Belle and Sebastian: Difference between revisions

| caption          = Members of Belle and Sebastian, pictured sometime between 2001 and 2006. Left to right: Mick Cooke, Richard Colburn, Bobby Kildea, Chris Geddes, Stevie Jackson, Sarah Martin, Stuart Murdoch

| genre            = {{hlist|[[Indie pop]]<ref name="AM bio">{{cite web|url=https://www.allmusic.com/artist/belle-and-sebastian-mn0000153565/biography|title=Belle and Sebastian – Biography|publisher=[[AllMusic]]|access-date=5 February 2017 |last=Erlewine|first=Stephen Thomas}}</ref>|[[twee pop]]<ref>{{cite book|last=Larkin|first=Colin|date=2007|title=The Encyclopedia of Popular Music|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_NNmFiUnSmUC&pg=PA3038 |publisher=[[Omnibus Press]]|page=3038|isbn=978-0-85712-595-8}}</ref>|[[indie rock]]<ref>{{cite web|url=https://faroutmagazine.co.uk/belle-and-sebastian-new-album-a-bit-of-previous/|title=Belle and Sebastian release new album 'A Bit of Previous'|last=Potter|first=Jordan|date=May 6, 2022|website=[[Far Out (magazine)|Far Out]]|access-date=November 26, 2022}}</ref>|[[chamber pop]]<ref name="npr">{{cite web|title=Belle and Sebastian, The New Pornographers in Concert|website=NPR.org|url=https://www.npr.org/2006/03/06/5235927/belle-and-sebastian-the-new-pornographers|publisher=[[NPR]]|access-date=19 August 2016}}</ref>}}

* [[Richard Colburn]]

* [[Bobby Kildea]]

| past_members      = * [[Mick Cooke (musician)|Mick Cooke]]

'''Belle and Sebastian''' are a Scottish [[indie pop]] band formed in [[Glasgow]] in 1996. Led by [[Stuart Murdoch (musician)|Stuart Murdoch]], the band has released twelve studio albums.<ref name="a2x">{{Citation |last=Taylor |first=Steve |author-link=Steve Taylor |title=The A to X of Alternative Music |publisher=[[Continuum International Publishing Group]] |year=2004 |pages=30–31 |isbn=0-8264-8217-1}}</ref><ref name="grd">{{Citation |last=Strong |first=Martin Charles |title=The Great Rock Discography: Complete Discographies Listing Every Track Recorded By More Than 1200 Artists |publisher=[[Canongate Books|Canongate U.S.]] |year=2004 |page=122 |isbn=1-84195-615-5}}</ref> They are often compared with acts such as [[the Smiths]]<ref>{{Citation |last=Cassidy |first=Jude |title=The Rough Guide to Rock |publisher=[[Rough Guides]] |year=1999 |page=358 |isbn=1-84353-105-4}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Metcalf |first=Stephen |title= MUSIC; With the Auteur Passé, Rock Gets Impersonal |url=http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4D61E3CF932A35757C0A9679C8B63 |work=[[The New York Times]] |date=1 April 2001 |accessdate=4 November 2007| archiveurl= https://web.archive.org/web/20071210172823/http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE4D61E3CF932A35757C0A9679C8B63| archivedate= 10 December 2007 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status= live}}</ref> and [[Nick Drake]].<ref name="a2x" /><ref name="grd" /> The band took their name from the 1965 television series ''[[Belle and Sebastian (1965 TV series)|Belle and Sebastian]]''.

In 1994, [[Stuart Murdoch (musician)|Stuart Murdoch]] and [[Stuart David]] both enrolled at [[Stow College]]'s Beatbox programme for unemployed musicians in Glasgow.<ref name="a2x" /> Together, with music professor [[Alan Rankine]] (formerly of [[The Associates (band)|the Associates]]), they recorded some demos, which in 1996 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 (label)|Electric Honey]]. As Murdoch had a number of songs already and the label was extremely impressed with the demos, he was granted permission to record a full-length album, which was recorded mostly live over three days, entitled ''[[Tigermilk]]''.

