10 from BMX Bandits

Ahead of a Record Store Day re-issue of their C86 album, I thought I would blog on my top 10 favourite BMX Bandits songs. Adding to previous blogs on 10 favourites from;

• The Vaselines
• The Lemonheads
• The Pastels
• Primal Scream

My love for the BMX Bandits goes back to 1991 when I was in 5th year at school. It was a time and age when a crowd of people (myself included) started to get passionately into bands, records, the NME, Melody Maker and mixtapes. What a time to discover bands like the Roses, Charlatans, Fanclub, Nirvana, James and R.E.M.  And there were a few who despite being 15 got into the rave and dance culture that was exploding.

So many (if not all) of the aforementioned bands were quick to highlight their friends and influences. So from Teenage Fanclub I was introduced to the Bandits, The Vaselines and The Pastels. A guy a few years above us was in a local band and he made mix tapes for my friend Grant. So his taste kind of got passed down to a few of us in 5th year.

It's funny how I now know many of the people who are in the bands mentioned above. I still find it weird that they know my name!

BMX Bandits have released some incredible music over the years and I don't think they necessarily receive the credit they deserve. Duglas' songwriting has developed beautifully over the years and he has surrounded himself with loyal friends and brilliant musicians to achieve the sounds in his head.

The last 4 albums; My Chain (2006), Bee Stings (2007), BMX Bandits In Space (2012) and BMX Bandits Forever (2017) - have really seen BMX Bandits flourish. Rachel Allison and Chloe Philip have helped Duglas write for female vocalists, while Stewart has also co-written and worked with with Dr Cosmos Tape Lab, Anton Newcombe, Plectrum and Cineplexx, also (to my great delight) recording Fireworks which was written by my sister.

As much as I love early BMX Bandits, I think this run of albums and the songs included in them is the most interesting period of the bands career. Listening back to My Chain and Bee Stings was a delight, the songs have aged beautifully, I appreciate them more. You just don't know what they will do next.

I have had to leave out early favourites like Kylie's Got A Crush On Us, Little Hands and Gettin' Dirty and more recent songs like Dot To Dot, To A Flame, Take Me To Heaven and I Wanna Fall In Love.

But my top 10 favourite BMX Bandits songs is pretty evenly balanced from across their career, taking in their debut single, b-sides and some of their most recent material.

If you are new to the Bandits you'll discover love, heartbreak, hope and humour in these songs. I hope you find something you enjoy.

Your Class
Oh what a gem of a song from the aforementioned C86 album. The first time I ever heard this was at a live show when it was built around a bass riff, and little else. The vocal melody, lyrics, flow and feel pull the listener in to hear what is going on in Duglas T Stewart's heart and mind.

What you do, what you do

Is breaking my heart in two

But I'll never get too tired of you

Don't say we're through, don't say we're through

The Unforgiven
This song gets me every time. I love the feel of it and it is my favourite vocal from Duglas. I remember speaking to him about the song once and he said he recorded it while he had a cold. I think it was one take and Duglas talked of how he didn't like to record more than two takes, so he kept a natural feel and captured something. I think Duglas and his BMX Bandits captured something very special with this song.

The Sailor's Song
I listened back to this song for the first time in a while as I started writing this blog and found myself listening to it a dozen times over the next day.

Lyrically and melodically brilliant, I also love the way the there is almost an extra line in the verse, in the one noted below, Duglas adds inside and then another line to rhyme with it.

The song ends with the super romantic I could watch you dancing all night

Sometime the medicine don't seem to help

Only your sweet love could bring me back to health

I don't wanna put any pressure you

You could make me feel so good, inside

I want you beside me

You could heal me

Make me feel better

Make me feel better than I did today

You could heal me

Make me feel wanted

Make me feel wanted in a special way

I could watch you dancing all night

Next Girl
The b-side to Kylie's Got A Crush On Us. When I was a teenager I once made a 4-track demo of original songs I had written on side A and cover versions I would perform on side B. This song was included.

I think it's a real perfect guitar pop song. I love the flow and the chorus, especially when it is sung twice in a row, leading to a cracking guitar solo.

Did you ever look back when you'd stopped crying

If you ever said no, would you be lying?

