10 from The Pastels

Katrina Mitchell and Stephen Pastel - the core of The Pastels
Picture by Blair Young

The Pastels have curated the line-up for the Maryhill Community Central Hall section of The Great Western, a new multi-venue one day festival organised by promoters 432 presents. Tickets are on sale now. Gerry Love's Lightships and Sacred Paws are among the bands joining The Pastels. FULL INFO

So I thought I would blog on 10 of my favourite songs from the band, following on from similar blogs on The Vaselines and The Lemonheads.

I fell for The Pastels as a teenager and in many ways I am still falling as I learn more about the band, appreciating them even more with each and every passing year. They are the kind of band I wanted to be in as a teenager and they are the kind of band I wish I was in at the age of 43.

The Pastels just do their own thing, in their own way, at their own pace and they do it exceptionally well. The Pastels are cool without wanting to be cool, they have inspired and supported so many bands from Glasgow and beyond.

Thank You For Being You was the first Pastels record I bought. I also had a red Pastels t-shirt from that era and the 1993 Truckload Of Trouble LP that is full of all kinds of gems ranging from singles to a glorious cover of Different Drum and a a brilliant instrumental Kitted Out.

Not surprisingly, there are a few songs from this era of The Pastels that feature in this blog.

I first caught The Pastels live at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut in 1994. I love the band on record but I probably love them even more live. There is something about the way Stephen plays his guitar (a beauty) and the way the band gel. I love how the line-up and sound has expanded. I love Katrina's drumming that sounds and looks so effortless and carefree at times and her voice is all kinds of melodic gorgeousness. And I love that live and on record, The Pastels music still has a loving, soulful, homegrown, could fall apart at any moment, type of immediacy and quality to it.

The Pastels are an incredibly important band to (and in) Glasgow. Stephen Pastel formed and released music on the legendary 53rd and 3rd Records and now runs the Geographic label. They have put on bands (and most probably put up bands), championed bands from Teenage Fanclub and The Vaselines through to bands like Spinning Coin and The Orielles from further afield. And they have shared their impeccable taste and knowledge via the support bands they cherry pick to play with them, their social media postings and through Stephen's work at Monorail Records.

Here are 10 of my favourites by The Pastels.

Classic line-up
Three minutes and 20 seconds of glorious guitars and gushing lyrics about sunshine, Glasgow and love. Stick this song on the next time you are walking about Glasgow (or any city) in the sunshine and your life will instantly improve.

See the sunshine split those buildings

And I'll feel my heart uplifting

Cause the city casts a magic spell

And my life seems so special

Glasgow is a brilliant city, it has so much to offer and Pastel's love for it comes pouring out in melodies and a love letter in a song.

When the tenement world reveals it's charm

You better grab it fast with both your arms

Crawl Babies
From the seminal Up For A Bit With The Pastels album this is brilliant. Everything seems to just come together, the guitars, the melodies, Stephen's vocals.

Says she's open like a book

She's got everything I need

Even wants to take the time

To teach me how to read

I wanna build her up, up as tall as a church

Just to to watch her, just to watch her falling down

Vivid Youth w/ Tenniscoats
How gloriously mellow and gorgeous is this? Just so beautiful, sublime and in the moment. Katrina's voice is so gentle and pure. I love the way the melody picks up so naturally for the all ashes are grey in the day section.

Check My Heart
Pure guitar pop perfection. This could warm the coldest of days. Katrina takes lead vocals that are melodic, catchy and sing-song-y. Check My Heart is upbeat and completely infectious. I was overjoyed when The Pastels returned from a long absence with this as the lead single. Sublime!

Katrina sings of grabbing life and love we're on a mountain top and I wanna leap out and get it

And Stephen comes in with the gorgeous I wanted a lifetime, not just to fall in your arms.

Million Tears
I only discovered Million Tears when I came across a YouTube playlist of every single Creation Records release a few years back. I couldn't believe I hadn't heard it before!

This is a pure two minute and 40 second rush of guitar pop brilliance. There is still time for a 30-second intro

Oh if I can't have you I don't want nobody else

And if I can't have you I won't take nobody else

I'd tear myself apart 

And cry a million tears

Break down the walls of pain 

And fall into the heartache scene

By 1 minute 20 we have reached a little breakdown and instrumental and then we're straight back into the verse and chorus. In truth this song is just one big chorus for me. It is perfect.

Truck Train Tractor
I love the humour and also the urgency in this song. It drives along (pardon the pun) and it always makes me smile.

Comin' Through
More incredible guitar pop! When you listen to songs like Comin' Through it is no wonder The Pastels made such an impression, such an impact and created such love from music fans all over the world.

I particularly love the closing 40-seconds or so. The Pastels are absolutely on it, everything collides beautifully as extra layers are added.

Nothing To Be Done
Pastel and Aggi (Annabel) duet and melt hearts. The song flows, crashes and tumbles beautifully as Stephen and Aggi take it in turns to trade verses before their vocals gel towards the end.