Murdoch and David recruited local musicians [[Stevie Jackson]] (guitar and vocals), [[Isobel Campbell]] (cello/vocals), Chris Geddes (keys) and [[Richard Colburn]] (drums), the latter of whom shared a flat with David and was a student on the Music Business course, to perform on the album, with Murdoch describing the process as a "product of botched capitalism".<ref name="a2x" /> The band chose the name Belle and Sebastian from a short story Murdoch had written inspired by the television series of the same name, about a six-year-old boy and his dog, named Belle, a Great Pyrenees.<ref name="grd" /><ref name="Rock Formations">{{Citation |last=Wilson |first=Dave |title=Rock Formations: Categorical Answers to How Band Names Were Formed |publisher=Cidermill Books |year=2005 |page=105 |isbn=0-9748483-5-2}}</ref> In June 1996, Electric Honey pressed up one thousand copies of ''Tigermilk'' on [[Gramophone record|vinyl]].<ref name="grd" />

Following this a series of EPs were released throughout 1997.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hornby |first=Nick |title=Lazy Line Painter Jane |url=http://www.salon.com/music/sharps/1997/11/14sharps.html |work=Salon |date=14 November 1997 |access-date=5 November 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071210214633/http://www.salon.com/music/sharps/1997/11/14sharps.html| archive-date= 10 December 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref> The first of these was ''[[Dog on Wheels]]'', released in May and consisting of four demo tracks recorded prior to 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 (musician)|Mick Cooke]], who played trumpet on the EP but would not officially join the band until a few years later. It charted at No.&nbsp;59 in the UK singles chart.<ref name="pbs" /> The ''[[Lazy Line Painter Jane]]'' EP followed in July. The track was recorded in the church where Murdoch lived<ref name="lim">{{Citation |last=Lim |first=Dennis |title=Winter of Their Youth |url=http://www.villagevoice.com/1998-09-15/music/winter-of-their-youth/ |work=The Village Voice |date=15 September 1998 |access-date=5 November 2007 |archive-date=5 August 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110805062619/http://www.villagevoice.com/1998-09-15/music/winter-of-their-youth/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> and features vocals from [[Monica Queen]]. The EP narrowly missed out on the UK top 40, peaking at No.&nbsp;41.<ref name="pbs" /> The last of the 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 No.&nbsp;32 in the charts, thus becoming the band's first top 40 single.<ref name="pbs" />

The band released their third LP, ''[[The Boy with the Arab Strap]]'' in 1998, and it reached No.&nbsp;12 in the UK charts.<ref>{{Citation |last=Best |first=Sophie |title=Ring the Belle |url=http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/22/1090464785300.html |work=The Age |location=Australia |date=23 July 2004 |access-date=5 November 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071210205932/http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/22/1090464785300.html| archive-date= 10 December 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>  ''Arab Strap'' garnered an NPR interview<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1024418|title=Belle And Sebastian|website=NPR.org|publisher=NPR}}</ref> and positive reviews from ''[[Rolling Stone]]''<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Ratliff |first=Ben |title=The Boy With the Arab Strap review |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/artists/belleandsebastian/albums/album/103457/review/5941160/the_boy_with_the_arab_strap  |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071027105615/http://www.rollingstone.com/artists/belleandsebastian/albums/album/103457/review/5941160/the_boy_with_the_arab_strap |archive-date=27 October 2007 |magazine=Rolling Stone|date=25 August 1998 |url-status=dead |access-date=11 November 2007}}</ref> and ''[[The Village Voice]],''<ref name="lim" /> and others; however, the album has its detractors,<ref>{{Citation |last=Owings |first=Henry |title=The Overrated Book |publisher=[[Last Gasp (publisher)|Last Gasp]] |year=2006 |isbn=0-86719-657-2 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/overratedbook0000unse }}</ref> including ''[[Pitchfork (website)|Pitchfork]]'', who gave the album a particularly poor review, calling it a "parody" of their earlier work (Pitchfork has since removed the review from their website and re-reviewed the album positively in 2018).<ref>{{Citation |last=Josephes |first=Jason |title=The Boy With the Arab Strap review |url=http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15372-the-boy-with-the-arab-strap |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071221210634/http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/record_review/15372-the-boy-with-the-arab-strap |archive-date=21 December 2007 |work=Pitchfork |date=1 October 1998 |access-date=11 November 2007}}</ref><ref>{{Citation |last=Plagenhoef |first=Scott |title=The Boy With the Arab Strap |date=18 February 2018 |access-date=22 February 2018|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/belle-and-sebastian-the-boy-with-the-arab-strap/}}</ref> During the recording of the album, long-time studio trumpet-player Mick Cooke was asked to join the band as a full member.<ref name="rse">{{Citation |last=Pareles |first=John |title=The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll |publisher=[[Fireside Publishing]] |year=2001 |page=[https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl/page/66 66] |isbn=0-7432-0120-5 |url-access=registration |url=https://archive.org/details/rollingstoneency00holl/page/66 }}</ref> The ''[[This Is Just a Modern Rock Song]]'' EP followed later that year.<ref>{{Citation |title=MODERN LOVERS ROCK HARD |url=https://www.nme.com/news/belle-and-sebastian/676 |website=NME |location=UK |date=26 October 1998 |access-date=5 November 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071130035719/http://www.nme.com/news/belle-and-sebastian/676| archive-date= 30 November 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref>

