Jacob's Mouse were a three-piece

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand in the early to mid-1980s. Although the term was originally used to describe rock music released through independent reco ...

band from

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as ''Bury,'' is a cathedral as well as market town and civil parish in the West Suffolk District, West Suffolk district, in the county of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St. Edmunds an ...

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, England, consisting of

identical twin Twins are two offspring produced by the same pregnancy.MedicineNet > Definition of Twin Last Editorial Review: 19 June 2000 Twins can be either ''monozygotic'' ('identical'), meaning that they develop from one zygote, which splits and forms two ...

s Hugo and Jebb Boothby on

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

respectively, and singing drummer Sam Marsh.

History

The band members first got together when they were aged 11.Jacob's Mouse Biography
,

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

. Retrieved 28 October 2018 They initially played covers, but progressed to original material inspired by bands they heard on

John Peel John Robert Parker Ravenscroft (30 August 1939 – 25 October 2004), better known as John Peel, was an English radio presenter and journalist. He was the longest-serving of the original disc jockeys on BBC Radio 1, broadcasting regularly from ...

's radio show, such as Dog Faced Hermans. They adopted the name Jacob's Mouse, a reference to a cousin's pet.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate , p. 807 Their first release, ''The Dot EP'', was named 'single of the week' by '' Sounds'', and they went on to play support slots with bands such as

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Carter USM Carter the Unstoppable Sex Machine (also known as Carter USM or simply Carter) were an English indie rock band formed in 1987 by singer Jim "Jim Bob" Morrison and guitarist Les " Fruitbat" Carter. They made their name with a distinctive style ...

, and

Senseless Things Senseless Things were an England, English pop punk band, formed in 1986 in London. The band released four studio albums and achieved two UK Singles Chart, UK Top 20 hit singles before splitting up in 1995. Senseless Things reformed in 2017 to p ...

. They released their first album, ''No Fish Shop Parking,'' on their own Blithering Idiot label. It was well received by critics; ''Option'' magazine described them as "the current embodiment of the rock 'n' roll spirit". It led to airplay on Peel and

Mark Goodier Mark Goodier (born 9 June 1961) is a Zimbabwean-born British radio disc jockey and broadcaster best known for his time on BBC Radio 1 between 1987 and 2002. He had two spells presenting the station's Top 40 singles chart, from September 1990 ...

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

shows, and they went on to record two sessions for Peel's show in 1992. The band signed to

Wiiija Wiiija was a British independent record label founded in 1988 by staff from the Rough Trade Shop in Notting Hill, London. The name Wiiija is a corruption of W11 1JA, the postcode of the Rough Trade Shop in Talbot Street. The label was notable fo ...

and toured with Babes in Toyland. In September 1992, they released their ''Ton Up'' EP and signed with

Frontier Records Frontier Records is an independent record label, started in 1980 in Sun Valley, Los Angeles by Lisa Fancher, a former employee of BOMP! Records and writer of the liner notes for the first album by The Runaways. History Frontier Records first ...

in the United States. Their second album, ''I'm Scared'', was released in April 1993, and received a four star review in '' Select''. A compilation of tracks from singles and EPs, ''Wryly Smilers'', was released in September 1994.Goldman, Marlene
Jacob's Mouse
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Trouser Press ''Trouser Press'' was a rock and roll magazine started in New York in 1974 as a mimeographed fanzine by editor/publisher Ira Robbins, fellow fan of the Who, Dave Schulps, and Karen Rose under the name "Trans-Oceanic Trouser Press" (a reference ...

''. Retrieved 28 October 2018 Their third album, ''Rubber Room'', was released in February 1995.Trew, Jonathan (1995)
Jacob's Mouse ''Rubber Room''
, '' The List'', Issue 251, 21 April 1995, p. 45. Retrieved 28 October 2018 The band split up later that year. Marsh went on to record a few singles and three albums as The Machismo's, and played in

hardcore punk Hardcore punk (commonly abbreviated to hardcore or hXc) is a punk rock music genre#subtypes, subgenre and subculture that originated in the late 1970s. It is generally faster, harder, and more aggressive than other forms of punk rock. Its roots ...

band Volunteers for a time, before forming dub band Zen Reggae Masters.

Discography

Albums

* ''No Fish Shop Parking'' (1991), Blithering Idiot * ''I'm Scared'' (1993),

* ''Wryly Smilers'' (1994), Wiiija – EP/singles compilation * ''Rubber Room'' (1995), Wiiija

Singles/EPs

*''The Dot EP'' (1990), Liverish *''Ton Up'' EP (1992), Wiiija *"Company News" (1992), Rough Trade Single Club - two World Domination Enterprises covers *"Good" (1993), Wiiija *"Group Of 7" (1993), Wiiija *"Ton of Scum" (1993), Wiiija *"Fandango Widewheels" (1994), Wiiija *"Hawaiian Vice" (1994), Wiiija

Split releases/compilation appearances

*"Tumbleswan" on Submerge No. 4 EP (1992) *"Kettle" on ''Ablaze!'' #10 EP (1993)

References

External links

Jacob's Mouse on MySpace

Volunteers website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jacobs Mouse British post-grunge groups Musical groups established in 1990 Musical groups disestablished in 1995