Take my hand and take my heart

I shiver when you're near

Baby Honey
Baby Honey thrills, it grooves, it drones, it ignites, it excites, it is utterly captivating. Baby Honey is young Glaswegians discovering The Velvet Underground and the thrill of finding out what sounds can be coaxed from an electric guitar.

If I wish upon a star

Take you just the way you are

There is magic in her fingertips

There is magic in the lips I kiss

There is magic in her beautiful eyes

Justify the tears I cry

Thank You For Being You
And we end 10 from The Pastels with the first song of theirs that I fell for. I hope you can hear why! This is guitar pop perfection, Pastel is so in love he needs four words rather than three.

Baby Honey

Last week I enjoyed reading some tweets from Allan Hutton, a fellow music fan that I follow on Twitter, about tracking down a vinyl copy of The Pastels Baby Honey.

I tweeted Allan, we exchanged some messages and then Allan kindly agreed to write a guest blog for me. I'm glad I asked!

The great thing about this blog is that it highlights how some bands will always be mentioned and handed down. Some will pass people by - but bands like The Pastels will always be recommended in some shape or form - be that from bands, fans, labels, journalists or record shops.

Read on....

Baby Honey by The Pastels
Guest blog by Allan Hutton

I have to admit I was late to the party with regards to the Pastels.

I'd never been an Indie Kid, My Youth Culture rite of passage was via Punk then Mod in the late 70's and very early 80's.

Music was then and always has been a big part of my life.

I was blissfully unaware of The Pastels in the 80's as I was mourning the end of The Jam and into the Style Council, Aztec Camera, The Bunnymen and The Teardrop Explodes to name but a few.

By the time the 90's arrived I started hearing great things about Teenage Fanclub and was getting into them. Through them I got to know about the Pastels and BMX Bandits etc.

I'm not exactly sure where I first heard the Pastels it might have been on Peel, I was intrigued by them but never owned any of their stuff until the late 90's when I got a hold of Illumination.

I really liked that album and decided to seek out their earlier stuff which had passed me by.

Among the Pastels melodic shambling clang, there was a B-side that shone like a beacon in the night for me! The jaw dropping and mesmerising, psychedelic Baby Honey. It is just one of those songs that you really get into and feel connected with. It has the deadpan coolness of the Velvet Underground and the repetition of The Fall which climaxes into a crescendo of beautiful and intense noise that you never want to end!

For me this song is and always will be the Pastels finest moment.

When I first heard it that song must have been about 14 or 15 years old therefore a vinyl copy of Million Tears with the spellbinding flip side was hard to find. I searched everywhere for a copy all to no avail.

As the years rolled by I succumbed to CD's and downloads and  kind of gave up on ever acquiring a vinyl copy and settled for the digital version on Up for a Bit!

However, the resurgence of vinyl four or five years ago rekindled my interest in records and once again I was on the hunt. However I still couldn't turn up Baby Honey! Until last week!

As I routinely searched Discogs of an evening, to my astonishment a near mint 12" copy was available. I was gonna have to pay a bit more than I would have liked, but I just bit the bullet and clicked that button! 

Two days later it was spinning on my record player and it hadn't aged one single bit as Baby Honey still sounded as enthralling now as when I first heard it all those years ago!

There is magic in her fingertips

There is magic in the lips I kiss

There is magic in her beautiful eyes

To justify the tears I've cried

The Pastels in November 2017 at the Concert for Stewart Cruickshank

The Pastels at Mono

Last night I ventured out to see The Pastels, 20-years on since I first saw them; Stephen and Katrina hardly seem to have aged at all in that time. As Lynn and I walked into Mono I spotted my old school friend Grant who I went to that very show with and we shared a few beers and memories as we watched the bands.

Support was from the German band Lali Puna, a 4-piece armed with an assortment of synths and keyboards who produced some lovely dreamy electronica that would fit right into a movie like 'Lost In Translation'. I made a mental note to get one of their albums next time I was in Monorail (the record shop that is in Mono, where Stephen Pastel works).

The Pastels took to the stage with Stephen thanking the crowd for coming and pausing to reflect on the terrible tragedy at the Clutha that took place just a week ago and a couple of hundred yards away.

'Slow Summits' was a great opener, largely instrumental with psych surf guitar. The Pastels were a 6-piece for the night and they sounded superb with the addition of trumpet, flute, keys and a second guitar. Gerry Love from Teenage Fanclub was on bass duties.

'Summer Rain' and 'Check My Heart' were further highlights from this years 'Slow Summits' LP, but the band were certainly not afraid to delve into their back catalogue. The cover of 'Different Drum' was a delight and 'Classic Line-Up' was possibly my song of the night.

The band gelled superbly with Stephen's rhythm guitar, Gerry's bass and Katrina's drumming allowing lead guitar, trumpet and flute to combine and flow. Three, two and even one chord riffs sounded brilliant, creating a real groove.

'Nothing To Be Done' was lovely with Stephen and Katrina creating a great vibe. 'Baby Honey' was outstanding, the lead guitar seared and soared and the bass held everything together.

It was a great night; a legendary Glasgow band in one of my favourite venues. And next Sunday I'll be back for Edwyn Collins!