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big news
3/12 - Billy Mackenzie tributes ahoy - in the leadup to the 10th anniversary of the Associates' singers death, there are 2 shows planned for next year - on Jan 20th at the Classic Grand in Glasgow, Xfm's Jim Gellatly hosts sets from local acts Grant McNally, The Low Miffs, Mouse Eat Mouse, Wake The President & Babygod as well as Belle & Sebastian DJs - former Associate Alan Rankine is 'advising' on the project. And in London, a unique live outing from the British Electric Foundation (who collaborated with Mackenzie on their cover of David Bowie's Secret Life of Arabia' and the reclusive Josef K frontman (and MacKenzie duettist) Paul Haig - that one is on Shepherds Bush Empire on Wed 28 March Coincidentally (or perhaps not) The Associates' 'Party Fears' Two' is currently at #1 in the poll for top Scottish single of all time at http://www.jocknroll.co.uk/ 25/11 - Following the recent split of Data Panik, Bis will celebrate the 10 year anniversary of their debut album 'The New Transistor Heroes' being released with Glasgow and London gigs. The anniversary date of 7th April will see a gig in London (venue TBC), with a hometown gig in Glasgow will be at King Tuts Wah Wah Hut on 6th April - where the band did their sold-out last ever show in 2003. 19/11 - The Beanscene chain of coffee and music houses has announced a deal with eMusic which it says could make them Scotland's biggest independent music retailer. And they are offering 50 free songs - from a database of nearly two million tracks - with the launch of a new subscription-based service allowing music lovers to download MP3s. The eMusic catalogue ranges from Johnny Cash, Bob Marley, Miles Davis and Paul Weller via Basement Jaxx, Bjork and The Fall, to The Rapture, The Pipettes and Four Tet. The no-strings free songs can be obtained via http://www.emusic.com/beanscene, where a 14-day trial period can be canceled if the user wishes, while keeping their downloads. And more product placement (but this time alcoholic): : VERSAcoustic will take place across six Scottish towns and cities in early 2007 but full details for the acoustic tour will be announced on Wednesday 6th December at Glasgow music pub The Goat, as well as featuring sets from James Yorkston, Popup and The Yellow Bentines. Tickets for the launch event will be free from SoundControl (33 Otago St) on Friday 24th November from 10am. As well as being sponsored by Tennents continental-style lager, the event and tour is supported by Sound Control's new acoustic range Legacy. 17/11 - Following another successful Instal festival at the Arches in Glasgow, audio and video of the event has been posted online. Hear music from Keiji Haino + Tony Conrad, Tetsuya Umeda, Sachiko, Arrington de Dionyso, Kuwayama / Kijima, Eye Contact, and watch video of performances by Blood Stereo + Ludo Mich, Ellen Fullman + Sean Meehan, Jason Lescalleet + Nmperign & Oshiri Penpenz. See the Instal minisite at http://www.arika.org.uk 11/11 Edinburgh's Lighthouse Studios has launched an appeal following the news that their landlords Waterfront Edinburgh Ltd have recently announced that they do not intend to redevelop the Lighthouse into the state of the art media centre. Indeed, it has been stated that the Lighthouse will close, possibly as early as May next year, as part of the redevelopment of the area, probably into yuppie flats., More at http://www.lighthousestudios.org 10/11 - DF Concerts have released more precise details on the previously-announced 'Connect' boutique festival. It will take place at Inverary Castle, on the weekend of September 1st and 2nd 2007. 29/10 - Last Night From Glasgow, the local indie webcaster, has reached its 100th edition. Which, given that they produce 'a tune a day' (approx) means that they've been on the go for around 5 months or so. In that time the YouTube-based 'station' has had 20,000 viewers - "that's as many as Sandi Thom claimed to have got every night when she did the original webcasts that inspired it!" says Chris Gimour, head of programming, camera operator, and MC/performer, including his stint on the 100th edition which basically thanks the people who have been involved in the shows. LNFG features one band per week who record live versions of 5 of their most-familiar tunes, whether in the salubrious studios, or backstage before a gig. Artists who have recorded these exclusive sessions include MJ Hibbett, Thee Moths, The Great Money Trick, Scunner, Tom Snowball, Mouse Eat Mouse, and The Owsley Sunshine. 21/10 - The Isle of Skye Music Festival has picked up the award for eFan-Friendly Festival f in the UK Festival Awards 2006. The trophy is awawded to the event that festival goers felt ehad gone the extra mile to put fans first f. 20/10 - DF Concerts, best known for T in the Park, have anounced plans to enter the burgeoning eBoutique f festival market. Connect is planned for a scenic location to the north of Glasgow - git fs not an island, but can be reached by water, h Geoff Ellis, MD of DF said mysteriously. The festival would, as is the way of smaller events such as Indian Summer, cater for smaller numbers - 15,000 or thereabouts - and promote bands less popular with the typical T in the Park audience - gmore Sonic Youth and the Pixies than Arctic Monkeys h Ellis added. More details will emerge in the next couple of weeks. 17/10 - Fence Records, via eCollective f member OnTheFly, have set up an electronic offsoot. Named eDe-Fence f, the label will release electronic based projects for the label, and acts lined up to appear include Reporter, OnTheFly, Jon Hopkins, and Reuben Taylor. The first project is '10X10' - ten 10" EPs limited to 500 copies which will feature exclusive tracks from members and associates of The Fence Collective, a printed sleeve with artwork from all featured producers, plus a bonus hand-stamped CD-extra version of the EP, free when you buy the 10 h vinyl. More at www.de-fencerecords.com. 14/10 - In a slow week for news, Del Amitri singer Justin Currie is wanted, dead or alive, following the band's last album... I'm sorry, has had a warrant issued for his arrest following his non-appearance at Perth Sheriff Court to answer a speeding charge. 1/10 - Glasgow all-grrrl 4-piece rock band The Hedrons are to host a 'virtual gig' where animated versions of the band members will play live to a 3-D audience in gaming fantasy land Second Life (www.secondlife.com). The 'show will take place at 'The Hedro Dome' on 9th October, 2006 at 7:30pm BST. To attend the free virtual gig, anyone in the (real) world can register as a virtual character at Second Life and download the Second Life Client, a game you'll need to install on their Mac or PC, while audio of the gig will also be available via a live stream from The Hedrons website at www.thehedrons.com. 29/9 - Edinburgh promoter Baby Tiger has finally set up its new home in Edinburgh following a 2-month break and a move from its previous residence at The Swamp Bar. The new custom-built venue The Den, situated within the Cafe Royal on West Register Street, opens on Friday 6th with Porch Song Anthology (the band formed by ex-members of the legendary Telstar Ponies) plus The Stantons. The following evening is a show co-promoted with is this music? which sees theatrical popsters Scunner come to town, on a bill with Guantanamo Bay plus To The Rescue (formed from the ashes of Deadenstereo). www.babytigermusic.com 28/9 - A poll is under way to establish the greatest Scottish single ever released. Votes can be cast at www.jocknroll.co.uk where music fans can also post memories and anecdotes of their favourite tunes. The site has other features such as Scottish Pop Trivia, and there are full listings of just-about every band to have released a single in Scotland, to help jog a few memories. The organisers have plans to put the results into book form, so get voting! 