Belle & Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian
Background information
Origin Glasgow, Scotland
Genres Indie pop, chamber pop, baroque pop
Years active 1996–present
Labels Rough Trade, Jeepster, Matador, Arts & Crafts México
Associated acts Camera Obscura, God Help The Girl, Looper, The Gentle Waves, The Reindeer Section, The Vaselines, Tired Pony, Teenage Fanclub
Website www.belleandsebastian.com
Members
Stuart Murdoch
Stevie Jackson
Chris Geddes
Richard Colburn
Sarah Martin
Mick Cooke
Bobby Kildea
Past members
Isobel Campbell
Stuart David

Belle and Sebastian are an indie pop band formed in Glasgow in January 1996. Belle and Sebastian are often compared with influential indie bands such as The Smiths,[1][2] as well as classic acts such as Love, Bob Dylan and Nick Drake.[3][4] The name Belle & Sebastian comes from Belle et Sébastien, a 1965 children's book by French writer Cécile Aubry, later adapted for television and an anime.[4][5] Though consistently lauded by critics,[6][7] Belle & Sebastian's "wistful pop"[8] has enjoyed only limited commercial success.[6]

After releasing a number of albums and EPs on Jeepster Records, they are now signed to Rough Trade Records in the United Kingdom and Matador Records in the United States.

Contents

History

Formation and early years (1996–1997)

Belle and Sebastian were formed in Glasgow in 1996 by Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David.[3] Together they recorded some demos with Stow College music professor Alan Rankine, which were picked up by the college's Music Business course that produces and releases one single each year on the college's label, Electric Honey. As the band had a number of songs already and the label was extremely impressed with the demos, Belle and Sebastian were allowed to record a full-length album, which was named Tigermilk. Murdoch once described the band as a "product of botched capitalism".[3]

Tigermilk was recorded in three days and originally only one thousand copies were pressed on vinyl.[4] These original copies now sell for up to £400.[9][10][11] The warm reception the album received inspired Murdoch and David to turn the band into a full-time project, recruiting Stevie Jackson (guitar and vocals), Isobel Campbell (cello/vocals), Chris Geddes (keys) and Richard Colburn (drums) to fill out the group.

After the success of the debut album, Belle and Sebastian were signed to Jeepster Records in August 1996 and If You're Feeling Sinister, their second album, was released on 18 November.[11] The album was named by Spin as one of the 100 greatest albums between 1985 and 2005,[12] and is widely considered the band's masterpiece.[13] Just before the recording of Sinister, Sarah Martin (violin/vocals) joined the band. Following this a series of EPs were released in 1997.[14] The first of these was Dog on Wheels, which contained four demo tracks recorded before the real formation of the band. In fact, the only long-term band members to play on the songs were Murdoch, David, and Mick Cooke, who played trumpet on the EP but would not officially join the band until a few years later. It charted at #59 in the UK singles chart.[11]

The Lazy Line Painter Jane EP followed in July. The track was recorded in the church where Murdoch lived[15] and features vocals from Monica Queen. The EP narrowly missed out of the UK top 40, peaking at #41.[11] The last of the 1997 EPs was October's 3.. 6.. 9 Seconds of Light. The EP was made Single of the Week in both the NME and Melody Maker and reached #32 in the charts, thus becoming the band's first top 40 single.[11]

The Boy With the Arab Strap and critical acclaim (1998–2002)

The band released their third LP, The Boy with the Arab Strap in 1998, and it reached #12 in the UK charts.[16] While often cited by critics as the band's best album, Arab Strap has nonetheless had its detractors.[17] Pitchfork Media gave the album a particularly poor review, calling it a "parody" of their earlier work.[18] In spite of this, the album garnered positive reviews from Rolling Stone,[19] and the Village Voice,[15] among others. During the recording of the album long time studio trumpet-player Mick Cooke was asked to join the band as a full member.[9] The This Is Just a Modern Rock Song EP followed later that year.[20]

In 1999 the band were awarded with Best Newcomer (for their third album) at the BRIT Awards, upsetting the much better known acts Steps and 5ive.[21] That same year, the band hosted their own festival, the Bowlie Weekender. Tigermilk was also given a full release by Jeepster before the band started work on their next LP. The result was Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant, which became the band's first top 10 album in the UK.[11] A stand-alone single, "Legal Man", reached #15 and gave them their first appearance on Top of the Pops.[22]

