The Beltanes
Encyclopedia
The Beltanes were a Glasgow
, Scotland
-based band, active from around 1987 to 1992. They were regular performers on the Glasgow live music scene, but also travelling and playing in various locations in Scotland, from Greenock
to Aberdeen
. They wrote all of their own material, adding some classic covers for their live performances. They also made a number of studio recordings, and a promotional video.
in Glasgow and The Warehouse in Coatbridge. The Warehouse recordings were produced by Ted Blakeway, who now runs The Foundry Music Lab with Graeme Duffin
(Guitarist with Wet Wet Wet
) and Sandy Jones. Seven songs in total were recorded, but as the band were never signed to a record label the songs were never released. However, some of the tracks were given airplay on Glasgow-based radio stations. The promotional video, made by film students known to the band, was shot in numerous locations in and around Glasgow including the Winter Gardens at The People's Palace
.
at Creation Records
, and were also used as the band's entry into a competition for unsigned bands run by Evening Times
, where the prize on offer was a management deal with London based Artist Connection. The band won the competition but the proposed management deal was refused by the band following protracted negotiations. Attempts to attach punitive contract terms similar to those eventually overturned against Silvertone Records and Zomba Music by The Stone Roses with the support of Geffen Records, left the band unwilling to sign.
, and also supporting Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie
at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom
and Ayr
Pavilion during their 1991 'Hammer and Tongs' tour, shortly before the departure of Shirley Manson
to front Garbage
.
The band, although unsigned, bucked the trend of billing at Glasgow's premier club venue, King Tut's, by headlining in King Tut's first ever music and comedy combo, airing for the first time some of Glasgow's leading comedy talent from Glasgow's Blackfriars Comic Club as support. In addition, this groundbreaking formula took place in the same week as another unsigned band were lucky enough to be picked up. That band, Oasis
, were required by King Tut's Management to share billing, unlike the Beltanes, indicating the esteem in which the venue held them.
The comedy connection continued with other successful collaborations, notably at Glasgow University Union with the band supporting a Glasgow Comic Club gig in return, featuring comic talents such as Fred MacAulay, Greg Hemphill
, John Paul Leach and John Gillick in addition to another band featuring Carol Smillie
on vocals.
Breaking in other new Glasgow venues, including Glasgow's Nice'n'Sleazy, the band continued their musical development, narrowly escaping arrest along with their regular crew from Hyper PA when Strathclyde Police swept in to raid an impromptu rave in the disused printworks in Glasgow
's Herbert Street. Organised largely by unknown street associates of the then Editor of M8 Magazine, the source of the police tip off was never discovered and the band escaped in a hire van as the police swept in and cordoned off the building.
of artists like Robert Johnson, through Jimi Hendrix
, The Rolling Stones and Cream
, to the Manchester music scene also known as Madchester
from which bands such as The Stone Roses
and The Happy Mondays
emerged.
generated by the competition win, the band received press coverage notably in M8 Magazine, who referred to them as 'an icon for the 90's'.
As their music matured and developed, they were joined by Mark's brother Paul (guitars, vocals), along with friends Michael (guitars, accordion) and Ian (bass guitar), to form the original line-up as The Beltanes. Ian left in 1991 and was replaced by Nigel.
The band never officially split up, but they have not played together since 1992. Marc is now a business consultant, Mark is now studying to be a lawyer, Paul is now a doctor, Michael is now a teacher, Ian is now a clinical research associate, and Nigel is now a lecturer. All of them still live in Glasgow with the exception of Ian, who lives in West Lothian and Nigel, who lives in New Zealand.
Their contribution to Glasgow's rich musical culture of the time is not to be underestimated, developing and popularising many talents and music venues which continue to make a valuable contribution today.
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
-based band, active from around 1987 to 1992. They were regular performers on the Glasgow live music scene, but also travelling and playing in various locations in Scotland, from Greenock
Greenock
Greenock is a town and administrative centre in the Inverclyde council area in United Kingdom, and a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland...
to Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
. They wrote all of their own material, adding some classic covers for their live performances. They also made a number of studio recordings, and a promotional video.