27/9 - Teenage Fanclub launched Oxjam - 4 weeks of charity events in aid of Oxfam - at Glasgow's Barrowlands before their 'Don't Look Back'-inspired run-through of classic album Bandwagonesque. Other Oxjam events throughout the month of October range from The Ox Factor, a series of Pop Idol-style auditions in East Kilbride with the final on the 29th, to Poplife Jams, the regular quiz co-hosted by original TFC drummer Brendan O'Hare which also sees Still Game's Still Game fs Sanjeev Kohli Djing, on the 25th. Full details on the Oxjam site - www.oxfam.com/oxjam 25/9 - The Belladrum Tartan Heart festival is shortlisted in 3 categories in the annual Festival Awards - Best Medium-to-Large Festival, the Family Festival Award, and the Shelter Award for Social Responsibility. 20/9 - Bespectacled twin Auchtermuchty songsters The Proclaimers are to be the subject of a musical based on their lives. 'Sunshine On Leith - A Musical' - is to open at Dundee Rep next year, in April. Coinciding with the 20th anniversary of the release of debut 'This is The Story', the musical is being written by River City Producer Stephen Greenhorn, who is also working on scrips for the next Dr Who series. 17/9 - Franz Ferdinand's sellout tour of South America is profiled in a Channel 4 documentary to be screened on September 24th. Made by legendary punk film director Don Letts, it covers show in Chile, Brazil and Argentina, plus support slots with U2, and the band recording new songs 'Wine In The Afternoon' and 'Ghost in Rio 16/9 - Franz's leader has also cropped up as the subject of a painting in a charity auction. The singer is portrayed singing into a deep-fried Mars Bar by artist Bill Blackwood, which was auctioned off for the Childlike charity (the painting, not the Mars Bar). Other artists whose work was up for sale off included Peter Howson and Calvin Stewart, while a catwalk show featuring members of El Presidente also formed part of the event at the newly-reopened Kevingrove Gallery. Across town, the Mutiple Sclerosis Society were running their first-ever Glasgow ball, and that auction included a bag fashioned from one of KT Tunstall's jackets.'. 9/9 Falkirk miserablists Arab Strap have decided to call it a day, almost 10 years to the day after the formed. "There's no animosity, no drama, we simply feel we've run our course... everybody likes a happy ending!" said Aidan Moffat and Malcolm Middleton in a statement. 8/9 - U2 and Green Day are to get together to record a charity track for Music Rising, an organisation which replaces instruments musicians lost in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. and given the New Orleans connection, the tune they're working on is The Skids 'The Saints Are Coming. The song, written by Richard Jobson and the late Stuart Adamson, was originally on the Wide Open EP, released in 1978. 4/9 - Franz Ferdinand guitarist Nick McCarthy is to take advantage of the band's self-imposed break by revitalising a partnership with Alexander Ragnew named Box Codax. The band are to release their debut LP, 'Only An Orchard Away'this week (04/09), on Thin Man Records.The two initially worked together in Germany long before Franz took off, but their collaborations were put on hold, until now .3/9 - Following the news item below, and possibly with some help from the Edinburgh Evening News' petition, it appears that the Queen's Hall has gained a reprieve from closure. The future ofthe capital's council-sponsored venues is now unclear, with plans seemingly afoot for a home to the Scottish Chamber Orchestra planned for Leith (initially mooted as the QH's replacement) as well as a £5M revamp for the Ross Bandstand. Worried critics of council policy in general have pointed out that while a stay of excution is welcome, the next election could see policy change once again. 27/8 - The BBC Electric Proms BBC is a five-day music festival from October 25th-29th at The Roundhouse in London, which will feature a mix of large and small acts. 19/8 - City of Edinburgh Council's concerted efforts to wipe out live music in the area have stepped up with the news that they intend to close the Queen's Hall. The 850-seat venue, which opened in 1970 (it was originally a church in the early 1800s) has become an important multi-genre entertainment venue supported by the council, but it's now proposed that central funding will be withdrawn within the next three years. An Edinburgh Evening News' - 'Save The Queen's Hall' campaign www.edinburghnews.com/savethequeenshall has been launched - the petition can be signed here. 18/8 - The Very are winners of this years DIESEL-U-MUSIC award (UK rock). 12/5 - Indian Summer festival - in Glasgow's Victoria Park on September 2nd and 3rd - has anounced that a 3rd stage will play host to some top upcoming acts. On Saturday 2nd the lineup will include Brakes, Pigeon Detectives, & a spoken word set from Aidan Moffat, while Sunday 3rd September takes in My Latest Novel, "Brazil's coolest indie band" CSS (Cansie de Ser Sexy), Errors, Danananaykroyd and Unkle Bob plus another spoken word set, this time from DJ Bill Brewster (Last Night a DJ Saved My Life) 7/8 - Let's Rock Edinburgh, perhaps jinxed by its awful name, has been canceled. The massive event scheduled to take place at Ingliston on September 30th, has issued a statement on its website: "This event was being funded with the aid of a private investor who is now not able to produce the necessary funding required to see the event continue." Refunds available from the point of purchase. 1/8 - Following their slot at the eDon ft Look Back f series in London, Teenage Fanclub will reform their eoriginal f lineup - including drummer Brendan O fHare - to perform the entire classic album Bandwagonesque in full, song by song. Then, following a fifteen minute interval, the band return to the stage to play a full Greatest Hits and rareties set with all original members. The show is at Glasgow's Barrowland on the 29th September, Tickets go onsale on August 5th, see www.gigsinscotland.com. 23/7 - Scots indie legends Trashcan Sinatras are to better Snow Patrol and Franz Ferdinand by playing two sets at Japan's FijuRock festival (www.smash-uk.com). Following an acoustic set on the Gypsy Avalon stage on Friday 28th July the full band play the The Orange Court stage on Saturday 29th. The band are celebrating a deal with Japanese major label JVC Victor who have signed the band on a 3 album deal - the first release is the classic live acoustic album Fez. After Japan, The Trashcans then head off to Australia for shows in Sydney, Melbourne & Perth. 20/7 - Radio Magnetic's re-launch as an On Demand and Podcasting streaming service of cutting edge music is now complete. To celebrate, 2 re-launch events take place in the coming weeks - in Glasgow on August 4th (with Jim Hutchinson of Soma) and Edinburgh on the 10th. These will include short presentations on On Demand and Podcasting, live music and DJ sets. Full details at www.radiomagnetic.com 18/7 - Belle & Sebastian are to curate an album of children's songs entitled The Colours Are Brighter which will also feature Franz Ferdinand with 'Jackie Jackson' & Snow Patrol es 'I Am An Astronaut'. Other acts on the October album whose proceeds will go to Save The Children include Four Tet, The Divine Comedy, The Flaming Lips, Jonathan Richman & Half Man Half Biscuit. And, the Ivor Cutler Trio contribute a track entitled 'Mud'. 