The Cockroaches were an Australian pub rock band primarily active throughout the 1980s. The band was founded in 1979 by the Field brothers-Paul, John, and Anthony -and Tony Henry on drums and Joseph Hallion on saxophone. They were joined in 1981 by Jeff Fatt on keyboards. In 1986 they signed with an independent label, Regular Records, which issued their first three albums, including The Cockroaches, which peaked at No. 9 on the Australian Kent Music Report Albums Chart; it sold 70,000 copies and was certified platinum by their label. The album spawned the single "She's the One", which became the band's biggest hit when it peaked at No. 7 on the Kent Music Report Singles Chart in April 1987. In 1988, The Daily Telegraph described the Cockroaches, who played over 300 gigs a year, as the "Hardest Working Rock'n'Roll Band" in the country.
In September 1988, the band was promoting their second album, Fingertips, when Paul's infant daughter died of SIDS. Although devastated, the group continued with a lower profile, and Anthony left to resume his university studies yet returned periodically to record their later studio albums.