As the band's popularity and recognition was growing worldwide, their music began appearing in films and on television. The 2000 film High Fidelity mentions the band and features a clip from the song "Seymour Stein" from The Boy with the Arab Strap.[23] Also, the title track from Arab Strap was played over the end credits of the UK television series Teachers.[24]

Stuart David soon left the band to concentrate on his side-project, Looper, and his book writing, which included his The Idle Thoughts of a Daydreamer.[25] He was replaced by Bobby Kildea of V-Twin. The "Jonathan David" single – sung by Stevie Jackson – was released in June 2001 and was followed by "I'm Waking Up to Us" in November. "I'm Waking Up to Us" saw the band use an outside producer (Mike Hurst) for the first time.[26] Most of 2002 was spent touring and recording a soundtrack album, Storytelling (for Storytelling by Todd Solondz, a movie which The New York Times has called one of the best 1,000 movies ever made).[27] Campbell left the band in the spring of 2002, in the middle of the band's North American tour.[28][29]

Recent years (2003–present)

The band left Jeepster in 2002, signing a four album deal with Rough Trade Records.[30] Their first album for Rough Trade, Dear Catastrophe Waitress, was released in 2003, and was produced by Trevor Horn.[31] The album showed a markedly more 'produced' sound compared to their first four LPs,[32] as the band was making a concerted effort to produce more "radio-friendly" music.[31] In spite of this, the album was warmly received, and is credited with returning the band's "indie cred".[4] The album also marked the return of Murdoch as the group's primary songwriter following the poorly-received Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant and Storytelling, both of which were more collaborative than the band's early work.[33] A documentary DVD, Fans Only, was released by Jeepster in October 2003, featuring promotional videos, live clips and unreleased footage.[13] A single from the album, "Step into My Office, Baby" followed in November 2003 – it would be their first single taken from an album.[30]

The Thin Lizzy-inspired "I'm a Cuckoo" was the second single from the album.[32][34] It achieved their highest chart position yet, reaching #14 in the UK.[29] The Books EP followed, a double A-side single lead by "Wrapped Up in Books" from Dear Catastrophe Waitress and the new Your Cover's Blown. This EP became the band's third top 20 UK release and the band went on to be nominated for both the Mercury Music Prize and an Ivor Novello Award. In January 2005, B&S was voted Scotland's greatest band in a poll by The List, beating Simple Minds, Idlewild, Travis, Franz Ferdinand, and The Proclaimers, among others.[35]

In April 2005, members of the band visited Israel and the Palestinian territories with the UK charity War on Want;[36] the group subsequently recorded a song inspired by the trip titled "The Eighth Station of the Cross Kebab House", which would later be released as a B-side on 2006's "Funny Little Frog" single. Push Barman to Open Old Wounds, a compilation of the Jeepster singles and EPs, was released in May 2005 while the band were recording their seventh album in California. The result of the sessions was The Life Pursuit, produced by Tony Hoffer.[36][37] The album, originally intended to be a double album,[38] became their band's highest charting release to date upon its release in February 2006, peaking at #8 in the UK and #65 on the US Billboard 200.[39][40] "Funny Little Frog", which preceded it, also proved to be their highest charting single, debuting at #13.[13]

On 6 July 2006, the band played a historic show with the Los Angeles Philharmonic at the Hollywood Bowl.[41] The opening act at the 18,000 seat sell-out concert was The Shins.[42] The members of the band see this as a landmark event, with Stevie Jackson saying, "This is the biggest thrill of my entire life".[43] In October 2006, members of the band helped put together a CD collection of new songs for children titled Colours Are Brighter, with the involvement of major bands such as Franz Ferdinand and The Flaming Lips.[44]

On 18 November 2008 the band released The BBC Sessions, which features songs from the period of 1996–2001 (including the last recordings featuring Isobel Campbell before she left the band), along with a second disc featuring a recording of a live performance in Belfast from Christmas 2001.[45]

During the downtime, Murdoch has initiated the film and music project God Help the Girl,[46] while Jackson and Kildea have toured with the reformed Vaselines.