If you ever said so, would you be trying for me?

Witchi Tai To
I try to concentrate on original songs when I write about my top 10 favourites from a band, but I really have to include this cover version that was tucked away on a 4-track CD single.

I have blogged on this song before HERE where you can also find an interview with Duglas.

What more can I say? This is simply stunning. I love when BMX Bandits play it live. You can check a version from their Oran Mor 25th anniversary show HERE

Come Clean
Brilliant guitar pop that builds to the refrain I love you so much inside. I love the lyrics. They are simple, yet clever.

Sometimes you feel so self conscious

And embarrassed by the way that you look

But girl I don't just love your cover

I'm in love with the whole of your book

And It's You
What a gorgeous playful melody, I love when the band just let it flow. It's like a little lullaby.

And it's you

And it's me

It's a complicated story like the best ones can be

Razorblades and Honey
What a dirty groove! Recorded with Anton Newcombe from Brian Jonestown Massacre. I hope Duglas and Anton get together again as this is sensational.

Right now you think you're something

Pretty soon you're gonna be nothing

Serious Drugs
What a stunning song. Sung by Joe McAlinden originally and then Norman Blake on the single, this is the kind of song that led to Stewart being labelled a bedsit Bacharach. Melodic, melancholic, reflective and beautiful with real depth, covering depression with someone longing for love.

I've included the demo version below.

I said I don't think I can take it much longer

She said maybe your tablet should be stronger

Get some serious drugs

E102
The debut single by BMX Bandits is glorious uplifting ramshackle pop.

Check out a live version from the BBC Quay sessions in 2018.

I'm so happy that love has come around for Duglas.

I'm so happy that love has come around

I'm so happy about the girl I've found

I feel like someone's favourite meal

No sweetener, no additives, the flavour is real

Serious Drugs

Cover version of the month #35
Super 8 cover BMX Bandits

Serious Drugs is BMX Bandits most celebrated song. Written by Bandits leader Duglas T Stewart with his good friends Norman Blake and Joe McAlinden, this melodic, melancholic and reflective song is a truly beautiful, with great depth.

The opening lines speak volumes and the scene is set;

I said I don't think I can take it much longer

She said maybe your tablet should be stronger

Get some serious drugs

And then we have the glorious break/chorus;

The trouble with me

I can't give in, you see

Throw in trademark backing vocal harmonies and a sax solo and the song is deceptively simple and straightforward. Yet it does have that remarkable depth to it, covering depression and someone longing for love.

Joe McAlinden sings lead vocal on the original recording, with Norman taking over on the single version. It's a song I have heard so often down the years, yet mainly with Duglas himself singing through regular live performances in and around Glasgow. I've seen Duglas sing with a 7 or 8 piece band accompanying him, other times with only the likes of Stuart Kidd and Marcus Rea from The Wellgreen backing him. It felt quite weird going back to listen to the original versions. When I think of this song it is Duglas' voice I hear in my head.

And the song became the title for a brilliant documentary on the band by Bandits fan Jim Burns, who found Duglas' music at just the right time as he was going through a difficult time. For me, that took the song (and a lot of Duglas' catalogue) to another level.

Duglas T Stewart

Duglas T Stewart is such a rare and unique talent, someone with exceptional musical taste and knowledge. I regularly discover brilliant music, from the past and present, courtesy of Duglas' social media postings. Earlier this year I was led to check an album by a band called Super 8. I'll be blogging on the album in the near future.

Super 8 - aka Paul Ryan

Then some weeks afterwards when digging around to find our more information about the band I discovered they had covered Serious Drugs.

The Super 8 cover has a lovely warm and rich feel to it. Super 8 is just one guys - Paul Ryan. Paul plays everything, harmonies with himself and creates a truly beautiful version of Serious Drugs. One that Duglas himself says is better than the original.

So although I still hear Duglas when I think of this song, the Super 8 cover is like a warm blanket on a cold day. It is gorgeous. I hope you enjoy it.

Please read on for interviews with both Paul from Super 8 and Duglas from BMX Bandits.

Super 8 interview

You've covered Serious Drugs - what made you decide to cover the song? 

