In 1990 Dave 'Man' Mcsherry and Steve Cobby began to record as Fila Brazillia. Hitherto their collaborations had been infrequent and ultra-spontaneous. Both had maintained positions in conventional bands but needed to trade the constraints of the "write - rehearse - gig - record" treadmill for a more fluent, and ultimately enjoyable approach. A nursery period for a music culled from sonic experiments and ideas quickly put to tape emerged. A treatment of all sounds as "objet trouvé" and a hobbyist attitude prevailed.

When Dave Brennand a.k.a. Porky heard a piece composed on a wet Wednesday, he asked to release it. They happily agreed. As previous unreleased work hadn't warranted anything but comedy monickers - "Dada Black Sheep" being one - a name was needed. At that time the media's "killer dog frenzy" was in full swing and a breed known as the fila brasiliero was the subject of a debate in the Commons. This was misheard on the radio by Steve, proposed and accepted for the single and eventually the name stuck. The track "Mermaids", was Fila Brazillia's first single, released in Spring 1991, and marked the beginning of a decade which saw Fila yield seven highly acclaimed albums and a skip-full of singles on Pork Recordings and over 60 remixes.