Beautiful and Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian is a British group of independent Rock created by Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David in January 1996 with Glasgow.

Biography

First demonstrations

Stuart Murdoch, young person Scottish residing at Glasgow, where he exerts several odd jobs and practical sound hobbie, the race on foot, thinks for the first time of launching out in the music in 1995. It becomes acquainted with Stuart David in a program of creation of employment for young unemployed, and the embryo of group temporarily baptized Road Island starts to record some demonstrations which draw the attention of the recording companies quickly.

Mark Jones of the label obtains a verbal agreement with them in January 1996, but Stuart Murdoch delays the signature of several months because of an other project. Indeed the demonstrations recorded by Murdoch and David are used within the framework of a course in Staw College of the Université of Glasgow, in which the beater Richard Coburn takes part. The university exempts a course of marketing preparing the students to be exerted in the sector of the music. The college has a label baptized Electric Honey, and expertise of outside contributors, like Ken McCluskey, former singer of the group The Bluebells, and Alan Rankine, former member of The Associates. Each year the course of music business aims to publish individual on the label of Staw College, but the quality of the songs of Murdoch and David allows this time to carry out a whole album. Both Stuart gather other musicians (Chris Geddes, Sarah Martin, Isobel Campbell, Stevie Jackson and Richard Colburn) and record in three days their first album under the name Belle and Sebastian .

Tigermilk is published by Electric Honey in May 1996 only on disc vinyl and in limited edition with thousand specimens. The very weak diffusion of the album and a favorable word of mount made of it a disc worship with the the United Kingdom. The attitude of the group, which at the beginning of its career does not appear on the small pockets of its discs and refuses the requests of the press and the meetings photo, adds to the mystery.

The Jeepster period

In August the group signs as envisaged on the label Jeepster Records and leaves the album If You' Re Feeling Sinister as of November, to this occasion they gives their first concerts apart from Scotland and occurs with London in first part of the Tindersticks, but these first concerts often suffer from the awkwardness and the amateurism of the interpreters, who spend long minutes to agree or exchange their instruments between the songs, (One can also think that belonged to their charm). At the time Stuart Murdoch still exerts an use of caretaker in his Paroisse, where it also forms part of the choral society. The year 1997 is devoted to the recording of a series of three EP. Dog One Wheels leaves in April and makes it possible to the public to discover some of the original demonstrations of Murdoch and David. Lazy Line Painter Jane is carried out in July whereas the group turns to the United Kingdom, and misses making its entry with Signal 40. In September, Belle and Sebastian gives its first concerts in continental Europe and with the the United States to promote the album If You' Re Feeling Sinister . The third EP of the year is carried out in October, 3… 6… 9… Seconds off Light is named disc of the week by the British weekly magazines Melody Maker and New Musical Express train and is reached the 32ème place in the classification of the best sales in the United Kingdom.

The album The Boy With The Arab Strap leaves in September 1998 and briefly occupies the 12th place of the British charts, it is distributed to the United States by Matador Records. The group starts its first world tour. In October they occur with Paris at the time of a concert with the Cicada and of a radio session diffused in the emission It is Lenoir on France Inter.

In 1999 Belle and Sebastian obtains the price of the British revelation at the time of the Brit Awards, whereas the group has existed for already three years and has as many albums to its credit. In April, Belle and Sebastian takes share with the Bowlie Weekender , a being held festival with Camber Sands, a seaside resort of the southern part of England, where the group also plays the part of advising artistic by establishing the programming. Among the score of artists to the program appear The Pastels, Mercury Rev, Teenage Fanclub, The Flaming Lips… In June, the album Tigermilk , which had known a confidential exit and whose rare copies were torn off at ransom price, is republished by the Jeepster label and is classified 13th in the charts.

In 2000 leaves the fourth album, Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like has Peasant , which is classified in Signal 10 in the United Kingdom. Beautiful and Sebastian off appears in the emission Top the Pops to interpret there individual the Legal Man . Stuart David, bass player and cofounder of the group, then choose to devote themselves to its other project, Looper.

During the year 2002 Belle and Sebastian records the original soundtrack film Storytelling of Todd Solondz and signs at Rough Trade. With the right in the middle of a world tour the violoncellist Isobel Campbell announces it also his departure of the group.

