Hailing from Wolverhampton, England, the Wild Flowers were chiefly inspired by New York punk rock, especially Television and the Ramones. The band's original membership included guitarist/vocalist Neil Cook, guitarist Dave Newton, bassist Mark Alexander, and drummer Dave Fisher, and this lineup recorded an LP titled The Joy of It All for the small Reflex label in 1984. Newton left soon afterwards to form the Mighty Lemon Drops, and it took the Wild Flowers two years to regain their footing.