BMX Bandits (band)
Encyclopedia
BMX Bandits are a Scottish 1960s-influenced guitar pop band who have been making music from 1986 to the present day. They have shared members with other Bellshill
bands Teenage Fanclub
and The Soup Dragons
.
BMX Bandits were formed by songwriter and lead vocalist Duglas T. Stewart
out of the ashes of The Pretty Flowers, a group that featured Stewart alongside Frances McKee
(later of The Vaselines
), Sean Dickson and Norman Blake
. The group have had many line up changes throughout the years.
Their songs mix melodic qualities and humour with, at times, raw and heartbreaking pathos. Stewart has written many of the group's works solo including "Your Class", "The Sailor's Song" and "Doorways" but also has collaborated with many of the other members. Stewart's most regular songwriting partners have been Francis MacDonald
, Norman Blake and, more recently, David Scott
.
The group's most celebrated song is the autobiographical "Serious Drugs", recorded in 1991 but not released until 1993. The song featured in the movie This Year's Love
and was covered by American stadium power pop group Gigolo Aunts
.
Oasis
did their first UK tour dates supporting the Bandits as a favour from Stewart to Creation
label boss Alan McGee
.
BMX Bandits admirers included Kurt Cobain
, who was photographed wearing a BMX Bandits T shirt. Cobain claimed on a New York radio show that if he could be in any other band it would be BMX Bandits.
Stewart split with long term musical partner Francis MacDonald in 2005 but 2006 saw a new wave of live concert activity and the release of My Chain. Stewart's writing on the album was compared to Brian Wilson
, Michel Legrand
, Ennio Morricone
and even Alan Bennett
- though only by Duglas himself. The line up was expanded by the arrival of Stewart's friend David Scott and new female vocalist Rachel Mackenzie (now Rachel Allison).
The follow-up, 2007's Bee Stings, was influenced by classic girl group pop plus the mellow A & M sound of the late 1960s and early 70s. Bee Stings features Allison singing lead on half the tracks including "Our Secret Life" co-written by Allison and former band member Norman Blake.
Bellshill
Bellshill is a town in North Lanarkshire, Scotland, 10 miles south east of Glasgow city centre and 37 miles west of Edinburgh. Other nearby towns are Motherwell , Hamilton and Coatbridge . Since 1996, it has been situated in the Greater Glasgow metropolitan area...
bands Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub
Teenage Fanclub are an alternative rock band from Bellshill, Scotland. The band is composed of Norman Blake , Raymond McGinley , Gerard Love and Francis MacDonald , with songwriting duties shared equally among Blake, McGinley and Love...
and The Soup Dragons
The Soup Dragons
The Soup Dragons were a Scottish alternative rock band of the late 1980s and early 1990s. Named after a character in the 1970s children's television show Clangers, the group is best known for its cover of the Rolling Stones' song "I'm Free."-History:...
.
BMX Bandits were formed by songwriter and lead vocalist Duglas T. Stewart
Duglas T. Stewart
Duglas T. Stewart has been leader and the main composer of Glaswegian indie pop band BMX Bandits since they formed in 1985....
out of the ashes of The Pretty Flowers, a group that featured Stewart alongside Frances McKee
Frances McKee
Frances McKee is a singer and songwriter known best for her work in the Scottish indie band The Vaselines.The Vaselines formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1986. Following the release of two EPs, Son of a Gun and Dying for It, the first and only full length album, Dum-Dum, in 1989, the band split up...
(later of The Vaselines
The Vaselines
The Vaselines are an alternative rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. Formed in 1986, the band was originally a duo between its songwriters Eugene Kelly and Frances McKee, but later added James Seenan and Eugene's brother Charlie Kelly on bass and drums respectively from the band Secession. McKee had...
), Sean Dickson and Norman Blake
Norman Blake (Scottish musician)
Norman Blake is a singer-songwriter in the Glasgow based band, Teenage Fanclub.Blake and Sean Dickson were in The Faith Healers together, which also contained various members at different times Stevie Gray, Hugh McLaughlin, Brian Carson and Colin Murray to name but a few.Blake and Carson were...