In 1999, the band was awarded with Best Newcomer (for their third album) at the [[BRIT Awards]], upsetting better-known acts such as [[Steps (band)|Steps]] and [[5ive]].<ref>{{Citation |title=Robbie rules over Brits |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/special_report/1999/02/99/brit_awards/280847.stm |publisher=BBC |date=17 February 1999 |access-date=4 November 2007}}</ref> That same year, the band hosted their own festival, the [[Bowlie Weekender]]. ''[[Tigermilk]]'' was also given a full release by [[Jeepster Records|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, though critics felt that the band were starting to stagnate.<ref name="pbs" /> A stand-alone single, "[[Legal Man]]", reached No.&nbsp;15 and gave them their first appearance on [[Top of the Pops]].<ref>{{Citation |last=Urban |first=Andy |title=Side Project Becomes Full-Length Let Down |url=http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/237 |work=Dusted Magazine |date=18 June 2002 |access-date=4 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071215072519/http://www.dustedmagazine.com/reviews/237 |archive-date=15 December 2007 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Stuart David]] soon left the band to concentrate on his side project, [[Looper (band)|Looper]], and his book writing, which included his ''The Idle Thoughts of a Daydreamer''.<ref>{{Citation|last=Heim |first=Joe |title=Sharps & Flats: Looper |url=http://www.salon.com/entertainment/music/review/2000/05/09/looper/index.html |work=Salon |date=9 May 2000 |access-date=5 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110201055935/http://www.salon.com/entertainment/music/review/2000/05/09/looper/index.html |archive-date=1 February 2011}}</ref> He was replaced by [[Bobby Kildea]] of [[V-Twin (band)|V-Twin]]. The "[[Jonathan David (song)|Jonathan David]]" single, sung by Stevie Jackson, was released in June 2001 and was followed by "[[I'm Waking Up to Us]]" in November, which saw the band use an outside producer ([[Mike Hurst (producer)|Mike Hurst]]) for the first time.<ref name="pop">{{Citation |last=Sturges |first=Fiona |title=Pop: Scots of the arch antics |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20011130/ai_n14433572 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20071210184343/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4158/is_20011130/ai_n14433572 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 December 2007 |work=The Independent |location=UK |date=30 November 2001 |access-date=5 November 2007 }}</ref> Most of 2002 was spent touring and recording a soundtrack album, ''[[Storytelling (Belle and Sebastian album)|Storytelling]]'' (for ''[[Storytelling (film)|Storytelling]]'' by [[Todd Solondz]]).<ref>{{Citation |last=Nichols |first=Peter M. |title=The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made |publisher=[[St. Martin's Press]] |year=2004 |page=955 |isbn=0-312-32611-4}}</ref> Campbell left the band in the spring of 2002, in the middle of the band's North American tour to pursue a solo career, first as '''The Gentle Waves''', and later under her own name. She later collaborated with singer [[Mark Lanegan]] on three albums.<ref>{{Citation |last=Hansen |first=Liane |title=Isobel Campbell: After Belle Comes 'Ballad' |url=https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5288601 |publisher=NPR |date=19 March 2006 |access-date=4 November 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071213050305/http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=5288601| archive-date= 13 December 2007 | url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="mtv">{{Citation |last=Erlewine |first=Stephen Thomas |title=Belle and Sebastian: Full Biography |url=http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/belle_sebastian_1/artist.jhtml#bio |publisher=MTV |access-date=4 November 2007| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20071012020424/http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/belle_sebastian_1/artist.jhtml| archive-date= 12 October 2007 | url-status= dead}}</ref>