I wore it out on 7” vinyl when I was younger! I remember hearing it on the John Peel Show then rushing out to buy it the following day (from my local Woolworths if my memory serves me well!) It’s just one of those songs I instantly connected with. Anyway, as much as I loved it (and still do!), I hadn’t heard it for years when it popped up on an old mix tape. I just picked up my acoustic and began to strum along. It seemed to suit my voice so I actually got in touch with its main writer (Duglas from The BMX Bandits) via social media and asked him if it was okay for me to have a stab at covering it (and, if so, what were the PROPER chords!) I was very pleased when he replied …. and in the affirmative! And that was that, I recorded my version that same evening and sent it to him as a thank you.   

What feedback have you received? For ‘Serious Drugs’? 

Well, Duglas has gone ‘on record’ saying he likes it! As for my album … yeah, the folks I know who have heard it so far seem to dig it which is rewarding. I could just do with a few more folks hearing it!

Do you have a favourite cover version of all time? 

As a rule I tend to prefer the original version of a song but, off the top of my head, both the Harpers Bizarre & BMX Bandits takes on ‘Witchi Tae To’ are awesome (and preferable to the original IMHO!)

If Duglas was to cover one of your songs, what song would you like him to cover? 

Erm, WOW! Anything at all! Duglas from The Bandits covering one of my tunes would be an honour so yeah, anything you like Duglas – dive in! (In fact, thinking about it, there’s a new song that’s earmarked for the next album which I think would be perfect for Duglas.)

Duglas T Stewart interview

BMX Bandits have covered many songs over the years. Could you select your 3 favourites? (I know Love and Mercy means so much to you)

I always love singing the Brian Wilson song Love and Mercy, we've never recorded it but I've done it live quite a few times. I've had the honour to sing it t celebrations of people who have died and at happy occasions. Like so much of Brian's music it's healing music. It's  the musical equivalent of getting a hug from someone who loves you and is looking out for you.

My 3 favourite covers that we have recorded are (in no real order):

You Don't Wanna Be My Girlfriend Phoebe. It's a song by a duo from Hong Kong called My Little Airport. To my ears the beautiful melody is like a mix of later Velvet Underground and Gainsbourg. The lyric is very 21st Century, about online love and people manipulating others for the sake of their own gratification. Our arrangement is version is very different to the original. I wanted to make our version darker but still very tender from the point of view from the narrator. The key sounds for me are little casio keyboard flute sound, omnichord and a baritone electric guitar. I generally like to sing quietly and close to the microphone, that's what they were invented for and that way you can get a more intimate and subtly nuanced vocal performance that I think brings the listener in to the recording. Jim McEwan and Stuart Kidd are the other people on this track.

Just a Memory. This is a cover of a song called Mais Do Que Valsa by Marcos Valle, who is an artist really worth exploring. I was in really bad way regarding my mental health and emotional well being and Stuart Kidd offered to help me record some stuff as he had the time, the equipment and the skills that you need to do that. I think he was trying to offer a positive distraction. My good friend Cineplexx had introduced me to the album featuring Valle's original version. I couldn't understand the lyrics of this song but it made an immediate emotional connection with me. It was very beautiful but also seemed to capture the state of my mind, the mournful tone, those sad chords and the way it goes round and round. One night I played it in a loop for many hours and just started to sing a long my own words while he was singing in Portuguese. I took it to Stuart and we had it recorded in 4 hours. Music is an international language, the specifics of situations in lyrics aren't always so important. I think it more important to capture the deeper things that the music says in a translation than a literal and accurate translation, sometimes they can sound clunky and awkward. One little note of interest is we accidentally recorded a door slamming from a neighbouring flat but the timing was so perfect and we loved the sound of it so we copied it and put it in again later in the song. A happy accident.

Hopelessly Devoted To You. I think almost everybody knows the O.N.J. version from Grease and I wanted to use that sense of familiarity that listeners would have and twist it. When I recorded the song I was feeling like my heart was breaking like a teenage girl, like Sandy in Grease, but I was the hulking, clumsy middle aged man I think singing this song puts me in vulnerable position but I wanted to express that sense of vulnerability and longing with this song. To have a slight sense of discomfort that I thought would help the aforementioned vulnerability I decided I wanted to perform it with what I hoped might create the feeling of me performing it with a house band rather than musicians who I was really familiar working with and were familiar with working with me. I had gotten to know the guys in The Attic Lights and I thought they would do a great job with the track. So Stuart Kidd and I went into Riverside, rehearsed it a bit with them, but not too much, and then we recorded it. 