. The group have had many line up changes throughout the years.
Their songs mix melodic qualities and humour with, at times, raw and heartbreaking pathos. Stewart has written many of the group's works solo including "Your Class", "The Sailor's Song" and "Doorways" but also has collaborated with many of the other members. Stewart's most regular songwriting partners have been Francis MacDonald
Francis MacDonald
Francis Macdonald is a drummer and sometime member of British alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub and used to play with BMX Bandits and Eugenius...
, Norman Blake and, more recently, David Scott
David Scott (Scottish musician)
David Scott is the leader of the Scottish pop group Pearlfishers.Scott has been the main songwriter, producer and vocalist of Pearlfishers since their inception. Scott is also a member of BMX Bandits...
.
The group's most celebrated song is the autobiographical "Serious Drugs", recorded in 1991 but not released until 1993. The song featured in the movie This Year's Love
This Year's Love
This Year's Love is the title of a 1999 film set in and around Camden Town in London. It was written and directed by David Kane.-Cast:*Dougray Scott as Cameron*Jennifer Ehle as Sophie*Ian Hart as Liam*Sophie Okonedo as Denise...
and was covered by American stadium power pop group Gigolo Aunts
Gigolo Aunts
-Early history:The band was formed by middle school students Steve Hurley, Dave Gibbs, Phil Hurley and Paul Brouwer in 1981 in Potsdam, New York, originally known as Sniper...
.
Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
did their first UK tour dates supporting the Bandits as a favour from Stewart to Creation
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
label boss Alan McGee
Alan McGee
Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
.
BMX Bandits admirers included Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Donald Cobain was an American singer-songwriter, musician and artist, best known as the lead singer and guitarist of the grunge band Nirvana...
, who was photographed wearing a BMX Bandits T shirt. Cobain claimed on a New York radio show that if he could be in any other band it would be BMX Bandits.
Stewart split with long term musical partner Francis MacDonald in 2005 but 2006 saw a new wave of live concert activity and the release of My Chain. Stewart's writing on the album was compared to Brian Wilson
Brian Wilson
Brian Douglas Wilson is an American musician, best known as the leader and chief songwriter of the group The Beach Boys. Within the band, Wilson played bass and keyboards, also providing part-time lead vocals and, more often, backing vocals, harmonizing in falsetto with the group...
, Michel Legrand
Michel Legrand
Michel Jean Legrand is a French musical composer, arranger, conductor, and pianist...
, Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone
Ennio Morricone, Grand Officer OMRI, , is an Italian composer and conductor, who wrote music to more than 500 motion pictures and television series, in a career lasting over 50 years. His scores have been included in over 20 award-winning films as well as several symphonic and choral pieces...
and even Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett
Alan Bennett is a British playwright, screenwriter, actor and author. Born in Leeds, he attended Oxford University where he studied history and performed with The Oxford Revue. He stayed to teach and research mediaeval history at the university for several years...
- though only by Duglas himself. The line up was expanded by the arrival of Stewart's friend David Scott and new female vocalist Rachel Mackenzie (now Rachel Allison).
The follow-up, 2007's Bee Stings, was influenced by classic girl group pop plus the mellow A & M sound of the late 1960s and early 70s. Bee Stings features Allison singing lead on half the tracks including "Our Secret Life" co-written by Allison and former band member Norman Blake.
