Sinister: He had to catch a bus

[Anne Ward]

Hello Peeps

It's been said many times before, but HOORAY! Top marks all round. It's
dead weird seeing everything covered in pictures of the Belles. As Ailsa
has already pointed out, there was no sign of any work being done in that
studio on the news last night. £700 a day to drink tea and read the Daily
Record - what a scam! And where were Belle and Stewpot? Obviously off
minding the baby. Has anyone found out who's going to keep the statue?
Maybe they could keep it in the tabernacle in Stuart's church so everyone
can go and worship once a week. 

Mr Crystal Balls - that was a sad story about not going to Camber Sands. If
it's any consolation, it's probably going to be full of indie-pubes getting
rat-arsed and not watching the bands at all, so you're better off thinking
of your education. I've heard that Peter Miller is going to be there
though. He's got lots of curly hair and will be wearing a Celtic scarf and
a big Parka over his PJs, which he wears at all times. 

Anyway, there was a point to this. This is the story from the Glasgow
Herald as mentioned by Chris  "Birthday Boy" Leonard. I thought he was
making things up, as usual, but it's really there, and seems to actually
get some stuff right for a change.

Enjoy!

Anne
xxx

A best newcomer catches the bus for a celebratory cuppa

  DAVID BELCHER 

  WITHIN unhallowed rock'n'roll circles, the morning after the  night
before constitutes a period of recovery from sundry  forms of mindless
over-indulgence - especially so should the  highlight of the night before
have included the winning of a Brit  Award.

  Thankfully, however, there's nothing dim-witted or  oblivion-seeking
about Scotland's surprise Brits victors Belle  and Sebastian. Because it
was in typically level-headed  fashion that yesterday's dawn was greeted in
Glasgow by the  six members of the octet who hadn't travelled south for the
big  event (only two went because they didn't want money wasted  on tickets
and flights "for a band who had no chance of  winning").

  Less than 12 hours after Radio 1's listenership had voted  Belle and
Sebastian 1999's best British newcomers,  three-quarters of the band
congregated bright and early round  the telly in their manager's house in
their shared habitat -  Glasgow's West End - to watch Channel 4's The Big
Breakfast.

  This featured an interview with Richard Colburn and Mick  Cooke, the two
group members who had been on hand on  Tuesday evening to collect the
silver statuette from Radio 1's  Zoe Ball.

  Immediately after the TV show's end, things took another
characteristically B&S turn by becoming mildly comic, slightly  shambolic
and resolutely down-to-earth. Opting to visit their  favourite Byres Road
tea shop for a celebratory breakfast, the  assembly realised they were too
numerous to pile into their  usual transport, the drummer's elderly Citroen
BX hatchback.

  Summons a superstar stretch limo? Not the B&S way. Instead,  keyboards
player Chris Geddes drew the short straw, thus  almost certainly becoming
the only 1999 Brits winner to start  his triumphant reign queuing for a bus.

  In the same way, much of the band's appeal derives from their  rootedness
in local everyday experience - albeit the thoughtful  everyday experiences
of a bunch of literate graduates of  tertiary education whose dreaming
locale is Glasgow's leafy  and bohemian Kelvinside. What else explains the
singular  nature of B&S songs, which are capable of expressing a wide
variety of moods and sentiments: adult, analytical, caustic,  playful,
child-like, fey, frank, raucous.

  Musically, Belle and Sebastian draw upon similarly disparate  sources,
everything from the uptempo melodrama of northern  soul to the winsome
reflections of your archetypal wispy  folk-rock singer-songwriter; from the
blank urban alienation of  the Velvet Underground to the wry optimism of
R.E.M.

  This creative depth is additionally mirrored in Belle and  Sebastian's
span of age-ranges and home-towns, as well as  the band's gender-balance.
The two women and six men of  B&S are variously aged from 22 to 32, hailing
from Ayr,  Glasgow, Dundee, Balloch, Perth, and Blackburn, Lancashire.

  Likewise, the band's reasoned avoidance of the more  stultifying aspects
of rockbiz routine has led miffed sections of  the media to portray them as
bloodless and reclusive elitists.  In fact, their decision to spurn the
tour-record-tour treadmill,  along with group press interviews and cliche'd
hand-out  photographs, is based on a desire to keep their music fresh  and
to the forefront of peoples' minds, not their image.

  This approach has certainly encouraged them to be prolific  musical
creators. They are currently in the midst of recording  their fourth album,
scheduled to appear in early summer, just  before the band's third
birthday. In addition, two band  members will soon release solo albums,
while each band  member is actively engaged in playing and recording with a
 large diversity of Scottish performers.

  Handy facts about Belle and Sebastian? Their name comes  from the
seventies children's TV series based on the writings  of French author
Cecile Aubry. 

  Their early promise prompted transatlantic visits by two  legendary
American talent spotters, Seymour Stein and Tom  Zutaut, whose joint track
record of signings includes Talking  Heads, Beck, Madonna, and
Guns'n'Roses. The band  resisted the duo's high-powered overtures to sign
to the small  London-based independent label Jeepster.

  Their limited-edition, vinyl-only debut album, Tigermilk, was  released
by students on Stow College's music business  course, and financed by
principal songwriter Stuart Murdoch's  dad. Original copies sell for £400.

  But what's the most useful fact about Belle And Sebastian? 
  That their music is truly, truly, truly great. - Feb 17.





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