Editing The Field Mice (section)

==Career==
The Field Mice initially formed as a duo from the south London suburb of [[Mitcham]] comprising Robert Wratten (vocals and guitar) and Michael Hiscock (bass guitar). The pair had first met in the lower sixth form at [[Tamworth Manor School]]<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fitchett |first=Alistair |title=The Field Mice biography |url=https://www.ltmrecordings.com/the_field_mice.html |website=LTM Recordings}}</ref> as 16-year-olds, drifting apart until being reunited following a chance meeting in the Croydon branch of Our Price two years later.<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Michael Stuart |title=Popkiss: the life and afterlife of Sarah Records |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-62892-218-9 |location=London, England |pages=92-93}}</ref>

The group's first single, "[[Emma's House]]", was released in November 1988, and reached number 20 in the [[UK Independent Chart]].<ref name="Strong">Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, {{ISBN|1-84195-335-0}}, p. 738</ref><ref name="Lazell">Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, {{ISBN|0-9517206-9-4}}, p. 87</ref> But it was with their second single "[[Sensitive (song)|Sensitive]]" that they first received significant critical attention, with the unique feat of [[Les Inrockuptibles]] naming it a unanimous single of the month among their writers,<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Michael Stuart |title=Popkiss: the life and afterlife of Sarah Records |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-62892-218-9 |location=London, England |pages=99}}</ref> giving them a top-20 indie hit and with a subsequent placing in John Peel's 1989 [[Festive Fifty]].<ref name="kip">[http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/f/fieldmice/ Field Mice], ''Keeping It Peel'', [[BBC]], retrieved 2010-04-29</ref> Debut mini-album ''[[Snowball (album)|Snowball]]'' reached number 3 on the UK Indie Albums Chart.<ref name="Lazell" /> 

The original duo were joined by Harvey Williams (of [[Another Sunny Day]]) on guitar in July 1989, initially to bolster the band's live sound, the two-part The Autumn Store single set having been still recorded as a two-piece,<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Michael Stuart |title=Popkiss: the life and afterlife of Sarah Records |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-62892-218-9 |location=London, England |pages=101}}</ref> with the first recorded fruits of this new line-up being the ''[[Skywriting (album)|Skywriting]]'' [[mini-LP]] and the ''[[So Said Kay]]'' EP.  In late 1990 the band then expanded further to include Anne Mari Davies (whose bandmate in The Purple Tulips Chris Cox handed Wratten a demo cassette and letter from her when The Field Mice supported [[The Wake (UK band)|The Wake]] at the [[University of Sheffield]]<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Michael Stuart |title=Popkiss: the life and afterlife of Sarah Records |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-62892-218-9 |location=London, England |pages=106}}</ref>) on vocals, keyboards and guitar, and Mark Dobson (whom the band had first met at the Camden Falcon on the occasion of Williams' live debut<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Michael Stuart |title=Popkiss: the life and afterlife of Sarah Records |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-62892-218-9 |location=London, England |pages=101-102}}</ref>) on drums.<ref name="Larkin90">{{cite book|title=[[Encyclopedia of Popular Music|The Virgin Encyclopedia of Nineties Music]]|editor=Colin Larkin|editor-link=Colin Larkin (writer)|publisher=[[Virgin Books]]|date=2000|edition=First|isbn=0-7535-0427-8|page=155}}</ref> This five-piece line-up later recorded what was to be their final album (their first full-length), ''[[For Keeps (album)|For Keeps]].''<ref name="Strong" /> 

Over a five-year career, the band were often dogged with the reputation of having a post-[[C86]] indie pop, or generic Sarah Records sound, despite producing tracks with numerous styles and influences.<ref name="Larkin90" /> Early singles and even their sleeves harked back to early [[Factory Records]] bands such as [[New Order (band)|New Order]] and 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]]" (the second of their two Festive Fifty entries<ref>{{Cite book |last=Duffus |first=Jane |title=These Things Happen: the Sarah Records Story |publisher=[[Tangent Books]] |year=2023 |isbn=9781914345272 |location=Bristol |pages=162}}</ref>), displayed a strong influence from the popular dance music of the time.<ref name="Larkin90" /> Most of the group's records were produced by [[Ian Catt]], whose studio was in his parents' house's spare bedroom and was just around the corner from where Wratten lived.<ref>{{Cite book |last=White |first=Michael Stuart |title=Popkiss: the life and afterlife of Sarah Records |date=2020 |publisher=Bloomsbury Academic, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing |isbn=978-1-62892-218-9 |location=London, England |pages=93, 96}}</ref> Catt 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 and Make Up (Saint Etienne song)|Let's Kiss and Make Up]]").<ref name="Strong" />