Albums
- C86 (1989 Click)
- Star Wars (1991 Vinyl Japan)
- Gordon Keen & His BMX Bandits (1992 Sunflower) (mini-album)
- Life Goes On (1993 Creation/TriStar Music)
- Gettin' Dirty (1995 Creation)
- Theme Park (1996 Creation/Big Deal)
- Duglas Stewart's Frankenstein (1996 Vinyl Japan) (solo album featuring contributions from other BMX Bandits)
- Down at the Hop (2003 Shoeshine)
- My Chain (2006 REVOLA)
- Bee Stings (2007 REVOLA)
Singles
- E102 single (1986 53rd & 3rd)
- The Day Before Tomorrow + What a Wonderful World single (1986 53rd & 3rd)
- Figure 4 single (1987 53rd & 3rd)
- Islands in the Stream flexi single (1989 Waaah)
- Come Clean single (1991 Vinyl Japan)
- Serious Drugs single (1992 Creation)
- Kylie's Got a Crush On Us single (1993 Creation)
- Little Hands single (1993 Creation)
- Serious Drugs + Little Pony single (1994 Creation)
- Gettin' Dirty single (1994 Creation)
- That Summer Feeling single (1995 Creation)
- Help Me Somebody + Golden Teardrops single (1996 Shoeshine)
- We're Gonna Shake You Down single (1996 Creation)
- Whirlpool + Honey Honey single (1996 Emma's House)
Compilations
- C86 Plus (1992 Vinyl Japan/Elefant) (compilation)
- 53rd and 3rd Years (1999 Avalanche) (compilation) (without the group's blessing)
- On the Radio, 1986-1996 (2003 Vinyl Japan) (compilation)
- Serious Drugs - the Creation Years (2005 Castle) (best of... compilation)
- The Rise and Fall Of BMX Bandits (2009 Elefant)
Live
- Totally Groovy Live Experience (1989 Avalanche)
- Hidden Agenda (with Kim Fowley) (1997 Receiver) (without the group's blessing)
Members
Over the years the membership of the group has fluctuated. Only vocalist Duglas T.Stewart has been a permanent member.Current members
- Rachel Allison
- Jim Gash
- Finlay MacDonaldFinlay MacDonald (musician)Finlay MacDonald is a keyboardist, singer-songwriter, and former member of Scottish alternative rock bands Teenage Fanclub and BMX Bandits.He has been employed as a music industry lecturer at Reid Kerr College in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Scotland. He is currently lead singer and guitarist for Lenzie...
- Jim McCulloch
- David ScottDavid Scott (Scottish musician)David Scott is the leader of the Scottish pop group Pearlfishers.Scott has been the main songwriter, producer and vocalist of Pearlfishers since their inception. Scott is also a member of BMX Bandits...
- Duglas T. StewartDuglas T. StewartDuglas T. Stewart has been leader and the main composer of Glaswegian indie pop band BMX Bandits since they formed in 1985....
Former members
- Norman BlakeNorman Blake (Scottish musician)Norman Blake is a singer-songwriter in the Glasgow based band, Teenage Fanclub.Blake and Sean Dickson were in The Faith Healers together, which also contained various members at different times Stevie Gray, Hugh McLaughlin, Brian Carson and Colin Murray to name but a few.Blake and Carson were...
- Jamie Cameron
- Sushil K. DadeFuture Pilot A.K.A.Future Pilot A.K.A. is the nom de plume of Glasgow indie musician Sushil K. Dade, a former member of the Soup Dragons, BMX Bandits and Telstar Ponies...
- Sean Dickson
- John Hogarty
- Gordon Keen
- Eugene KellyEugene KellyEugene Kelly is a Scottish musician who is a member of the group The Vaselines, a founding member of the now disbanded Eugenius and has had a number of solo releases....
- Stuart Kidd
- Martin Kirwan
- Francis MacDonaldFrancis MacDonaldFrancis Macdonald is a drummer and sometime member of British alternative rock band Teenage Fanclub and used to play with BMX Bandits and Eugenius...
- Joseph McAlinden
- Willie McArdle
- Brian McEwan
- James McEwanJames McEwanJames "Jamie" McEwan is an American slalom canoist who competed in the 1970s and then again in the late 1980s and early 1990s. Competing in two Summer Olympics, he won a bronze medal in the C-1 event at Munich in 1972....
- Gabriel Telerman