The band left Jeepster in 2002, signing a four-album deal with [[Rough Trade Records]].<ref name="dcw">{{Citation |last=McGregor |first=Andrew |title=Belle and Sebastian, Dear Catastrophe Waitress |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/music/reviews/znrg |publisher=BBC |date=21 June 2001 |access-date=4 November 2007}}</ref> Their first album for Rough Trade, ''[[Dear Catastrophe Waitress]]'', was released in 2003 and was produced by [[Trevor Horn]].<ref name="secret">{{Citation|last=McCracken |first=Edd |title=Secret seven win through |url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20031005/ai_n12586361 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210184142/http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4156/is_20031005/ai_n12586361 |url-status=dead |archive-date=10 December 2007 |work=Sunday Herald |date=5 October 2003 |access-date=4 November 2007 }}</ref> The album showed a markedly more "produced" sound compared to their first four LPs,<ref name="eye">{{Citation|last=Grant |first=Kieran |title=Belle and Sebastian Q&A |url=http://www.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_11.06.03/music/qa2.php |work=Eye Weekly |date=6 November 2003 |access-date=5 November 2007 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110522151712/http://www.eyeweekly.com/eye/issue/issue_11.06.03/music/qa2.php |archive-date=22 May 2011}}</ref> as the band was making a concerted effort to produce more "radio-friendly" music.<ref name="secret" /> At this point, the band began to engage more with the press and started appearing in publicity shots. The album was warmly received and is credited with restoring the band's "indie cred".<ref name="grd" /> 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.<ref>{{Citation |last=Raihala |first=Ross |title=Belle and Sebastian pouring out their souls – again |url=http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2002878317_bellesebastian21.html |work=The Seattle Times |date=21 March 2006 |access-date=6 November 2007 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071210215308/http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/entertainment/2002878317_bellesebastian21.html |archive-date=10 December 2007 |url-status=dead}}</ref> A documentary DVD, ''[[Fans Only]]'', was released by Jeepster in October 2003, featuring promotional videos, live clips and unreleased footage.<ref name="notebook" /> A single from the album, "[[Step into My Office, Baby]]" followed in November 2003; it would be their first single to be taken from an album,<ref name="dcw" /> and included a track recorded with [[The Divine Comedy (band)|Divine Comedy]] producer [[Darren Allison]] entitled ''Love on the March''.

* [[Stuart Murdoch (musician)|Stuart Murdoch]] – lead vocals, guitar, keyboards <small>(1996–present)</small>

* [[Richard Colburn]] – drums, percussion <small>(1996–present)</small>

* [[Sarah Martin (musician)|Sarah Martin]] – backing and lead vocals, violin, guitar, flute, keyboards, recorder, percussion <small>(1996–present)</small>

* [[Bobby Kildea]] – guitar, bass <small>(2001–present)</small>

* [[Stuart David]] – bass <small>(1996–2000)</small>

* [[Mick Cooke (musician)|Mick Cooke]] – trumpet, guitar, bass, percussion <small>(1998–2013; touring musician 1996–1998)</small>

Period = from:01/01/1996 till:{{#time: d/m/Y }}

ScaleMajor = increment:2 start:1996

ScaleMinor = increment:1 start:1996

   bar:Murdoch  from:01/01/1996 till:end        color:vocals

   bar:Murdoch  from:01/01/1996 till:end        color:guitar width:3

   bar:Murdoch  from:01/10/1996 till:end        color:keys width:7

   bar:David    from:01/01/1996 till:01/03/2000  color:bass

   bar:Martin    from:06/06/2000  till:end        color:vocals width:3

[[Category:Musical groups established in 1996]]

[[Category:Mixed-gender bands]]