Belle and Sebastian Biography, November 1997

Belle and Sebastian were formed in an all-night café in Glasgow, January 1996. Stuart Murdoch (singer/songwriter) and Stuart David (bass guitar) met on a government training scheme and recorded some demos, which were picked up by a Jeepster scout who was taking part in the Stow College Music Business Course. The course, run by ex-Associate Alan Rankine, produces and releases one record every year on the college label Electric Honey Records, usually a single. Homever in the case of Belle and Sebastian they had enough songs to record a whole album, and so the elusive Tigermilk was born. Recorded in three days and one thousand copies released on vinyl only, it now changes hands for up to £200 per copy.

Belle and Sebastian then signed to Jeepster in August and the critically acclaimed LP "If You're Feeling Sinister" (JPRCD/LP/MC001) was released November 18TH. The Support slot for the Tindersticks ICA Gigs, Followed by a headline show at the Borderline in early November brought the joys of Belle and Sebastian live to the south for the first time. The band then set about with the plan of spending the summer of 1997 releasing EP's, the first of these being "Dog On Wheels" on 28TH April. This release contained early demos of the band, previous to all the current members joinins, including the demo version of the state i am in. Mark Radcliffe had played the mastered Tigermilk version of this track relentlessly and for those without a copy of the vinyl masterpiece, the Dog EP (JPRCDS/12/7001) appeased the fans thirst enough to put the single in at Number 59 on the singles chart.

The second EP "Lazy Line Painter Jane", was released on July 28th, the Week of the seminal Union Chapel gig in Islington, London. Despite the poor sound, the band had the crowd dancing in the aisles (and pews) of the chapel. For most, this gig was their first B&S gig and a religious experience was shared by all. The "Lazy Jane" EP narrowly missed the top 40, crashing in at number 41, much to Chris Geddes (keyboards) amusement, as he had made bets with Jeepster boss Mark Jones that it would not get in. The band played two more gigs on their mini tour of the south-west in Oxford and Colchester, preparing them for their American debut.

The "Sinister" LP had been licensed in north America by virgin subsidiary label the enclave since February. Belle and Sebastian journeyed over to New York in September to take part in the CMJ (College Music Journal) festival. They played two gigs at the Angel Oransanz Foundation Centre For The Arts, an old chapel in Greenwich Village. The excitement levels were so high, parts of the ceiling decided to join the band onstage, as Belle and Sebastian - literally - brought the house down.

The band were also invited to play at the Barcelona BAM festival in late September. This time their venue was an ancient courtyard at the Plaza Del Rai, and under a starry moonlit sky they captivated, yet again, another audience.

"3..6..9 Seconds Of Light" was the last of the summer EP's released on October 13th, and the music press finally realised just how important B&S are, when both the Melody Maker and the NME made it their single of the Week. Despite the lack of radio play, it became the bands' first top 40 hit, debuting at number 32 on the charts.

Belle and Sebastian spent the end of 1997 recording their third LP and rehearsing for the Christmas gigs at the Manchester town hall on the 27th and 28th of December. The spring of 1998 will see them release another EP, featuring the epic "Modern Rock Song", which was featured on an early Mark & Lard Radio One session.