Tear Gas was a Scottish hard-rock band that released the album Piggy Go Getter on Famous/Paramount in 1970, followed by an eponymous album on Regal Zonophone in 1971. They then teamed with singer Alex Harvey in the long-running Sensational Alex Harvey Band. Members: Zal Cleminson (guitar, vocals), Chris Glen (bass, vocals), Gilson Lavis (drums, 1969-70), […]
Bodkin were a Scottish hard-rock/psych band that released a self-titled album on small-press West in 1972. Members: Mick Riddel (lead guitar), Doug Rome (Hammond organ), Dick Sneddon (drums), Bill Anderson (bass), Zeik Hume (vocals) Bodkin took their name from the bodkin point arrowhead, a thick needle often used in leather work. Their singular album appeared […]
Orange Juice were a Scottish New Wave/sophisti-pop band from Glasgow that released a string of shortplayers on Postcard Records circa 1980/81, followed by three albums and an EP on Polydor between 1982 and 1984. The band was led by guitarist/songwriter Edwyn Collins, who later found fame as a solo artist. Members: Edwyn Collins (guitar, vocals), […]
Barbara Dickson (born Sept. 27, 1947) is a Scottish folk/pop vocalist and actress who first entered showbiz in the late 1960s. Partnered with Glaswegian guitarist/vocalist Archie Fisher, they issued back-to-back albums together circa 1969/70. Her debut solo album, Do Right Woman, appeared in 1970 on Decca. In 1974, she contributed to the cast recording of […]
Jim Diamond (Sept. 28, 1951 — Oct. 8, 2015) was a Scottish vocalist, songwriter, and producer from Bridgetown, Glasgow, who debuted with a standalone single on Bradley’s in 1975. He then embarked on a series of band-oriented projects, starting with a 1976 album heading hard-rockers Bandit. After a brief stint with Alexis Korner, Diamond finished […]
The Fire Engines were a Scottish art-punk band from Edinburgh that released the album Lubricate Your Living Room on Bob Last’s Pop:Aural Music small-press in 1980. Just prior to the band, vocalist Davy Henderson cut an EP with Leicester combo the Disco Zombies. During the late 1980s, he recorded two albums with electro-posters Win alongside […]
Josef K were a Scottish New Wave/pop-rock band from Edinburgh that debuted with a single on self-press Absolute Records in 1979, followed by the album The Only Fun in Town with accompanying singles on Postcard Records in 1981. Two further singles followed on Les Disques Du Crépuscule in 1981/82. The album was preceded by the […]
The Rezillos were a Scottish New Wave band that released the 1978 Sire album Can’t Stand The Rezillos, surrounded by the singles “I Can’t Stand My Baby,” “(My Baby Does) Good Sculptures,” “Destination Venus,” and the UK Top 20 hit “Top of the Pops.” After their collapse, singer Fay Fife and multi-instrumentalist Eugene Reynolds formed […]
Café Jacques was a Scottish art-pop/soul trio from Edinburgh that released two albums on Epic/Columbia between 1977 and 1978. Members: Chris Thomson (guitar, vocals), Mike Ogletree (drums, percussion, acoustic guitar, vocals), Peter Veitch (keyboards, accordion) The band’s two albums were produced by then-Quantum Jump keyboardist/vocalist Rupert Hine with instrumental support from Spirogyra/Caravan multi-instrumentalist Geoffrey Richardson and […]
The Associates were a Scottish New Wave/art-pop band from Dundee that formed in the late 1970s. Between 1980 and 1982, the band released two proper albums and a compilation of non-album singles on Fiction and Beggars Banquet. During this time, the band centered on the creative team of vocalist Billy MacKenzie and multi-instrumentalist Alan Rankine. […]
Altered Images were a Scottish New Wave pop band that was active during the early 1980s. The band debuted in 1981 with the Epic single “Dead Pop Stars,” followed later that year by the album Happy Birthday. Both releases were produced by Siouxsie and the Banshees bassist Steve Severin. A second Altered Images album, Pinky […]
Aztec Camera were a Scottish pop/rock combo centered on the talents of guitarist/vocalist/songwriter Roddy Frame. Formed in East Kilbride in 1980, the band released a pair of singles on Glaswegian small-press Postcard in advance of their popular debut album High Land, Hard Rain, which appeared in 1983 on Rough Trade. Mark Knopfler produced the band’s […]
The Average White Band are a Scottish soul/funk sextet that debuted with the 1973 album Show Your Hand on MCA. Between 1974 and 1979, AWB released six studio albums and a live set on Atlantic. This was followed by two albums for Arista during the early 1980s. Stateside, the band are most known for the […]
Donovan (born May 10, 1946) is a Scottish folk-rock singer, guitarist, and songwriter who premiered with a pair of albums on Pye in 1965, followed by a prolific run of titles on Epic between 1966 and 1976. After a self-titled one-off on RAK in 1977, he released a further round of albums on RCA during […]
Beggars Opera was a Scottish symphonic/psych band that released four albums on Vertigo between 1970 and 1973 — including the popular 1971/72 efforts Waters of Change and Pathfinder — followed by two mid-decade titles on Jupiter. A return to Vertigo yielded the 1980 album Life Line. A further round of ’80s-era recordings would appear on the […]
Bread Love and Dreams were a Scottish folk trio that released a self-titled album on Decca in 1969. After the departure of bassist Carolyn Davis, singing guitarists David McNiven and Angie Rew continued as a duo and recorded a double album that was split into the 1970/71 albums The Strange Tale of Captain Shannon and […]
Modern Man were a Scottish New Wave band that released the album Concrete Scheme with accompanying singles on MAM Records in 1980. Members: Jim Cook (vocals), Colin King (drums), Ali McLeod (guitar), Danny Mitchell (guitar), Mike Moran (bass) Discography: Concrete Scheme (1980) “Things Could Be Better” (1981)
The Blue Nile were a Scottish art-pop/sophisti-pop trio that released four albums at lengthy intervals between 1984 and 2004. Formed in Glasgow in 1981, the band debuted with a single that year on RSO. Three years later, the album A Walk Across the Rooftops appeared on Linn/A&M, followed a half-decade later by Hats. The subsequent two […]
Cocteau Twins were a Scottish goth/dream-pop trio that was active for 16 years, starting in 1981. Between 1982 and 1990, the band released six albums and assorted EPs on 4AD. Two additional longplayers appeared on Fontana during the 1990s. Members: Elizabeth Fraser (vocals), Robin Guthrie (guitar), Will Heggie (bass, 1981-83), Simon Raymonde (bass, 1983-97) Background […]
Danny Wilson were a Scottish sophisti-pop band that released two albums with accompanying singles on Virgin between 1987 and 1989. Members: Gary Clark (vocals, guitar, keyboards), Kit Clark (multi-instrumentalist), Ged Grimes (bass guitar, keyboards) Discography: Meet Danny Wilson (1987) Be Bop Mop Top (1989)