Have you had any direct feedback from artists you have covered? (if so, what did that mean to you)

When we recorded Jonathan Richman's That Summer Feeling Mark Radcliffe and Marc Riley said they were going to play it to Jonathan when he guested on their radio show. We were nervous because Jonathan could be dismissive of versions of his songs by other artists and it meant a lot to me as he was the guy who made me know that I wanted to make music. When he heard it on the show he was very enthusiastic he said he loved it and he thought it was one of the best versions of one of his songs, including his own versions. That made us happy.

One of the songwriting team behind the song That Lonely Feeling, a great pop writer John Carter, gave our version of the song his blessing. He said he liked it and gave me permission to write an extra verse that made the song have a deeper connection to me and what I was feeling when we recorded it. I was very pleased that he let me do that. It was very generous of him.

How did you hear about the Super 8 cover of Serious Drugs?

Paul Ryan of Super 8 contacted me through Facebook and sent me the track. I didn't know his music or him at all before that. When I played it I instantly thought it was better than our original recording or other versions we've done of it. I loved his arrangement ideas, starting with a taste of the end hook is a great idea. I also thought it sounded perfect for how he sings it. I love the handclaps. It sounds very natural and uncontrived. There's also something very exuberant about how he's done it that mixes nicely with the song's poignancy and makes it very human. Norman Blake who I co-wrote it with also loved it when I played it to him. I went on to discover Paul / Super 8 has a lot of great songs of his own. I've become a real fan of his work.

Is there any song in your extensive back catalogue you would love to hear covered or reworked?

I still think someone could have a proper hit with I Wanna Fall in Love. When we did that track we thought it could have and should have been a mega-hit. I have to give Francis Macdonald most of the credit for that song. He wrote the biggest part of that one.

My top blogs and stats

So people do read my blogs! Well some of them anyway!

Here are my top 10 blogs since i started, I don't tend to check views so I was pleasantly surprised when i did tonight!

Posts

Entry	Pageviews
The Man In Blue - Definitive Daft Punk 15 May 2011, 1 comment	6500
2012 - the year of Hot Chip? 30 Jan 2012	6087
18-years since Definitely Maybe by Oasis 30 Aug 2012	4144
Echo and the Bunnymen - Glasgow Royal Concert Hall... 28 Sep 2011, 10 comments	1423
Stone Roses, Heaton Park, Manchester, Sunday 1st J... 3 Jul 2012	1028
Churches, Art School, Glasgow, 5th July 2012 6 Jul 2012, 2 comments	979
Screamadelica - 20 years on 27 Feb 2011, 1 comment	917
Serious Drugs - A film about the BMX Bandits 12 Dec 2011	822
Belle and Sebastian, Glasgow Barrowlands, December... 22 Dec 2010, 1 comment	812
Introducing TeenCanteen 20 Jun 2012	812

BMX Bandits In Space

BMX Bandits release their latest album 'BMX Bandits In Space' tomorrow (29th October) on Elefant Records. I was lucky enough to get an advance copy and I've had a week with the album, so lets check out what Duglas T Stewart and his band of Bandits have been up to...

Before I go any further I have to say that this is a gorgeous record, following on from the remarkable 'My Chain' and 'Bee Stings' that were released in quick succession back in 2006 and 2007.

'BMX Bandits in Space' tells the story of a man travelling through time and space in search of forgiveness and a way back home. Throughout the trip there are small flashes – some are memories and some are figments of his imagination.

The album opens with 'In Space', and it is quite trippy for the Bandits. There are lush strings and Stewart's voice is layered with effects as he sings about '..drifting in space for so long, endlessly singing the same song...'

For anyone new to the Bandits, Stewart is a romantic who wears his heart on his sleeve and he sounds head over heels on this record.

