Bristol, England indie pop icons the Flatmates were formed in mid-1985 by singer/guitarist Martin Whitehead -- also the founder of the famed Subway Organization label -- and drummer Rocker, whose roommate Kath Beach soon signed on to play bass. With the addition of another roommate, singer Deb Haynes, Whitehead relinquished vocal chores, and the group set about recording its first demos, comprised primarily of covers of favorites by the Ramones, the Stooges, and the Velvet Underground. Asked by a local journalist who was in the still-unnamed group, Rocker responded, "Oh, me and my flatmates"; the name stuck, and in early 1986, they played their first official gig in support of Half Man Half Biscuit. Though not appearing on NME's famous now-famous C-86 cassette, the Flatmates nevertheless emerged from the same anorak pop scene which also spawned the likes of the Shop Assistants, the BMX Bandits, and the Soup Dragons -- not only did the band's debut single "I Could Be in Heaven" appear that fall, but they also regularly opened for the many C-86 bands performing at the Bristol club the Bunker, which Whitehead and Rocker jointly managed.