Lazell, Barry (1998) Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, ISBN 0-9517206-9-4, p. 87 But it was with their second single "Sensitive" that they first received significant critical attention, http://www.nme.com/nme-video/youtube/id/EPqMUxFkHuk New Musical Express online feature on single 'Sensitive'. giving them a top-20 indie hit and with a subsequent placing in John Peel 's 1989 Festive Fifty|Festive 50 . http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/f/fieldmice/ Field Mice, Keeping It Peel , BBC , retrieved 2010-04-29 Debut mini-album Snowball reached number 3 on the indie albums chart. The original duo were joined by Harvey Williams (musician)|Harvey Williams (of Another Sunny Day) on guitar and in 1990 the band expanded to include Annemari Davies on vocals, keyboards and guitar and Mark Dobson on drums; the first fruits of this new line-up being the Skywriting mini-LP .
Over a three year career the band were often dogged with the reputation of having a post- C86 (music)|C86 indie pop or generic Sarah Records sound despite producing tracks with numerous styles and influences. Early singles and even their sleeves harked back to early Factory Records bands such as New Order and The Wake (band)|The Wake , with many tracks often featuring sequencers and samples. Many of the group's recordings, notably "Triangle" and their epic seven-minute swan song , "Missing the Moon", displayed a strong influence from the popular dance music of the time. Most of the group's records were produced by Ian Catt , who later went on to develop the pop dance sound of "Missing The Moon" further with Saint Etienne (band)|Saint Etienne (whose second single was a cover version of The Field Mice's "Kiss & Make Up").
The band split up in 1991 after a fractious tour to promote the For Keeps album, during which lead singer/guitarist Robert Wratten announced he was leaving.
Later, Field Mice members Wratten, Annemari Davies (Wratten's ex-girlfriend), and Mark Dobson briefly formed Yesterday Sky before becoming the more synth-oriented outfit Northern Picture Library , and then Wratten went on to form Trembling Blue Stars in 1995.
A double-album compilation of the now long-deleted Field Mice releases, ''Where'd You Learn to Kiss That Way? was released in 1999 and sold more copies than any Field Mice record ever sold at the time. Their entire back catalogue was reissued on CD for the first time by LTM Recordings in 2005.
Discography
;Studio albums
Snowball (album)|Snowball (Sarah 402, 1989)
Skywriting (album)|Skywriting (Sarah 601, 1990)
For Keeps (album)|For Keeps (Sarah 607, 1991)
;Compilations
Coastal (The Field Mice album)|Coastal (Sarah 606, 1991)
'' Where'd You Learn to Kiss That Way? (Shinkansen Recordings, 1998)
;Singles
" Emma's House " (7", Sarah 012, 1988)
" Sensitive (song)|Sensitive " (7", Sarah 018, 1989)
The Autumn Store Part One (7", Sarah 024, 1989)
The Autumn Store Part Two (7", Sarah 025, 1989)
" I Can See Myself Alone Forever " (7", CAFF 2, 1990)
" So Said Kay " (10", Sarah 038, 1990)
" September's Not So Far Away " (7", Sarah 044, 1991)
" Missing the Moon " (12", Sarah 057, 1991)
" Burning World " (7", BULL 4-0, 1991)
;Peel Session
"Anoint"/"Sundial"/"Fresh Surroundings"/"By Degrees" (Recorded 1/04/1990 and originally broadcast on John Peel 's radio programme, 23/04/1990 on BBC Radio 1)
All 4 songs were written specially for this session and weren't released on any of their records.
References
Reflist
External links
http://www.ltmrecordings.com/fmicebio.html Field Mice biography - Alastair Fitchett, LTM reissue sleevenotes
http://web.archive.org/web/20071116102823/ http://www.shink.dircon.co.uk/fieldmicebio.htm Field Mice biography - Matt Haynes co-owner of Sarah Records - Page capture taken on 16 November 2007, courtesy of Internet Archive
DEFAULTSORT:Field Mice, The Category:Sarah Records Category:Twee pop groups Category:British indie pop groups Category:Musical groups from London Category:English indie rock groups
