Belle and Sebastian

Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1994. Led by Stuart Murdoch, Belle and Sebastian have released twelve studio albums. The band are often compared with acts such as the Smiths and Nick Drake. Belle and Sebastian took their name from a short story Murdoch had written about a boy and girl, whose title was a play on the 1965 television series Belle and Sebastian.

In 1994, Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David both enrolled at Stow College's Beatbox programme for unemployed musicians in Glasgow. Together, with music professor Alan Rankine (formerly of 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. 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". 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 Pyrenean Mountain Dog. In June 1996, Electric Honey pressed up one thousand copies of Tigermilk on vinyl.

The warm response Tigermilk received led to the band being signed to Jeepster Records in August 1996, who released their second album If You're Feeling Sinister on 18 November. The album was named by Spin as one of the 100 greatest albums between 1985 and 2005, and it is widely considered the band's masterpiece. Just before the recording of Sinister, Sarah Martin (violin/vocals) joined the band.

Following this a series of EPs were released throughout 1997. 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, who played trumpet on the EP but would not officially join the band until a few years later. It charted at No. 59 in the UK singles chart. The Lazy Line Painter Jane EP followed in July. The track was recorded in the church where Murdoch lived and features vocals from Monica Queen. The EP narrowly missed out on the UK top 40, peaking at No. 41. 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. 32 in the charts, thus becoming the band's first top 40 single.

Despite the band's growing popularity, during this period they kept a low profile at the insistence of Murdoch, who was still regaining his strength following years struggling with myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome (ME/CFS). The band played gigs sporadically, rarely gave interviews, and refused to appear in publicity photographs, often getting friends and acquaintances to pose instead. The relative reclusiveness helped to create an aura of mystique around them.

The band released their third LP, The Boy with the Arab Strap in 1998, and it reached No. 12 in the UK charts. Arab Strap garnered an NPR interview and positive reviews from Rolling Stone and The Village Voice, and others; however, the album has its detractors, including 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). During the recording of the album, long-time studio trumpet-player Mick Cooke was asked to join the band as a full member. The This Is Just a Modern Rock Song EP followed later that year.

In 1999, the band was awarded with Best Newcomer (for their third album) at the BRIT Awards, upsetting better-known acts such as Steps and 5ive. That same year, the band hosted their own festival, the Bowlie Weekender. Tigermilk was also given a full release by 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. A stand-alone single, "Legal Man", reached No. 15 and gave them their first appearance on Top of the Pops.