16/7 - Oxfam is the chosen charity to benefit from a UK-wide festival which will span the month of October. Oxjam is asking musicians & promoters to put on all kinds of music events throughout October to raise money for Oxfam. All the major cities will be represented, and Glagsow is off the mark early - www.myspace.com/glasgow_oxjam. It's early days yet - though Franz Ferdinand are supporting the event (see main picture!) but bands and promoters are signing up fast. You can do so too, at the Oxfam/Oxjam website 7/7 - Edinburgh singer songwriter, Simon Pollitt (aka Si) has collaborated with an African rapper/producer, Muzi Ngwenya (aka Mozaik). on a track 'Don't Let a Second Bleed into Days' to raise money for WaterAid. The track is a download, to be found at http://www.myspace.com/simonpollitt, and rather than being 'for sale' they encourage listeners to make a donation to WaterAid : 1/7 - Cash strapped Fife act Amplifico are planning a 'webathon' in an attempt to raise enough money to complete their half-finished debut album. They will perform a live headline set featuring tracks from the (they hope) new album on July 19th at the Bongo Club, Edinburgh. The show will be free on the net, but fans can make donations via the dedicated site (www.amplificowebathon.com) or at the live show itself. The technical expertise will be provided by www.nexuslive.com, who webcast an early Sandi Thom show, 30/6 - Scottish blues veteran John Martyn is to perform his classic Solid Air album as part of the Don't Look Back series of shows, on 11th September, at London's Barbican. The series, which sees other acts from Ennio Morricone to Low perform their classic releases, also includes Teenage Fanclub doing Bandwagonesque on July 24th - sadly, also in London. 18/6 - Author Martin Kielty is inviting fans of Scottish music to contribute to his forthcoming book, Big Noise, which will chart the story of our nation fs popular music history. September 2006. Kielty says, eOver five decades, Scotland has generated more rock and pop stars per head than anywhere else in the world. That fs something to celebrate and this is the book to do that." 12/6 - The Trinidad and Tobago Tartan Army's single Scotland, Scotland cJason Scotland f | about Trinidad & Tobago and St Johnstone forward Jason Scotland | has entered the singles f chart at No 30. 10/6 - The Aphrodisiacs take a leaf from Sandi Thom's book to perform a live intervet show at Edinburgh's Bongo Club on Wednesday 21st June 2006 - from 8pm (UK time). The webcast is provided by Nexus Live, who Sandi Thom credits as her inspiration for her own internet shows. " www.nexusliveshow.com Another gig webcaster is the Aberdeen-based 360tv.org.uk - they have archive shows from Lightning Bolt, Found & Staccato Set, streamed from their own site and also at www.superchannel.org 3/6 - Primal Scream and Belle & Sebastian are set to play Summercase, a new Spanish festival whch takes place in Madrid and Barcelona this summer on July 14 and 15. Also on the bill: New Order, Keane, Fatboy Slim. Massive Attack, The Chemical Brothers, The Divine Comedy & Sigur Ros. 2/6 - RESONANT SPACES offers gextraordinary music, extraordinary places h and sees Akio Suzuki & John Butcher tour strange and wonderful venues in Scotland. Between June 20th and they will play egigs f in a massive oil tank in Orkney, a stone circle, a coastal cave, a reservoir buried in the side of a hill, a Spey ice house, and Hamilton Mausoleum. Much more at http://www.arika.org.uk 27/5 - Following their return 'home' to Radio One's Camperdown Park festival in May, Snow Patrol have spoken about their time in the city. "We left Dundee in 1998 and I think we've only played about two shows in Dundee since... there were very few things happening in the Dundee music scene at that time, Laeto are my favourite band , they were just briliant. Spare Snare were a massive influence on us", they told the Courier's Alan Wilson. 26/5 - Indian Summer will hopefully live up to its name, as it's an outdoor festival in Glasgow's Victoria Park on 2nd and 3rd september. Organisers PCL see the lineup as a mix-tape with the Saturday the more 'rock' day out with Scissors for Lefty, 1990 fs & Hot Chip already announced. Sunday fs lineup - "kind of the B-side to Saturday" | will be more relaxed, with Guillemots, Broken Social Scene and Antony and the Johnsons. Optimo DJs will also be on hand. More at www.indiansummerglasgow.com 24/5 - Simple Minds are set to kick-off the World Cup two days before the first match at Berlin's Brandenburg Gate - the German capital is throwing a party to start a month-long cultural festival that runs alongside the tournament. 19/5 - Following his recent apparent meltdown and 'retirement' from the music industry, former Beta Band man Steve Mason has relented and come back to the biz. A statement from the man, who is presumably now part of King Biscuit Time again, said: ""I'm very lucky to have such people who are into the moosic I make. Thank you. I do feel a lot better now and will return. Want to apologize for cancelling the tour but it was not possible to do it at the time. But that will be happening at some point." 13/5 - Franz Ferdinand surprisingly skipped a mooted Tigerfest guest slot at the Fire Engines' final show in Dunfermline, instead opting to play a 4-song greatest hits set comprising Do You Want To, Michael, The Fallen and Take Me Out. just up the coast at Radio One's 'Big Weekend'. 8/5 - The Fife segment of Tigerfest kicks off at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall on Wednesday 10th May with a decided theme related to media partners Xfm Scotland. Original opening act - Datapanik, fronted by former Xfm DJ Amanda MacKinnon - have been allocated their own warm-up act - The A.M.s - a 3-piece formed by breakfast Show host Dominik Diamond. Expect an interesting but short set before the main event - also including Finns Goodnight Monsters, and Client - fronted by former Dubstar chanteuse Sarah Blackwood. 1/5 - Former Beta Band mainman Steve Mason has cancelled his tour (under his current King Biscuit Time monicker) amid rumours he has quit the music industry. A message to fans read "Peace to you all. I'm out of here. It's been amazing but I've had enough. The mountain beat me and sadly you too. That don't mean you should give up. It just wasn't me. Over and out, Steve.'" 30/4 - Poptones and former Creation head honcho Alan McGee appears in Aberdeen as part of GoNorth festival. The man who brought us the Jesus and Mary Chain and Jasmine Minks will appear in the Belmont Picturehouse from 6pm -7.30pm on Wednesday 10 May for a q&a session about his career. 28/4 - Belle And Sebastian are to play a Love Music Hate Racism show in London's Trafalgar Square. The free gig on April 29 and also features Boy Kill Boy, Jerry Dammers & Roll Deep 24/4 - Radio One has announced its lineup for its Big Day Out at Dundee's Camperdown Park on 12th / 13th May. Among the bands playing are Primal Scream, Keane, Pink, Sugarbabnes & The Streets 23/4 - T-break, the annual scrabble for a place at T in the Park, is under way. The 36 bands who will play heats at Edinburgh's Liquid Room from May 7th - 10th and Glasgow's King Tuts on 11th - 14th May are as follows: 3 Style, Amplifico, Attic Lights, Ben Arkle, Beth Fouracre, Billy Bates, Bwana Devil, Cartelle, Civilised, Dumb Instrument, Elkin, Emergency Red, Employee of the Month, Endor, Exit Pilot, Fair Witness, For Your Sins, Found, Free of Them, Futuro, How to Swim, Injuns, Ives, Jack Butler, Kings Die Kings, Korova, Laki Mera, Lords of Bastard, Magdalen Green, Magdalena,Meursault, NLD, o.b.e, Project:Venhell, Reograd, Scunner, Sergent, Solarise, Some Young Pedro, Sonnet 65, Sweetheart, The Acute, The Tabernacle, Think:Fire, Tinrokit, Trap_6, Underbelly and Yellow Bentines. 14/4 - Another kick in the 'nads for the Edinburgh music scene as The Venue has announced that it will close its doors for the last time on Saturday 10th June 2006. Despite being a long-standing gig destination for thousands of bands over 25 years (including The Strokes, Franz Ferdinand, Black Eyed Peas, Mylo, Radiohead, The Stone Roses, Texas, Coldplay and the Scissor Sisters), council approval has been given for it to be torn down to make way for luxury yuppie flats. 