There has been some whispering on the Q&As of late so we’d just like to confirm with you all that there will indeed be a Stevie Jackson solo tour this autumn. Stevie has been busy recently putting finishing touches on his debut album, ‘(I Can’t Get No) Stevie Jackson’ and he will be performing songs from the record with help from Bob Kildea (Belle and Sebastian), & Stuart Kidd and Marco Rea (The Wellgreen).
The Wellgreen will provide support on all of these shows.
NOVEMBER 2011
3rd Newcastle, Other Rooms
4th Manchester, Club Academy
6th Leeds, Brudenell Social Club
7th Birmingham, Glee Club
8th Norwich, Waterfront
9th London, Heaven
10th Brighton, Concorde II
11th Bristol, Thelka
13th Portsmouth, Wedgewood Rooms
14th Koln, Luxor
15th Hamburg, Gruenspan
16th Berlin, Lido
18th Den Haag, Crossing Border
19th Gent, Charlatan
20th Brussels, Botanique
21st Paris, Divan du Monde
25th Glasgow, King Tut’s
Ticket information for the shows can be found on the new Stevie Jackson website
Glasgow UNESCO City of Music – Music City Radio are giving Glasgow-based musicians the opportunity to win the chance to record a single at Glasgow Music Studios. To take part, bands and artists are invited to use the drop-box (powered by Soundcloud) to submit one demo track (http://soundcloud.com/gcomcompetition/dropbox). Our very own Chris Geddes will then select the winner. You can find all the details of the competition by visiting http://www.glasgowcityofmusic.com
We have now taken delivery of the first ever batch of Belle and Sebastian Playbuttons. Featuring the tracks from the recent Come on Sister 12 inch, which are unavailable elsewhere digitally, there is the added bonus of ‘Suicide Girl’ and ‘Last Trip’ from last year’s Write About Love album sessions.
These are available exclusively from the Belle and Sebastian shop at a price of £10.
For those unfamiliar with Playbuttons they are a badge, which comes with pre-loaded music, which plays when you attach your headphones. You can skip through tracks and adjust the volume using the small buttons on the back of the badge.
We only have a couple of hundred of them – to test the demand for future Playbutton releases – so they are limited to a maximum of 2 per person.
The mix of I Didn’t See It Coming by Cold Cave is now available to download for free from Stereogum!
The track is one of the three new mixes of ‘Write About Love’ songs which appear on the forthcoming Come on Sister 12″ single which is available from next week (UK) and the following one (USA) via Rough Trade / Matador. You can also pre-order it directly from us, with copies sent out on the release date.
Wes Eisold, aka Cold Cave, says of the mix:
“This will be scattered, but.. In 1998 I lived on a street called the Eastern Promenade in Portland, Maine. A past-time of mine was walking the sea lined street listening to “If You’re Feeling Sinister” and “The Boy With The Arab Strap.” Belle was new and exciting and it felt as if articulation, literation and genuine honesty had made a much needed return that hadn’t existed like this since the Smiths. Elegant and seedy. I missed their first Boston show but it was instantly bootlegged. I bought a copy shortly after at Mystery Train from Peter Prescott. It’s still the very small personal triumphs that make everything worth it, and I’m happy that years later I got to release records on the same label as Belle and Burma. I wanted the remix to take me back to Boston days of late 90′s/early 2000′s. Gibby’s Start, the Pill or the Manray. It works for me then and now. Hope you enjoy.”
The other mix of ‘I Didn’t See It Coming’ by Richard X – can be heard alongside Lesley Barnes’ video for the track, which can be found in the video section of the site.
Chris will be taking his record box out on the road this summer. Expect to hear the usual northern soul, funk, reggae, disco and global psychedelic rock jams at the following places:
9th July, Screamadelica, Rome, Italy
17th July, Benicassim, Spain
23rd July, The Flying Duck, Glasgow, UK
14th August, Beacons Festival, Skipton, UK
19th August, Razzmatazz, Barcelona, Spain
20th August, Blaest, Trondheim, Norway
3rd September, Edge, Hartlepool, UK
Ahead of the release of the Come on Sister 12″ single, here is our second video of the week – an amazing animation directed by Glasgow artist, Lesley Barnes. Hope you like it!
We have a new single, “Come on Sister,’ coming out on 12 inch vinyl on Monday 18th July.
It features four tracks from and related to the sessions. The lead track is a reworking of ‘Come on Sister’ by Tony Doogan. In addition, there are 2 remixes of ‘I Didn’t See It Coming’: one by Sarah’s old school friend, Richard X (which he describes as what B&S would sound like if Limahl was their biggest influence), and the other by Matador label mate, Cold Cave. The remaining track is ‘Blue Eyes of a Millionaire,’ which was one of the bonus tracks from the LA recording sessions that begat the album, and is available on vinyl for the first time.
The vinyl will be released on Rough Trade Records (and Matador in the US) and will be available online and from selected independent stores. You can also pre-order it directly from us.
By way of a preview, the videos to accompany 2 of the tracks : Come on Sister and the Richard X version of I Didn’t See It Coming are now online.
Over the last few months we have been working with some collaborators in Glasgow to produce some visual accompaniments to another two songs from the Belle and Sebastian Write About Lovealbum.
First up, and to mark the end of a year of touring, Paul Fegan has directed a clip for a new version of Come On Sister – which was remixed by Tony Doogan. This stars all seven band members faced with the grim realities of life off the road:
The second is an animation made by Lesley Barnes, which will be show for the first time at Offshore in Glasgow on the 15th June at 7pm. See the flyer below for full details and have a look at Lesley’s blog for full details of cut out and keep masks for those attending the event!
The album of children’s songs that Mick has conceived and written – Down at the Zoo – is now available for download from iTunes.
The album’s origins lie with the Belle and Sebastian song, The Monkeys Are Breaking Out of The Zoo, which features on the album, and was also a part of the Colours Are Brighter album which Mick curated and featured the likes of Franz Ferdinand, The Flaming Lips and Snow Patrol all performing songs for children.
This time, Mick, assisted by some of his colleagues from Belle and Sebastian and The Amphetameanies (not to mention a trad jazz band, an operatic tenor and a samba drummer) have put together a suite of songs based around the animals in a zoo and what they get up to. More details and audio samples can be found at the Down at the Zoo website.
We are pleased to complete the line up of supports for the UK shows with the addition of Nottingham’s The Soundcarriers to the bill for the show at The De Montfort Hall on Thursday 2nd June.
Like the other supports on the upcoming shows, they will be on stage around 7.45p.m. – so get along early to see them. You can find out more about them / have a listen to some of their songs here