Recordings
The two significant recording sessions were held at CaVa StudiosCaVa Studios
Ca Va Studios or Ca Va Sound is a professional recording studio at 30 Bentinck Street, Kelvingrove in the West End of Glasgow, Scotland.Situated in the former Kelvingrove Church, the studios began in 1974 and since then have recorded some of the biggest names on the UK and international music scene...
in Glasgow and The Warehouse in Coatbridge. The Warehouse recordings were produced by Ted Blakeway, who now runs The Foundry Music Lab with Graeme Duffin
Graeme Duffin
Graeme Duffin has been the lead guitarist for the Scottish pop band Wet Wet Wet since 1983. However he did not appear in band photographs or interviews. The band were suspected of keeping him hidden for image purposes but it may have been Duffin's own choice due to his stammer...
(Guitarist with Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet
Wet Wet Wet are a Scottish pop rock band that formed in the 1980s. They scored a number of hits in the British charts and around the world. The band is composed of Marti Pellow , Tommy Cunningham , Graeme Clark and Neil Mitchell...
) and Sandy Jones. Seven songs in total were recorded, but as the band were never signed to a record label the songs were never released. However, some of the tracks were given airplay on Glasgow-based radio stations. The promotional video, made by film students known to the band, was shot in numerous locations in and around Glasgow including the Winter Gardens at The People's Palace
People's Palace
The People's Palace and Winter Gardens in Glasgow, Scotland is a museum and glasshouse situated in Glasgow Green, and was opened on 22 January, 1898 by the Earl of Rosebery....
.
Record label interest and competitions
The four songs from The Warehouse session were used to attract record label interest, which included discussions with Alan McGeeAlan McGee
Alan McGee has been a record label owner, musician, manager, and music blogger for The Guardian.McGee is best-known for co-forming and running the independent Creation Records label from 1983–1999, and then Poptones from 1999-2007...
at Creation Records
Creation Records
Creation Records was a British independent record label headed by Alan McGee. Along with Dick Green and Joe Foster, McGee founded Creation in 1983. The label lasted until its demise in 1999. The name came from the 1960s band The Creation , whom McGee greatly admired. McGee, Green and Foster were...
, and were also used as the band's entry into a competition for unsigned bands run by Evening Times
Evening Times
The Evening Times is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The paper, an evening sister paper of The Herald, was established in 1876. The paper's slogan is "Nobody Knows Glasgow Better"....
, where the prize on offer was a management deal with London based Artist Connection. The band won the competition but the proposed management deal was refused by the band following protracted negotiations. Attempts to attach punitive contract terms similar to those eventually overturned against Silvertone Records and Zomba Music by The Stone Roses with the support of Geffen Records, left the band unwilling to sign.
Live performances
The Beltanes live performances notably included headlining several times at King Tut's Wah Wah HutKing Tut's Wah Wah Hut
King Tut's Wah Wah Hut, also known as King Tut's, is a live music venue and bar in on St. Vincent Street, Glasgow, Scotland. It is owned and managed by Glasgow-based gig promoters DF Concerts...
, and also supporting Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie
Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie
Goodbye Mr. Mackenzie were a Scottish 1980s and 1990s rock group formed in Bathgate, near Edinburgh, Scotland...
at Glasgow's Barrowland Ballroom
Barrowland Ballroom
The Barrowlands is a major dance hall and concert venue in Glasgow, Scotland.-History of Barrowland Ballroom:The original building opened in 1934 in a mercantile area east of Glasgow's city centre...
and Ayr
Ayr
Ayr is a town and port situated on the Firth of Clyde in south-west Scotland. With a population of around 46,000, Ayr is the largest settlement in Ayrshire, of which it is the county town, and has held royal burgh status since 1205...
Pavilion during their 1991 'Hammer and Tongs' tour, shortly before the departure of Shirley Manson
Shirley Manson
Shirley Anne Manson is a Scottish recording artist and actress, best known internationally as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Garbage. For much of her international career Manson commuted between her home city of Edinburgh to the United States to record with Garbage but now lives and...
to front Garbage
Garbage (band)
Garbage are an alternative rock band formed in Madison, Wisconsin in 1994. The group consists of Scottish singer Shirley Manson and American musicians Duke Erikson , Steve Marker and Butch Vig . All four members are involved in songwriting and production...
.
The band, although unsigned, bucked the trend of billing at Glasgow's premier club venue, King Tut's, by headlining in King Tut's first ever music and comedy combo, airing for the first time some of Glasgow's leading comedy talent from Glasgow's Blackfriars Comic Club as support. In addition, this groundbreaking formula took place in the same week as another unsigned band were lucky enough to be picked up. That band, Oasis
Oasis (band)
Oasis were an English rock band formed in Manchester in 1991. Originally known as The Rain, the group was formed by Liam Gallagher , Paul "Bonehead" Arthurs , Paul "Guigsy" McGuigan and Tony McCarroll , who were soon joined by Liam's older brother Noel Gallagher...