6/4 - The Fence Homegame WILL go ahead, organisers have stated, despite the dsicovery of a HN51-infeted swan at Cellardyke - part of the Anstruther coastline and half-a-mile from where the events of 22nd / 23rd April will take place. Tickets are now on sale for the event and the label has added a 4th piece of advice to its "gig etiquette' list - "DON'T TOUCH THE BIRDS!" 31/13 - Tigerfest, Edinburgh fs premier music festival, has announced its lineup for spring 2006. 27/3 - Nikki Sudden, former leader of seminal DIY indie band Swell Maps, has died, shortly after a show in New York. No further details have emerged yet. Sudden was a freequent visitor to Scotland, having been a labelmate of the likes of The Pastels at Creation Records. Topplers Records, who have rleased singles by his former bandmate Jowe Head, had plans to also put out some of Nikki's solo work. According to bandmate in The Jacoboites, Dave Kusworth, a planned show in London on March 29th will go ahead as a tribute . 25/3 - Idlewild, having recent spliit from their label of 8 years, are undergoing further activity, after completing their contract with Parlophone. Roddy Woomble is planning a solo folk album, which he s recording with Battlefield Band member John McCusker. It s due out in July on Pure Records, home to Kate Rusby. Rod Jones is one of many musicians who will feature on the album, but not to be outdone, Rod is also working on a quite different solo - recorded with Dave Eringa, his album with Inara George is to be released in autumn. The band will also be working on the mooted poetry album - with the help of the Scottish Arts Council, it should be out on Chemikal Underground in the summer. 24/3 - Midge Ure returns from whichever famine-torn country he s been at most recently, to headline the Saturday stage at the 7th Big in Falkirk which is on 29 and 30 April 2006. Also on the bill are other golden oldies Four Good Men (featuring former members of Big Country, Simple Minds and H20) plus newer (and local) acts Viva Stereo. Also lined up to apprear are Fortunate Sons, River Detectives, Lucerna & No.1 Son. 15/3 - With Garbage taking ax extended holiday at present, Shirley Manson is working on her first solo album. The former Goodbye Mr Mackenzie vocalist could also be spotted at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ceremony, where she was inducting Blondie into the US's contemporary music shrine. 14/3 - The 'travel difficultes' which prompted Belle & Sebastian's sudden withdrawal from year's T in the Park are rather clearer, now that it's been announced that they are set to play at the Hollywood Bowl two days before T. That's July 6 for our stateside readers, who can see them backed by the London Philharmonic Orchestra. 11/3 - Teenage Fanclub have just been added to the Don't Look Back 2006 Concerts for a show at London's Forum on 24 July. The gigs see bands such as Ennio Morricone, Green On Red, Tortoise and Low play their classic albums, and the Fanclub will be performing 1991s Bandwagonesque album 6/3 - Ivor Cutler, the eccentric Glasgow-born singer-songwriter, poet, author, performer and raconteur has died, aged 83. Known through the decades to a cult audience, Cutler however did reach the mass market on many occasions - initially performing surreal folk music on the BBC thanks to the patronage of Ned Sherrin, he was spotted by Paul McCartney and given a part in the film Magical Mystery Tour. The 1967 album ‘Ludo’ was produced by George Martin, and was re-released on Alan McGee’s Creation label in the late 1990s. He was also a regular on the John Peel show, recording over 20 sessions, mainly via his ‘Life In a Scotch Sitting Room’ series of monologues based on a partly-imagined childhood. He retired from the stage only a year ago, shortly after album ‘Jammy Smears’ was recently voted as #45 Scottish Album of all time in an is this music? readers’ poll, and was the subject of a BBC documentary. He was also at the same time cited as a favourite by Franz Ferdinand’s Alex Kapranos. See a clip of Ivor on the OGWT 4/3 - More T in the Park news, some good, some bad... the bad;. Goldfrapp are playing! Only kidding, but the comedy fashion and sometime electro outfit will perform at Balado on Saturday 9th. Aslo confirmed: Ben Harper, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah, The Kooks, Eels, Paul Weller, new top 10 act The Feeling, and Editors, who announced their show during their Barrowland gig last week. 1/3 - King Tut’s Wah Wah Hut was last night crowned Best UK Venue at the prestigious Music Week awards, beating off stiff competition from venues such as the Royal Albert Hall and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire. 29/2 - Following the annual ticket scramble for T in the Park tickets, the focus on the anti-touting has turned to Scotland. A petition calling for touting to be made illegal is to be presented to parliament - sign it at www.stoptickettouts.co.uk 29/2 - This year's roving Triptych music festival has annonced its lineup at a lager-swilled party headlined by The 1990s at Glasgow's Fruitmarket. Among the international acts appreaing in Glasgow/Edinburgh/Aberdeen from 26th - 30th April are Aphex Twin, Vashti Bunyan, U-Roy, A Certain Ratio , Tarwater, Magnetophone and Schneider TM, while there are loads of local favourites - Belle and Sebastian, Fire Engines, Kitchen Cynics, Bill Wells, Christ, Magic Daddy and Mogwai. Full details at triptychfestival.com 28/2 - Belle and Sebastian are to make their debut at T in the Park, appearing on the Main Stage on Saturday 8th. Other acts confirmed for the festival are Placebo, Manu Chao and The Charlatans (also Saturday), and poor man's Fighting Cocks The Go! Team (Sunday). 27/2 - Leading rap and hip hop artists have come together to produce a compilation CD for the Scottish Socialist Party in aid of a fighting fund to cover the £30,000 fine imposed by the Scottish Parliament on the SSP MSP’s following their protest over their right to mach on the Gleneagles summit. 24/2 - Tigerfest has announced part of their lineup for 2006. The month-long festival, which usually takes place in August, has moved to May. In partnership with Xfm and is this music?, Baby Tiger have announced the Dunfermline 'fringe' which takes place between May 10th and 14th at the Carnegie Hall. Acts appearing include Client, Data Panik, Flying Matchstick Men, Aberfeldy and Fire Engines. More at www.isthismusic.com/tigerfest2006.html 22/2 - Ally Kerr's 'The Sore Feet Song' - taken from the debut album 'Calling Out To You' - will feature as the theme song to a major new Japanese animation series called MUSHI-SHI beginning on the Fuji Television Network in October. 21/2 - Hi-tech music company Seven Things launches its online service for experimental music distribution with a show at Glasgow's CCA on 28th February, featuring artists from Japan (Koji Asano), Holland (Yannis Kyriakides) and Scotland (Zoe Irvine) 17/2 - Brit award-wining KT Tunstall is set to return to her roots. Her next album release will be a live acoustic set recorded late last year in a living room on the Isle of Skye. Among the tracks are a cover of Beck's 'Golden Age', new versions of tracks from Eye to The Telescope, and three new songs. The album is entitled Acoustic Extravaganza, after the night KT used to run in Edinburgh. 15/2 - Franz Ferdinand are the latest addition to the T in the Park bill, playing the Main Stage on Stuarday 8th. The Scottish indie supergroup, who feature former members of ProForma and The Yummy Fur, said "Playing at Balado again will be one of the most fantastic festival appearances we’ll ever have.". A T in the Park spokesperson added that their appearance was "Super Frantastiche". 