Let's travel 280 miles and maybe 10/15 years back to Bellshill.
Not far away from Glasgow, but close enough that travelling into town feels like an adventure, Bellshill isn't a tourist destination. Because of this, a bunch of friends spend their time listening to music, learning instruments and playing in each others bands. You could base a record collection off the bands that are created during this time: The Vaccines/Eugenius, Superstar, The Soup Dragons. At it's heart are 2 friends: Norman Blake and Douglas Stewart.
Duglas drops a letter from his name and creates the BMX Bandits. Norman joins up with his pals and creates Teenage Fanclub. The rest is history.
While not all of the bands above are still going, all of the members are still active in some shape or form. The Bandits still play, and their albums are being re-released by a local Glasgow label. Everyone still releases music that's worth a listen.
What these bands, including The Fannies, did to boost the confidence of the bands that followed is immeasurable. Bands like Mogwai, The Delgados, Belle & Sebastian, Bis, etc. wouldn't exist, or wouldn't still live in Glasgow, if those bands didn't have success under their own terms while not moving down to London. They are national treasures, and their impact on modern Scottish culture is huge.
For those in the US that have it, I would recommend watching the documentary on Prime below, which explains all this a lot better, and expands the story to include The Pastels and The Jesus and Mary Chain. Stevie Pastel runs my local record store. The history of these bands is embedded into the music culture here, and they continue to influence. Stevie sold me the last records I'll buy in Glasgow for a while. While I'll be miles away, Grand Prix and countless other albums will keep me close.
Amazon product ASIN B07G4Q6P99