In May 2010, the band stated on their website that they were "back in the studio working on some new songs" and later revealed that they were "in the final stages of recording the [new] album".[47] Sarah Martin later stated in the Q&A section of their website that it would be a 14 track album.[48]

On 17 July 2010, the band performed their first UK gig in almost four years to a crowd of around 30,000 at Latitude Festival in Henham Park, Southwold.[49] They performed two new songs, 'I Didn't See It Coming' and 'I'm Not Living In The Real World'.[50]

In a news update to the official website on 11 August 2010, it was revealed that their eighth studio album would be titled Belle & Sebastian Write About Love.[51] The first single from the album, as well as the record's title track "Write About Love", was released in the US on 7 September 2010. The UK and international release was 25 September 2010.

In December 2010 Belle & Sebastian curated the sequel to the Bowlie Weekender in the form of Bowlie 2 presented by All Tomorrow's Parties.

Members

The current members are:

Past members:

In popular culture

Discography

Main article: Belle & Sebastian discography

See also

References

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  37. ^ Beaujon, Andrew (8 February 2006), "The Happiness Of 'Pursuit'", Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/02/07/AR2006020701798.html, retrieved 5 November 2007 
  38. ^ McBay, Nadine (19 January 2006), "Belle & Sebastian:We managed to do things without pandering to the London machine", Drowned In Sound, http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/580171-belle-sebastian--we-managed-to-do-things-without-pandering-to-the-london-machine, retrieved 4 November 2007 
  39. ^ Harris, Chris (15 February 2006), Jack Johnson Scores First Billboard #1 With 'Curious' Tunes, MTV, http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1524351/20060215/johnson_jack.jhtml, retrieved 5 November 2007 
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  41. ^ Rosen, Steven (6 June 2006), "Belle & Sebastian with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra", Harp Magazine, http://harpmagazine.com/reviews/concert_reviews/detail.cfm?article=10382, retrieved 4 November 2007 
  42. ^ Mancina, Kristin, "Belle & Sebastian and the Los Angeles Philharmonic Featuring the Shins", L.A. Splash Magazine, http://www.lasplash.com/publish/Entertainment/cat_index_la_events/Belle_Sebastian_and_the_Los_Angeles_Philharmonic_Featuring_the_Shins.php, retrieved 4 November 2007 
  43. ^ Wener, Ben (7 July 2006), "Belle and Sebastian: Delightful in every way", Orange County Register, http://www.ocregister.com/entertainment/group-143025-never-anything.html, retrieved 4 November 2007 
  44. ^ Llewellyn, Katie (18 July 2006), "Belle & Sebastian-Curated Kids' Comp Details Revealed" (– Scholar search), Pitchfork Media, archived from the original on 14 December 2007, http://web.archive.org/web/20071214234310/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/37461-belle-sebastian-curated-kids-comp-details-revealed, retrieved 4 November 2007 
  45. ^ Thompson, Paul (18 September 2008), Belle and Sebastian Collect BBC Sessions on New Comp, Pitchfork Media, http://pitchfork.com/news/33520-belle-and-sebastian-collect-ibbc-sessionsi-on-new-comp/, retrieved 5 November 2008 
  46. ^ "Belle And Sebastian man makes film", NME, 11 December 2007, http://www.nme.com/news/belle-and-sebastian/33110, retrieved 5 November 2008 
  47. ^ "News". Belle and Sebastian. http://www.belleandsebastian.com/newsstory.php?id=484. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
  48. ^ "Q&A | Belle and Sebastian | Page 2". Belle and Sebastian. http://www.belleandsebastian.com/qa.php?about=music%20and%20recordings&page=2. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
  49. ^ "Line-up – Latitude Festival 2011". Latitudefestival.co.uk. http://www.latitudefestival.co.uk/2010/lineup/artist.aspx.AID=1465a9e0-90bd-412d-a343-d99400eeb6f2.venue=Obelisk%20Arena.artist=Belle%20and%20Sebastian.html. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
  50. ^ "Belle and Sebastian Concert Setlist at Latitude Festival, Southwold on July 17, 2010". setlist.fm. http://www.setlist.fm/setlist/belle-and-sebastian/2010/latitude-festival-southwold-england-1bd46130.html. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
  51. ^ "News". Belle and Sebastian. http://www.belleandsebastian.com/newsstory.php?id=503. Retrieved 7 April 2011. 
  52. ^ Peter Canavese (22 December 2009). "(500) Days of Summer at Groucho Reviews". Grouchoreviews.com. http://www.grouchoreviews.com/reviews/3497. Retrieved 10 October 2011. 

External links

Belle & Sebastian
Studio albums
EPs
Compilation albums
Live albums
Singles
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