14/2 - The KLF - adopted Scots supergroup, art-terrorists, and sheep-worriers - have denied (so it must be true) claims that they are the creators of Pete Doherty, following internet rumours that they had 'styled' the Libertines mainman as a superstar as a sick experiment. You can read the original (lengthy) story here. 13/2 - Mogwai are soundtracking a film which documents the life of French footballer Zinedine Zidane. 'Zidane: A 21st Century Portrait'.. is in conjunction with Glaswegian director Douglas Gordon and French artist Philippe Parreno. 13/2 - T in the Park has announced its lineup for this year.s festival. Saturday 8th has headliners Red Hot Chili Peppers, plus Kaiser Chiefs & Sigur Ros. Sunday 9th July sees The Who headline the Main Stage , with Primal Scream headlining the King Tuts Tent). Also on the bill - Arctic Monkeys, The Ordinary Boys, Felix da Housecat, & Slam 8/2 - Primal Scream’s Bobby Gillespie is to team up with Dot Allison (former singer with One Dove) to record for Agent Provocateur (the underwear range made famous by Kylie Minogue). The song - a cover of Bobby Bare’s country tune ‘Up Against the Wall, Redneck Mother’ - will appear on the lingerie label’s second compilation, due out in Spring. 7/2 - Radio One has announced a free gig at Dundee’s Camperdown Park. Part of the Big Weekend06, the show will take place on the weekend of 13th/14th May. http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/bigweekend06/ 5/2 - Franz Ferdinand’s next single will be 'The Fallen'. the opening track from 'You Could Have It So Much Better', on March 27. 5/2 -Snow Patrol have announced a mini-tour to coincide with new album 'Eyes Open'. The dates. which includes a show at Glasgow ABC (May 1), take in Dublin, Manchester, Cardiff & London 3/2 - Buzzbomb will be playing a show for the inmates of Shotts Maximum Security Prison in Lanarkshire Scotland. The band say that they “hope the prisoners enjoy a bit of good old fashioned punk n roll”. http://www.buzzbomb.myby.co.uk/ 6/1 - The Benicassim festival - a regular desitination for Scottish bands and music fans alike - has confmried Franz Ferdinand among its lineup for this year. Running from July 20-23 the Spanish festival will also feature The Rakes, Echo & The Bunnymen, Dionysos and Teitur alongside the already confirmed Depeche Mode. 5/1 - Radio Scotland’s Bryan Burnett has been named CMA International Country Broadcaster 2005. The award "recognizes outstanding achievement by radio broadcasters outside North America who have made important contributions for the development of Country Music in their country" and previous UK winners include Bob Harris. Bryan presents Brand New Country (previously Brand New Opry), a weekly show which covers alt.country and Americana, with local acts such as the Sundowns featuring alongside US legends like Alison Krauss and John Prine. 5/1 - The Tennents Futsal Sessions (see item below) were eventually won by a team from Dundee University, who came through the ‘group of death’ (which included an is this music? team as well as a squad which featured some blokes loosely associated with Red Bee Society... sorry, the 1990s). Dundee featured St Andrews in the final to claim the trophy, presented by former post-punk footballer Pat Nevin. 30/1 - King Creosote's Fence Collective, My Latest Novel, Aberfeldy, The 1990s, The Bees, and a team commanded your favourite independent Scottish magazine (that’s is this music?), will compete with the cream of Scotland's student sporting talent in the Tennent's Futsal Sessions, which will take place at Edinburgh's World of Football on Sunday February 5. This follows on from a successful tournament last year which saw Belle and Sebastian narrowly lose out to Strathclyde Uni and then perform an exclusive show at the union. 22/1 - Following the Cultural Commission's recommendations that £100M should be spent on the Arts in Scotland, Culture Minister Patricia Ferguson has responded to the survey with her own recommendations. The main part of these is that £20M be allocated to set up a body controlled by the Scottish Parliament, called Creative Scotland. This organisation will basically incorporate the Scottish Arts Council and Scottish Screen, following recommendations made in 2003 by at-the-time Culture minster and convicted arsonist, Mike Watson. It's also unclear where the Arts Council fits into the picture immediately, especially given that funding for musical projects is ongoing, and that Ian Smith, Head of Music at the Arts Council, spoke of how supporting SXSW and Celtic Connections were at the heart of their activities. Scottish-based acts slated to appear at the festival in Austin Texas (and doubtless anxiously waiting to see if funding for making the tripwill be available) include Aberfeldy, Arab Strap, Belle & Sebastian, Biffy Clyro, Cayto, The Cinematics Lucky Luke, Mogwai, P.u.M.a.J.a.W. & KT Tunstall. (Whitehouse are also listed though this is via their management being Edinburgh-based). 20/1 - One piece of support the indie underground has received from the Scottish Parliament is, oddly, via Jack McConnell’s new career as a radio DJ. As a one-off, the First Minister will take to the wheels of steel on Radio One’s OneWorld Burns special, where as well as covering the more ‘usual’ aspects of the bard, he will play covers of Burns tunes as performed by Belle and Sebastian, The Delgados and Camera Obscura. The show is broadcast on Monday morning from 01.00 - 0300. 14/1 - radiomagnetic.com, the Glasgow-based internet radio station, has decided to change direction and move to a system based on podcasts and downloads. The 24-hour live streaming the station has been famous for - shortlisted at the Digital Music Awards alongside XFM, Virgin Radio, 1xtra for 3 years running - hasbeen discontinued, due to the costs of maintaining an office presence 24/7. Archive shows are, as ever, available at present, and the new on-demand system will be developed further in February. 9/1 - Glasgow Film theatre is launching Offbeat! - a season of music documentaries - with Teenage Fanclub drummer Francis Macdonald short film directorial debut. "A Short Film About The Beauty Shop" - which is exactly what its name suggests - will get its first public screenings on Jan 15 (6.30pm) and 16 (6.30pm) at the GFT, before "Screaming Masterpiece" - a documentary about the burgeoning Icelandic music scene with exclusive footage of Bjork and Sigur Ros. 8/1 - Beat106 has now become a fully-fledged member of the music community as it's been transformed into Xfm Scotland. New breakfast Show host Dominick Diamond kicked off the new look station with news of their 5 Night Stand promotion which sees Stereophonics, El Presidente, Ocean Colour Scene, Starsailor & Primal Scream play exclusive shows. Tickets are available every hour between 8am and 10pm to Xfm Scotland listeners. There's also a Belle and Sebastian show planned, more details to follow. 5/1 - Glasgow act Figure 5 have had their track 'No Fixed Abode' selected to front the ad campaign of retro aftershave Old Spice in the USA. The 30-second commoercial, which is actualy for the company's Red Zone showergel, can be seen, in this country, at the Figure 5 website. 18/12 - The lineups for Scotland’s ‘official’ Hogmanay celebrations have been announced. In Glasgow in George Square, entertaining the trops will be Athlete, Deacon Blue, Hue & Cry, & the Finlay Macdonald Band (no, not that Finlay Macdonald). 