For many, Punk is seen as a movement of two cities – London and New York, both eternally sparring for the title of The Originator. But Scotland had its own distinctive Punk movement which laid the groundwork for a musical ethos that is still alive and well in the scene today. Bands like The Rezillos and Scars created their own punk movement before most of them even knew what a punk movement was. In doing so, they infused the scene with a do it yourself attitude that the next generation of musicians embraced wholeheartedly, taking Scottish pop in a new but still resolutely rebellious direction – New Wave.
The 60s was a crucial decade in pop music history. As it swung into life, bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones began to take over the world. This countercultural revolution was felt in Scotland too, as Beat groups such as The Poets and The Beatstalkers staked their claim on the scene. But it wasn’t just mop-top popsters that Scotland was producing, it also nurtured proto superstars like Lulu and true artistic individuals such as Alex Harvey and John Martyn, who would push the boundaries of pop music in increasingly shouty and psychedelic ways.
The early 1980s was an extraordinarily rich and varied time for pop music. New technology was appearing, pushing the boundaries of what was sonically possible. At the forefront of this technological revolution was the synthesizer. Previously only affordable for the few, by the early 1980s synths were relatively cheap; and Scottish bands were buying. From the pioneering early works of future stadium rockers Simple Minds, through the pop perfection of Altered Images, and into the weird and wonderful world of The Associates Scottish bands forged new ground in the early years of the decade, creating a lasting impression on the UK pop charts. They produced some of the best synth pop songs of all time - from Smalltown Boy to Sweet Dreams - and inspired generations to come. Today Scotland’s synth pop heritage lives on via hugely popular alternative act Chvrches, whose nostalgic but fresh take on the sound sells out stadiums around the world.
Today the Scottish musical landscape is dominated by indie guitar bands. But this vibrant alternative scene would perhaps not exist without the DIY rebellions of a network of friends in Glasgow and its surrounding towns in the 1980s. Inspired by the likes of Stephen McRobbie and his influential band The Pastels, a richly creative independent scene began to emerge, which championed ideas over technical prowess. Unexpectedly, a central hub of this movement was the small town of Bellshill, where friends Duglas Stewart, Norman Blake, Sean Dickson, and Frances McKee, disillusioned with their grey suburban surroundings, looked to music for an escape. From writing their own mini albums on home cassette recorders, and throwing impromptu gigs in the local park, they would each go on to form their own bands - BMX Bandits, Soup Dragons, Teenage Fanclub, and The Vaselines - all of whom left indelible marks on the local music scene.
Born out of an ambition to cynically demonstrate how easy it is to manipulate the music industry, A&R man, music manager and solo performer Bill Drummond created a situationist art project designed to baffle audiences and generate loads of cash. He achieved both, and then some. In the mid 80s, Bill Drummond was an established part of the music industry, having set up Zoo Records and managed The Teardrop Explodes and Echo and The Bunnymen. But in 1986 he resigned from his lucrative A&R job, released a solo album and embarked on a new project with friend Jimmy Cauty - The KLF. The KLF were as much known for their bizarre stunts as they were for their music. They would take out weird adverts in the NME, their appearances on Top of the Pops featured dancers in ice cream cone costumes and most famously they took £1 million of their royalties to Jura and burnt it all. This has become of one the most controversial and divisive acts in pop music history.
In the mid-90s, Chemikal Underground came out of nowhere to set a new precedent for independent record labels in Scotland. At the time, despite its vibrant music culture, Scotland had few truly viable, or financially solvent, record labels that bands could turn to. To many young artists, the industry felt London-centric, and thus out of reach. Inspired by DIY labels of the past, however, one band from Glasgow - The Delgados - decided to go their own way. With £200 each to their names, Emma Pollock, Alun Woodward,Stewart Henderson and Paul Savage set up Chemikal Underground and began releasing their own music, as well as that of friends from the local scene. Success came unexpectedly quickly, with NME and Melody Maker support and a surprise Top of The Pops appearance from label-affiliated BIS (the first from an ‘unsigned’ band in the history of the show).
In the mid 1990s pop music in the UK was in throws of Brit Pop - in all its 60s throw-back, rock posturing glory. But Scotland told a different story. During the 90s and early 2000s a new wave of Scottish bands emerged, and redefined expectations of what Scottish bands could and should sound like. In contrast with the homogeneity of Brit Pop, Scottish bands of the era sought to establish their own distinct sounds, inspired more by movements in American alternative music - particularly grunge, shoe gaze and garage rock. From the melodic grunge of Idlewild; to the twee, melancholic indie pop of Belle and Sebastian; to the angular art rock of Franz Ferdinand, each of Scotland’s most successful acts of the era made music on their own terms, and their longevity as bands is a testament to this defiance.
As a coda to Rip It Up Unwrapped, music journalist Lauren Martin guides us through some of Scotland’s best new alternative music, with a particular focus on her home town - Glasgow. Taking in everyone from afro-beat influenced indie kids Sacred Paws and experimental multi-instrumentalist Ela Orleans, to gothic synth pop band The Ninth Wave and cosmic performers Free Love, Lauren explores the rich variety of musical acts who have found a home in the city. She runs through some of her favourite local acts, like Spinning Coin, LAPS, and Lanark Artefax as well as highlighting the key aspects of what makes a Glasgow such a great place for musicians to live and work today - from record shops like Monorail, to distribution hubs like Rubadub, who support many local record labels.
