The Field Mice special with Anne Mari Davies Sarah Records

The Field Mice initially formed as a duo from South London suburb of Mitcham comprising Robert Wratten (for vocals and guitar) and Michael Hiscock (on bass guitar). The group's first EP, Emma's House, was released in November 1988, and reached number 20 in the UK Independent Chart.

But it was with their second single "Sensitive" that they first received significant critical attention, giving them a top-20 indie hit and with a subsequent placing in John Peel's 1989 Festive 50.

Debut mini-album Snowball reached number 3 on the indie albums chart. The original duo were joined by Harvey Williams (of Another Sunny Day) on guitar: the first fruits of this new line-up being the Skywriting mini-LP and in late 1990 the band expanded to include Annemari Davies on vocals, keyboards and guitar and Mark Dobson on drums. This five-piece line-up later recorded what was to be their final album (but their first full length for Sarah Records), For Keeps.