0/12 - Delgado Emma Pollock's first Glasgow gig is on Sunday 18th Dec at The Barfly. The former Delgado's debut will be an afternoon (2pm) all-acoustic show - support from by Strike The Colours and Injuns. All sets will be acoustic. Her website is now up and running - www.emmapollock.com 9/12 - Franz Ferdinand have been allowed to take over programming of 6music's output for Thursday 15th December. Apart from picking the station's album of the day (Sparks) and appearing on the station themselves at regular intervals, they've also commissioned a session from The 1990s - ex-Yummy Fur John Mckeown's new band. 3/12 - The Fence Homegame - the annual 'festival' which has run in Anstryuther over the last 2 years -is in jeopardy due to Fife Council's forbidding usage of the town's Erskine Hall - following ONE complaint of noise. This is despite the approval of the Hall's comomittee, and the massive tourist boost the influx of music fans beings to the town. 1/12 - Chemikal Underground is 10 years old and a documentary is to be aired on BBC's OneWorldon December 10th. Chemikal Chaos is presented by Vic Galloway and features interviews with The Delgados, Mogwai, Arab Strap, Bis, Mother & The Addicts, Aereogramme and The Radar Brothers. 28/11 - Biffy Clyro are to return to their old stamping ground (or thereabouts) ths Wednesday, as they open Ayr College's ProTools-sponsored studios. The college has spent £100000 to allow them to become one of only 3 in the UK to host these courses, and the band along with DF Concerts' Dave McGeachan are to give the 2 new studios the official stamp and engage with students in a Q&A session afterwards. 25/11 - Beat106, now part of the English-based GCap Media group (owners of Capital Radio), has announced that it is to completely re-brand itself as Xfm Scotland. The London and soon-to-launch Manchester versions of Xfm are a distinctly more 'indie' and guitar-based proposition and it seems likely that the Glasgow-based station will also move their format away from its current more dance and mainstream areas - ironically, back to the original style of programming which formed the promise of performance under which they were granted the licence over 5 years ago. 22/11 - Looper, the band formed over 5 years ago by Belle and Sebastian founder Stuart David, have suddenly found themselves in the limelight with news of their being chosen by Xerox Corporation as providers of the company's 'theme tune'. 'Mondo 77' a minor hit last century, had already appeared in the Cameron Crowe / Tom Cruise film Vanilla Sky, which is seemingly where Xerox picked up the the tune from. The band have already been using the syndication money to fund their musical activities, to the extent where Stuart, Karn, Scott and Ronnie can offer their music in the form of free downloads. 18/11 - Burnsong again has a contemporary feel as artists from across Scotland celebrate the work of Robert Burns, in Ayr from 25th - 30th. Among the acts lined up are Aberfeldy, David Arcari, Deaf Mutes, Sophie Bancroft, Boo Hewardine, HMS Ginafore, King Creosote, Geoff Martyn, Duncan McCrone, Pictish Trail & David Scott - more at the Burnsong website. 17/11 - Belle and Sebastian are to release a live album, preceding next February's release of 'The Life Pursuit'. The live charity album is basically 1996's If You're Feeling Sinster recorded in London as part of the Don't Look Back series of shows. It's out on December 6th as a download from iTunes, with proceeds gping to the DEC ASis Quake Appeal. 14/11- Franz Ferdinand head back to their roots - to Glasgow's Stereo, where the video for debut single 'Darts of Pleasure' was filmed. It's the AFTERNOON of the 23rd November (preceding one of 2 SECC shows) and tickets are available onlyto competition winners on Beat106. 7/11 - Blue Nile vocalist Paul Buchannan resurfaces in the unlikely surroundings of the new Texas album Red Book - he duets with Sharleen Spiteri on 'Sleep'. He's in good company though - as well as Bobby Bluebell songwriting for the album, Spiteri has been working on German pyrotechnicists (and occasional musicians) Rammstein, on their new album which is apparently influenced byColdplay and features a mariachi band. 5/11 - Blaknoisewhitesoul - labelmates of Udiscs signings Salon Boris - have run into problems with their forthcoming single Sometimes With the Pet Shop Boys, which includes lyrics from 'West End Girls'. The Pet Shop Boys agreed to allow the lyrics to be used on the track, but later asked for 100% of the royalties for the track i.e. including “music they didn't write or play on.” 3/11 - Gig-goers can relive some of the highlights from August in Edinburgh - T on the Fringe Radio fetaures recordings from Idlewild as well as Best of T-Break - www.tonthefringe.com 27/11 - Future Pilot AKA are to get together with Belle and Sebastian - well, Stuart Murdoch and Sarah Martin - for a single 'Eyes of Love'. (hear it on Fallout on radiomagnetic.com, 16.30, Tuesday 1st November). The vaguely ska-based tune is backed by 'Changes' features Unkle Bob's Rick Webster and BBC Folk Award winner Karine Polwart and Linn Records artists Concerto Caledonia. This precedes an album 'Secrets fromThe Clockhouse' which features collaborations with Sonic Youth, Go-Betweens, Fire Engines, Can, Mike Watt, Scatter, and Alisdair Gray - due in the new year. 24/11 - Mogwai are embarking on a few live shows following their surprise appearance at the John Peel Day gig at Glasgow's Mono. They're part of the series of One in Four shows in aid of the mental health charity at Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire on November 28th along with The Magnificents (also during this mini-festival - Arab Strap on Friday 25th with more TBC. The band also play at Glasgow's Arches on the 29th November, in aid of the Glasgow Campaign to Welcome Refugees - that's along with the Hugh Reed Explosion. In other news, the band have apparently finished their new album. 11/10 - Josef K, commonly quoted as an influence on chart-topping Franz Ferdinand, are to re-release their back catalogue on Domino Records. The label, which of course signed Franz and other oft-quoted act Fire Engines, has struck a deal with chief songwriters Malcolm Ross and Paul Haig to issue the band's back catalogue. However, a source close to the band deems the chances of a reformation show for Peel Day 'unlikely', thoiugh it's possibe that new collaborations between Ross and Haig may appear on a Paul Haig solo album in the future. 10/10 - Thursday 13th October sees Peel Day and there are a host of acts across the country, including current acts associated with the Peel show - Camera Obscura play King Tuts, and Dawn of the Replicants are at Edinburgh's Cabaret Voltaire - full details in the gig guide. however, the most interesting event is at Edinburgh's Citrus Club - where members of The Scars, Josef K, Boots for Dancing and TV21 are among the acts listed to play. Some of these will be simple DJ sets, while Malcolm Ross is listed as solo, but others will be full band sets. Hopefully. Only one way to find out... Enter the world of podcasting - www.seventhings.co.uk and ideasfactoryscotland have a series of half-day roadshows in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee & Aberdeen commencing on 21st October, voice-over recording, editing, compression and hosting, as well as registering your podcast with an online directory. Register in advance at www.channel4.com/ideasfactoryscotland 2/10 - The 1990s - newly formed by former Yummy Fur founder John McKeown - are set to support Franz Ferdinand at their SECC show on November 22nd. The new act, who have only played 3 shows, were of course an early stopping-point in the careers of Alex Kapranos, who filled in live for the band on several occasions, and of course Paul Thompson drummer on many of the Yummy Fur's classic releases including seminal mini-album Male Shadow At Three O'Clock. 25/9 - Edinburgh has a new venue - Gig on Lothian Road is a 1500-capacity hall which will allow major and smaller acts to get gigs in the heart of the city. Jim Gellatly will be the resident Friday/Saturday DJ at the venue, starting on the 7th October with sets from Exit Pilot, Flying Matchstick Men & The Magnificents. 