, were required by King Tut's Management to share billing, unlike the Beltanes, indicating the esteem in which the venue held them.
The comedy connection continued with other successful collaborations, notably at Glasgow University Union with the band supporting a Glasgow Comic Club gig in return, featuring comic talents such as Fred MacAulay, Greg Hemphill
Greg Hemphill
Gregory "Greg" Hemphill is a Scottish actor and comedian. He has also presented on television and radio. Along with his comedy partner, Ford Kiernan, he is best known in the United Kingdom for his appearances in Still Game and Chewin' the Fat.-Personal life:Hemphill was born in Glasgow, Scotland,...
, John Paul Leach and John Gillick in addition to another band featuring Carol Smillie
Carol Smillie
Carol Patricia Smillie is a Scottish television personality, model and actress. Smillie is well-known for presenting the award winning BBC series Changing Rooms, which won her a National Television Award for Most Popular Factual Programme in 1998.She became the hostess of the British version of...
on vocals.
Breaking in other new Glasgow venues, including Glasgow's Nice'n'Sleazy, the band continued their musical development, narrowly escaping arrest along with their regular crew from Hyper PA when Strathclyde Police swept in to raid an impromptu rave in the disused printworks in Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
's Herbert Street. Organised largely by unknown street associates of the then Editor of M8 Magazine, the source of the police tip off was never discovered and the band escaped in a hire van as the police swept in and cordoned off the building.
Influences
The Beltanes music drew on many influences, from the classic BluesBlues
Blues is the name given to both a musical form and a music genre that originated in African-American communities of primarily the "Deep South" of the United States at the end of the 19th century from spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts and chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads...
of artists like Robert Johnson, through Jimi Hendrix
Jimi Hendrix
James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix was an American guitarist and singer-songwriter...
, The Rolling Stones and Cream
Cream (band)
Cream were a 1960s British rock supergroup consisting of bassist/vocalist Jack Bruce, guitarist/vocalist Eric Clapton, and drummer Ginger Baker...
, to the Manchester music scene also known as Madchester
Madchester
Madchester was a music scene that developed in Manchester, England, towards the end of the 1980s and into the early 1990s. The music that emerged from the scene mixed alternative rock, psychedelic rock and dance music...
from which bands such as The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses
The Stone Roses are an English alternative rock band formed in Manchester in 1983. They were one of the pioneering groups of the Madchester movement that was active during the late 1980s and early 1990s...
and The Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays
Happy Mondays are an English alternative rock band from Salford, Greater Manchester. Formed in 1980, the band's original line-up was Shaun Ryder on lead vocals, his brother Paul Ryder on bass, lead guitarist Mark Day, keyboardist Paul Davis, and drummer Gary Whelan...
emerged.
Press coverage
In addition to the press coverage in The Evening TimesEvening Times
The Evening Times is an evening tabloid newspaper published Monday to Saturday in Glasgow, Scotland.-History:The paper, an evening sister paper of The Herald, was established in 1876. The paper's slogan is "Nobody Knows Glasgow Better"....
generated by the competition win, the band received press coverage notably in M8 Magazine, who referred to them as 'an icon for the 90's'.
Band members
Two of the band members, Marc (drums) and Mark (guitars, vocals, flute), had originally been brought together musically whilst at school, where one of their early projects was performing in a band with other local bands to raise significant charity funds for the Live Aid appeal, under the name of "She Said".As their music matured and developed, they were joined by Mark's brother Paul (guitars, vocals), along with friends Michael (guitars, accordion) and Ian (bass guitar), to form the original line-up as The Beltanes. Ian left in 1991 and was replaced by Nigel.
The band never officially split up, but they have not played together since 1992. Marc is now a business consultant, Mark is now studying to be a lawyer, Paul is now a doctor, Michael is now a teacher, Ian is now a clinical research associate, and Nigel is now a lecturer. All of them still live in Glasgow with the exception of Ian, who lives in West Lothian and Nigel, who lives in New Zealand.
Their contribution to Glasgow's rich musical culture of the time is not to be underestimated, developing and popularising many talents and music venues which continue to make a valuable contribution today.