One of those that fall into the ‘should have been bigger than the Beatles’ category – was chatting just yesterday to someone about the bands that I’ve expected great things of (Won Mississippi, Swimmer One, Odeon Beat Club, Josephine, St Jude’s…) and that minority of acts that actually surpassed expectations (Franz Ferdinand, Biffy, er…)
This lot come into the sizeable former category. (Warning: clip may contain Craig Hill)

This is one of those bands who only surface from time to time, its members doing other things… we (itm?, probably with Baby Tiger) had them on more than once I’m sure, and the video gives you some idea, but doesn’t completely capture, why they’re best experienced live.
I’ll let the music have a stab at doing the talking…

I could have just posted this without comment (and waited for everyone else to add theirs) but, yes – they’re not really Scottish, they’re not cool either, but there was a period (between first and third albums) when they were making rather decent music.

Looking at what I have in the ‘queue’ here, were entering into real “where are they now?” territory.
Take this lot – not seen them since the Fence Homegame around 3 years ago (they were practising up a sidestreet so I regard that as a impromptu performance just for me).
Wikipedia tells me what I had heard but forgotten – Michael Angus went on to form Make Love with David Gow (Sons and Daughters) and Colin Kearney (Eska). So there you go.

You might not have heard of the Pretty Flowers, but they were a band who, like The Crucial Three or the London SS, spawned a local scene in Lanarkshire. Teenage Fanclub, The Vaselines, Soup Dragons and the BMX Bandits all had roots in that band.

The BMX Bandits similarly saw many local luminaries pass through their ranks. Including one Sean Dickson (knew we’d get there eventually) who after the Soup Dragons formed The High Fidelity, and whose magnificent sprawling 14 track album Demonstration is still an undiscovered classic. (Namedrop time: Sean is also a very nice chap, I interviewed him in a tearoom in Glasgow – crashing my car on the way. Some day I’ll scan in the article, which was for Go! magazine).

Anyway, the reason for this is partly that the BMX Bandits have a new album out, roundabout now – and Duglas T Stewart has brought Sean, among various other Scottish musicians, back into the fold for what is that band’s 25 anniversary.
More on the Bandits later I’m sure but for now enjoy this, or indeed another cracking video for Change is Gonna Come)