18/9 - Sun City Girls and Jandek are among the acts confirmed for Instal'05 which takes place at Glasgow's Arches from 14th - 16th October. The experimental festival will also have a 'fringe' element involving local/Scottish acts, with Giant Tank and Wounded Knee curating - Kylie Minoise, Usurper and Opaque among those on the bill. (more in the gig news pages) 12/9 - Belle and Sebastian are headlining the inaugural POPPED music festival in Castlemilk, on the south side of Glasgow. 10/9 - Loopalu is Ullapool's live music festival which takes place on 23rd & 24th September, in a big top on the Broomfield Campsite. organisers hope to attract 2000 people (doubling the size of the village) for the shows which include Hayseed Dixie, the Undertones, Shooglenifty, Cosmic Rough Riders, the Deaf Mutes the Hussys, the Lush Rollers, The Rites & Our Small Capital. The festival also sees the first ever Sunday coach service to the village! 9/9 - Tune-Up, the Scottish Arts Council-sponsored tour which takes in more unusual locations, kicks off on Sunday September 25 at Dunfermline's Carnegie Hall. On tour this time: Trashcan Sinatras, Hobotalk and Roddy Hart. The tour then moves round the country, from the Lemon Tree in Aberdeen to Paisley Town Hall. More at www.trashcansinatras.com/gigs.shtml 8/9 - Way To Blue, Falkirk's own music festival, sees Teenage Fanclub, SLAM + DJ Alex Smoke, Ricky Ross, and the Trashcan Sinatras all perform in the town between Wednesday 5 and Sunday 9 October. There's also a showing of music movie 'Dig' in the Town Hall, and Soma Skool, which advises young people on the music industry. 29/7 - Musicworks, the Glasgow conference taking place at the end of August, has announced its lineup for both conference events and for its programme of evening shows. Panels and keynotes are focused on the business side of things including a detailed look at the Far East market, as well as emerging technologies like podcasting, and the traditional looks at A&R and commercial exploitation of work. The live programme sees over 50 shows, many free, over the 4 days. This includes a show in conjunction with is this music? with Flying Matchstick Men, Calvin, The Aphrodisiacs and Satellite Dub on Wednesday 31st at The Universal. Other bands playing over the period are theoceanfloor, Sluts of Trust, Juno, Julia Thirteen and The Jackals. More at www.musicworksuk.com 27/7 - Following the news (see below) about Studio 24's fight for survival, it's been claimed that The Venue - just up the road in the Edinburgh yuppie area - is to close at the end of the year. However, staff at the club are apparently unaware of the revelations in the Evening News, which claims that the 3 year stay of execution is to be cut back to little more than 6 months. 25/7 - Franz Ferdinand have anounced a lineup change - for live gigs, at least. Paul Thompson is to triple up as 3rd live guitarist, with drum tech Andy Knowles taking over the sticks at gigs. This has led to much drummer-related hilarity - "What's the last thing a drummer says in a band? Hey guys, why don't we try one of my songs?" (Dave Grohl), but as any fule know, Thompson started off as a guitarist (as well as keyboards with previous act ProForma), only taking over the kit with Franz because Nick McCarthy joined the band by lying about the fact he could play drums. 23/7 - The Beta Band's various members have resurfaced again with the formationn of 2 bands from te ashes of the Fife trip-psyche legends. Steve Mason has moved into full-time mode with his previous side project King Biscuit Time, while The Aliens - John Maclean, Robin Jones and Gordon Anderson (original Beta member and Lone Pigeon) are now up-and-running as a band - http://www.thealiens.co.uk/ 15/7 - Edinburgh's music scene
has been dealt another
hammer
blow
with
the news
that 2
of its
live venues are to shut down by the start of next year. Studio
24 looks set to close its doors following action
by the Licensing Board over complaints of noise and alleged
misbehaviour
by some
of the venue’s patrons 8/7 - Tigerfest, Edinburgh's top gathering of music during the month of August, has announced its lineup for this year. It opens with Tom Hingley on August 4th and continues, via shows from Macrocosmica, DataPanik, Multiplies, and The Magnificents amongst many, to the closing weekend which as well as showcasing F*ck-Off Machete and ballboy, also sees a first as Tigerfest decamps across the Forth to Dunfermline. 3 shows at the Carnegie Hall and in association with is this music? magazine include sets from Malcolm Middleton, Flying Matchstick Men, My Latest Novel and James Yorkston. Full details at the Baby Tiger website. 5/7 - Kirriemuir, the Angus town famous as the birthplace of JM BArrie, his commemorating another of its famous sons. Bon Scott - Rock Legend Son of Kirriemuir - runs until August 20 at the Gateway to the Glens museum. Scott, who emigrated to Australia with his family at age 6 - eventually found fame as singer in AC/DC, but his family have always maintained their connections to Scotland. Local artist Eddie Summerton has commemorated the exhibition by producing a limited run of 400 sticks of rock with the words "LET THERE BE ROCK" running through them. 28/6 - In the lead up to the G8 summit/protests there's a flurry of activity in Scotland. THere are a bunch of live shows featuring the likes of Uncle John & Whitelock, The Magnificents, The Rezillos, Aberfeldy and The Aphrodisiacs to name but a few as well as DJ sets from the likes of Teenage Fanclub, Idlewild, Mogwai and Arab Strap. Full details in our gig news section, or at www.songsfrochange.org. And The Zips, Glasgow's punk veterans, have their 'anthem' 'MPH (Make Poverty History)' released as a download single on the Oxfam Music website. 24/6 - The Cultural Commission - the committee set up to map out the future of arts in Scotland - has recommended that £100milion per year be spent on subsidising the arts. The 124 proposals range from giving kids free tickets to theatre productions to the setting up of digital TV and radio starions to promote Scottish music. The 284- page document also recommends a national ticket box office, tax breaks for artsts, the establishment of a 'quango, Culture Scotland, to oversee the arts under the umbrella of a commercial company, employment of cultual ambassador, and further international 'Tartan Days', and most controversially, the abolition of the Arts Council, which has recently started to get behind independent music makers in the country. The SAC's fund-awarding powers would be taken over by another commercial organisation, the Culture Fund. 20/6 - Former Delgado Emma Pollock has swiftly moved to continue her music career following the split of the band recently. She has signed a deal with 4AD Records which will see her work on new material for the label. The other 3 band members have announced no specific plans yet, but have been working live on labelmate Malcolm Middleton's recent live dates. 7/6 - Midge Ure has
announced the acts who will play at Edinburgh's Murrayfield
Stadium as
part of the Live8 events. Included on the bill are 30/5
- Scotland is heading towards the forefront of that uncertain
place
where
politics
and
music mix with the imminent G8 summit at Gleneagles. Bob Geldof
is making plans for a gig and rally at Murrayfield Stadium
on July 6th. The Pope, Dalai Lama and Nelson Mandela are among
the
speakers invited to the event, which will follow the Make Poverty
History march as well as 2 concerts in
London and Washington DC. The Edinburgh event is rumoured
to have Oasis, Robbie WIliams, U2 and Paul
McCartney lined up to
appear. 28/5 - Scotland's music infrasturcture
is becoming more solid with a slew of new labels starting up.
Franz Ferdinand's Paul Thomson has set up New! Records and
its first release is by his former band, proForma.