Where there's love, there is hope

Where there's hope, there is you

It's time to start to live

'Still' bubbles into life with a lovely piano riff, gentle acoustic guitar and Duglas singing with real emotion (as he does throughout). The song is a collaboration with Plectrum from Japan and on the evidence of this tune they should get together more often. The gorgeous outro is hypnotic and you can easily get lost (in space) to it.

'Beautiful Friend' picks up the pace before 'Look At You, Look At Me' continues the dreamy feeling that a lot of the songs (and the brilliant production) bring to the album. The song is another collaboration, this time with Cineplexx from Argentina, it also sees Rachel Allison singing for the first time on the album.

'Like The Morning Sun' is one of my favourites from the album, Allison takes on lead vocals for this one and it sounds like she enjoyed singing the beautiful and clever melody.

The album really starts to come into its own with the brilliant 'Listen To Some Music' with Duglas name-checking some of his favourite songs and artists, wearing his musical influences on his sleeve along with his heart.

God only knows what I'd be without you, Brian and Tony know how I feel

They helped me figure out what I was thinking, in the song they made it real

And if you ever need a friend

Just play that song once again

It is one on which you can depend

For those that have followed Duglas and the Bandits, and especially those that have seen Jim Burns 'Serious Drugs' documentary, this is a song that really sums up Duglas - music is his life and it has seen him through some tough times. The song is playful, melodic and meaningful.

'Elegant Love' is the second collaboration with Cineplexx. A duet with Rachel, it has a great feel to it with an uplifting chorus.

'And It's You' hit me instantly, it is totally gorgeous and incredibly catchy.

And if I live to 103

You're still gonna be

A big part of me

The chorus is pop perfection.

And it's you

And it's me

It's a complicated story like the best ones can be

Bandits songs have that instant appeal but they also have an incredible amount of depth, especially when Stewart is on top form and he is on form on this album; lyrically and in voice. The Bandits he has assembled are also on their game and the production is sublime.

'You Disappointed Me' has Rachel singing of a lost love that led her on, she fell for him, believed in him but was ultimately rejected and hurt. The melody is almost nursery like at times.

'Fucked Up This Time' takes the album to a darker place after the head over heels love songs like 'And It's You'. It has a great groove to it and although Stewart's vocals continue to be hushed and considered, there is clear hurt, regret and perhaps a bit of menace in his performance here.

'Fireworks' is a pretty special song for me as it was written by my wee sister! That's right, my wee sister has a song on an album by a band I have been following for a couple of decades. It is rather surreal and Duglas has been exceptionally supportive of Carla and her band TeenCanteen.

The melody flows easily, the lyrics are funny and moving and it is just lovely to hear the care that the Bandits have put into the recording and performance.

'All Around The World' tells of the search for hope and how there has to be something out there.

I believe in beauty, I believe in it and where ever it leads me, that’s where I’ll go

You must believe in something, cause if there's really nothing, then there is no hope

'And While We're Dancing' is a slow waltz style song, Stewart's vocal is especially considerate for this number, beautifully fragile, combining in stunning fashion with Rachel.

Now close your eyes and maybe you'll see

An older you dancing with an old me

Our friends and family will all smile to see

Us dancing our waltz of love

'The Unforgiven' has another stunning vocal performance from Duglas, only accompanied by piano at the start. This has to be a career highlight for the BMX Bandits, if they can swear in one of their song titles then I am going to say that this is fucking brilliant, the closing half of the song flows superbly and the backing vocals are beautiful. Listen to this on headphones. I can't wait to see and hear this performed live.

'In Space (End Theme)' has some lush strings to end the trip.

In the aforementioned documentary 'Serious Drugs' there are a couple of mentions about how BMX Bandits are perceived - perhaps not taking things too seriously (or being taken seriously), Alan McGee even mentioning that some people think (or thought) they are (were) a joke band.

I hope these people listen to BMX Bandits In Space (as well as the previous two albums) as they will discover an artist who pours his heart and soul into his work. Love and hope are out there, you just have to look hard enough, it can be tough at times, but keep at it. It is all worth it in the end.

Duglas T Stewart is in the best form of his career, reaching new heights and creating some wonderful, wonderful moments.

Check the album out, there are some signed copied in Monorail in Glasgow and there are only 500 vinyl copies (pictured above).