B&S at Rough Trade

The sixth album entitled Dear Catastrophe Waitress , produced by Trevor Horn, leaves in October 2003. It nominated with, is finally decreed with Franz Ferdinand in September 2004. Individual the I' m has Cuckoo becomes their larger success by reaching the 14th place of the sales in the United Kingdom. It is about their first simple taking again a song also present on an album, the EP left on the Jeepster label being composed of new pieces. Rough Trade also carries out remarkable compilation DVD entitled Fans Only including/understanding vidéos clips, moments of repetition, extracts in concerts and televised appearances. This DVD restores perfectly the land originality of Beautiful & Sebastian on the scene rock'n'roll, in particular under the terms of astonishing the " naturel" who emanates from his members.

The album Live At the Barbican recorded at the time of a concert in Barbican Arts Centers of London in September 2005 takes again all the titles of If You' Re Feeling Sinister . It is available to the remote loading of exclusiveness on the ITunes Music Store and all the benefit are versed with (DEC) in order to coming to assistance of the victims of the seism of October 8th, 2005 of the Indian Cachemire.

The last album studio of Beautiful and Sebastian is entitled The Life Pursuit , it is preceded beginning 2006 by the publication by individual the Funny Little Frog . Will follow a little later in the year The Blues Are Still Blue and White Collar Boy .

Origin of the patronym

The patronym Belle and Sebastian was initially used by Stuart Murdoch in a news telling the history of a group formed by two characters of fiction, it was preserved to name its own group. It is drawn from a book for children of the French author Cécile Aubry, which was adapted for television. Certain albums contain this note besides (in English and French ): Beautiful and Sebastien are the title of a novel and a series of films of Mrs Cécile Aubry: the artists thank Mrs Cécile Aubry for having authorized them to borrow this name.

Discography

Individual and EPs

Dog One Wheels (EP, 05/1997, Jeepster Recordings)
Lazy Line Painter Jane (EP, 07/1997, Jeepster Recordings)
3… 6… 9… Seconds off Light (EP, 10/1997, Jeepster Recordings)
This Is Just has Modern Rock Song (EP, 12/1998, Jeepster Recordings)
Legal Man (individual, 05/2000, Jeepster Recordings)
Jonathan David (EP, 06/2001, Jeepster Recordings)
I' m Waking Up to Us (EP, 11/2001, Jeepster Recordings)
Step into My Office Baby (individual, 11/2003, Rough Trade)
I' m has Cuckoo (individual, 02/2004, Rough Trade)
Books (EP, 06/2004, Rough Trade)
Funny Little Frog (individual, 01/2006, Rough Trade)
The Blues Are Still Blue (individual, /2006, Rough Trade)
White Collar Servant boy (individual, /2006, Rough Trade)

Albums

Tigermilk (06/1996, Electric Honey - republication 06/1999, Jeepster Recordings)
Yew You' Re Feeling Sinister (11/1996, Jeepster Recordings)
The Servant boy with the Arab Strap (09/1998, Jeepster Recordings)
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like has Peasant (06/2000, Jeepster Recordings)
Dear Catastrophe Waitress (10/2003, Rough Trade)
The Life Pursuit (2/6/2006, Rough Trade)

Compilations and various

Lazy Line Painter Jane (box containing the first three EP, 2000, Jeepster Recordings)
Storytelling (BO, 06/2002, Jeepster Recordings; original soundtrack of film of Todd Solondz)
Fans Only (DVD exceptional: Compilation of clips, scarcities, moments of repetitions, rounds etc 10/2003, Rough Trade)
Push Barman to Open Old Wounds (compilation of the seven EP published by Jeepster, 05/2005, Jeepster Recordings)
Yew You' Re Feeling Sinister: Live At the Barbican (concert recorded in September 2005)

Members of the group

Stuart Murdoch - song, guitar and keyboards
Stevie Jackson - song and guitar
Chris Geddes - keyboards
Sarah Martin - violin and song (since Yew You' Re Feeling Sinister )
Mick Cooke - trumpet and low
Bobby Kildea - guitar and low
Richard Colburn - battery
Stuart David - low, guitar (between 1996 and 2000)
Isobel Campbell - song and violoncello (between 1996 and 2002)

External bonds

official site of Beautiful and Sebastian
Beautiful and Sebastian on the site of the label Jeepster

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