'Lapses in Diction', a 12" single, is out on June 20th and is
recorded by Paul Epworth (Futureheads/Bloc Party) and mixed
by Mike Parker,
Franz's live engineer. 23/5 - Glasgow is to get another live music venue - the ABC cinema on Sauciehall Street has been bought and had £2M spent on it to redevelop it into a 1200-capacityvenue plus a smaller space which will take 350 revellers. It opens on June 8th and amongthe acts lined up toplay the venue are Trout, who will support Mogwai, Roddy Frame, and St Etienne. 15/5 - The Jockrock awards for 2004 took place at Glassgow's Mono on Sunday 15th. Read the full results here. 9/5 - Edinburgh act Calvin have,
apparently, lent inspiration to Christopher Brookmyre's
new book . 'ALL FUN AND GAMES UNTIL SOMEONE LOSES AN EYE' contains
a dedication
to the band, as apparently their single 'Supercar'
was "resonating very strongly 10/5 - A book on the Glasgow Apollo is in the works - to be published by NWP in September - and its author Martin Kielty (who has recently published the story of the Sensational Alex Harvey Band) is looking for people to share their memories of the legendary 70s venue. Martin is offering prizes for the best stories - £100, a special copy of the book and an invitation to the launch party. A site already exists - www.apollomemories.com and you can send your memories to Martin at martin@apollomemories.com 8/5 - Making the leap from indie to the 'big news' column - 3 Scottish bands have greater things planned. My Latest Novel have inked a deal with Simon Raymonde's Bella Union label and are now working on an album. Hookers Green No.1 have their album ready to go later in the month, via Snowstorm Records. And The Cinematics have signed to TVT, the label which brought us the debut from Nine Inch Nails. 7/5 - Edwyn Collins, already hospitalised by a brainhaemmorage earlier this year, is now stricken by the 'hospital superbug' MRSA. The singer is believed to have contracted this during an operation to remove a piece of bone. Collins is said to be fighting, again - his wife Grace Maxwell said "He has turned the corner and is now doing absolutely fine.". 1/5 - Misty's
Big Adventure,
the Brummie collective signed to Edinburgh's SL Records, have
been
the subject of a radio ban which could lead to a Frankie-style
chart onslaught. Possibly. 25/4 -In the run-up to the UK General Election, Franz Ferdinand have revealed their political colours - Green! The band have allowed 'This Fire' to be used by the environmental party as a soundtrack to their election TV broadcast. You can see the video - directed by Alex Cox - at the Scottish Green party website, and on TV on Thursday 28th April. 10/4 - Franz Ferdinand and Bloc Party will perform DJ sets at a Sudan appeal benefit to be held at Glasgow's Brunswick Hotel on April 15th. Live music on the night will be supplied by Josephine, Mellow Sub Machine and The Sound Development Agency. 8/4 - The Delgados have split. Following Stewart Henderson's decision early this year not to make another album with the band, an amicable decision was made to break up since the others couldn't envisage working without all the original members. Emma and Alun will work on individual projects while Paul will continue to produce at Chem19 studios. A statement on the Delgados website impores fans "Don't be too upset everyone...get a massive carry out, turn the stereo up and play your albums at full volume. " , 2/4 - Teenage Fanclub's album Grand Prix has been voted the #1 Scottish album of all time accordig to readers of Scotland's favourite bi-monthly music mag, is ths music? Polling around 10% of the total votes cast, the band beat Franz Ferdinand and Alex Harvey (with 'Next') into second and third places. Full results are in the new issue of the magazine, on sale now. 17/3 - Another Scottish band bites
the dust... ok, not quite, but Snow Patrol have parted company
with bassist Mark McClelland, who founded the band with Gary Lightbody
at Dundee Uni in 1994. McClelland has recalled how "Gary said
to me, 'We're not getting on. I don't feel I can write music with
you in the band and you're going to have to go... I wanted an explanation
but there was none forthcoming." Lightbody, writing on www.snowpatrol.net,
said " It got to the stage that things couldn't go on as they
were, so we felt there was no other course of action" 12/3 - The Cocteau Twins much-publicised reformation is, apparently, not going to happen, despite their being booked for a string of dates commencing with the Coachella festival in California. Details are sketchy at present, but the truth will out when post-punk footballer Pat Nevin interviews the band as he presents Radio Scotland's Air on the 28th March. 5/3 - Scotland's favourite fanzine, Beard, has been named 2005's Top UK Music Fanzine at EMAP Publications' annual bunfest. EMAP said Beard's "great ideas, illustrations and an ingenious use of language stood out like a beacon", adding that it was also "very funny indeed". Editor Stewart Smith accepted a cheque for £500 - intended for reinvestment in the zine but certainly destined to be spent on cheap cider. Beard can be found at Mono or Avalanche - more on the Beard website. 27/2 - Bis are set to reform. Well, kind of. DataPanik are comprised by original Bis members Amanda Mckinnon plus brothers John and Steven clark but will, unlike their former act, feature a live drummer. Amanda's project The Kitchen has come to an end after one well-received albim, though the brother's Dirty Hospital will continue on the side. New recordings are expected any time now though live dates are unlikely until towards summer. 25/2- Scotland's first ever download-based chart will be launched by internet radio station radiomagnetic.com in conjunction with BT Broadband. The show, hosted by music writer and broadcaster John Clarke, will commence on April 18th. The chart will be broasdcast fortnightly and be based around votes on the downloads available on the site. 24/2 - Edwyn Collins,
former lead singer with seminal indie act Orange Juice, is reported
to be 'seriously ill' in hospital with a brain haemmorage. He
was taken to hospital on Sunday night by his wife Grace, who
has reported his state of health on his website, saying that he's "being well looked after".
Doctors are trying to stabilise his condition. 21/2 - The Tsunami Benefit which took place at the SECC in Glasgow on Saturday 19th and featured double NME award winners Franz Ferdinand, Travis and Mogwai among just about anyone who's anyone in Scottish music, raised over £300,000 for relief aid. (It's still posisble to donate online, at the DEC website.) 11/2 - T in the Park
2005 has its initial lineups announced. Headliners on the Saturday
will be the Foo Fighters while Green Day will close
the Main Stage on the Sunday. Other bands set to play on the
9th and 10th July include Keane, The Killers, Embrace, Prodigy,
The Streets, Razorlight, Kasabian, Biffy Clyro, Ian Brown, The
Coral Beautiful South, and making their gig debut, Audioslave. 10/2 - Following their winning the accolades of Best Band and Best Rock Band at the Brit Awards, Franz Ferdinand have garnered the equally impressive dual distinction of recognition from both Scottish and UK parliaments - SNP leader Nicola Sturgeon's congatulations being minuted in Holyrood while a group of MPs at Westminster put forward a motion similarly congratulating the band on their success. 5/2 - Seminal Grangemouth goth art-rockers the Cocteau Twins are set to reform following a 10-year absence. Following roughly the same route as 4AD labelmates The Pixies, they are to play the Coachella festival in the Californian desert on April 30th (alongside Coldplay, Weezer, and another set of contemporaries, Bauhaus). Then,hopefully, the route they follow will bring them to the UK for festival appearances at T in the Park and V, though these are pure speculation at present. What is also unclear is what lineup of the band will be forming - the original trio, or the latter-day 5-piece which saw 'Heaven or Las Vegas' - one of is this music?'s top 100 albums - hit the US chart. What seems certain is, despite the fact that Simon Raymonde and Liz Frazer have been out of touch for 8 years, they as the long-time backbone of the band along with Robin Guthrie, will appear onstage together in the coming months. Guthrie has put his Violet Indiana project on hold for much of this year, following a hiatus which saw him perform solo his soundtrack piece 'Lumiere' in Glasgow late last year. 3/2 - What's the best album to ever come out of Scotland? That's the question posed by is this music? magazine. In a poll in the current issue, its writers put forward 100 possible contenders, with the invitation for readers to voite for their favourite - whether it's on the 'official' list or not. 1/2 There is sad news as Martyn
Bennett, acclaimed traditional / dance crossover artist,
has passed away after a long struggle against cancer. Martyn
died in Edinburgh on Sunday 30 January. 30/1 - King Tuts Wah Wah Hut celebrates its 15th birthday in February. As part of the celebrations, shows from Mull Histrical Society, Soundtrack of Our Lives, KT Tunstall, Minnie Driver, Wily Mason, Ed Harcourt and Arab Strap are planned. 29/1 - NEMIS - New
Music in Scotland, the Scottish music industry trade organisation
- appears to be on the verge of being wound up. Following mutterings
late last year of a study into the formation of a full-funded
industry organisation, and dire tales of funding drying up in
the near future, a statement from NEMIS' board states that the
decision of the Development officer Alec Downie to take a sabbatical
has meant that " cannot sanction such a length of time away
from the post" and "Nemis can now not meet its contractual
requirements". 23/1 - Scotland's major promoters
have got together with its major bands for a tsunami benefit.
At the SECC on Sat 19th February, the bands announced for the
show include Teenage Fanclub, Franz Ferdinand, Travis, Belle
& Sebastian, Idlewild, Texas, Eddi Reader, Trashcan Sinatras,
Mull Historical Society, Ricky Ross, Slam, Optimo, Mogwai &
Kevin McDermott. Each band will be playing an approximately
20 minute set. |