Rip it Up, Unwrapped
The Glasgow Indie Scene
TV-PG
S1 • E4 Mar 22, 2019 29mToday 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.
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.