Skip to content

Artist of the Month: Teenage Fanclub

July 1, 2018

With a new tour and a comprehensive set of vinyl reissues on the way, our Artist of the Month for July is cult alt. rock Glaswegian outfit Teenage Fanclub…

You take Teenage Fanclub for granted at your peril. Such is their gift for effortlessly melodious, chiming and harmonious guitar music, equally at home among rock, folk and pop crowds, that it’s all too easy not to pay them proper heed.

And while Teenage Fanclub are more than happy to acknowledge the influence of the likes of Big Star, the Byrds and the Beach Boys, the band is blessed with plenty of songwriting talent of their own.

Singer-guitarist Norman Blake, singer-bassist Gerard Love and singer-guitarist Raymond McGinley are all well up to the task of turning their influences into a thing of beauty that’s wholly their own.

Formed in Bellshill, North Lanarkshire, and emerging from Glasgow’s C86 scene, it took a little time for Teenage Fanclub to settle upon on their sound. Once there, they set about seducing a generation. Their breakthrough came with their evergreen third album, and their first for the famous Creation label – 1991’s ‘Bandwagonesque’.

A tongue-in-cheek reference to the media’s obsession with Seattle’s early 90s musical output, the album brought them to a wider audience thanks to a combination of sharp song writing, distorted guitars and uplifting harmonies.

Looking back from the vantage point of the closing overs of this decade, it’s easy to see why Teenage Fanclub’s ‘Bandwagonesque’ beat off competition from the likes of Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind’, My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Loveless’ and REM’s ‘Out Of Time’ to be declared ‘Album Of The Year’ by Spin magazine.

Its follow-up, ‘Thirteen’, has come to weather the years well. Despite the lukewarm reception that greeted the album in 1993, ‘Thirteen’ has been re-appraised and re-evaluated in the intervening years and now stands confirmed as an album of power and masterful songwriting.

But whatever the earlier critical barbs, the band returned at the height of Britpop in 1995 on their own terms with ‘Grand Prix’. Paradoxically, the band’s three songwriting talents, each with their own distinct approaches, coalesced to create a unified statement of intent.

Boasting the hits ‘Mellow Doubt’, ’Sparky’s Dream’ and ‘Neil Jung’, ‘Grand Prix’ prompted no less an authority than label mate Liam Gallagher to declare them “the second best band in the world.”

You’d be forgiven for expecting Teenage Fanclub to have peaked at this point, but with 1997’s magnificent ‘Songs From Northern Britain’ the band proved that not only had they lost none of their magic, they also possessed the ability to take stock of their lives, writing with a maturity and authority that reflected both the band and their audience.

Released in 2000, ‘Howdy’ is a consolidation of all the things that made you love Teenage Fanclub in the first place. Those three-part harmonies, exquisite arrangements and insistent melodies remain firmly in place, and this album stands as a fine example of masters at work.

And now these classic albums are to be re-issued on vinyl. Re-mastered from the original tapes at Abbey Road and pressed on to 180g vinyl, each album will come with a bonus two-track 7” single featuring contemporaneous B-sides or rarities – with the majority on vinyl for the first time.

Whether you’re re-affirming your feelings for Teenage Fanclub or falling in love with them for the first time, these are re-issues for listeners of distinction with music that’ll last you a lifetime.

Ain’t that enough?

Artist of the Month: Teenage Fanclub

PRE-ORDER

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: EARTH, WIND & FIRE

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: EARTH, WIND & FIRE

With a whole host of new playlists, channels and features approaching to celebrate the band’s fiftieth anniversary, our Artist of the Month for September is the mighty Earth, Wind & Fire.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH – PRIMAL SCREAM

ARTIST OF THE MONTH – PRIMAL SCREAM

With this year marking the 30th anniversary of the epoch-defining ‘Loaded’, our artist of the month for August are the evergreen party starters, Primal Scream.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: AC/DC

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: AC/DC

With the mightiest metal masterpiece of them all, ‘Back In Black’, celebrating its 40th birthday this month, AC/DC are our artists of the month for July.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: MANIC STREET PREACHERS

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: MANIC STREET PREACHERS

With a new deluxe edition of seminal second album ‘Gold Against The Soul’ on its way this month, our Artists of the Month for June are the Manic Street Preachers.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH – BOB DYLAN

ARTIST OF THE MONTH – BOB DYLAN

Fifty five years on from his domination of the UK album chart with five albums in the top twenty, and with the Nobel Laureate once again releasing new music with ‘Murder Most Foul’ and ‘I Contain Multitudes’, our Artist of the Month for May is the one and only Bob Dylan.

Read more
Artist of the Month: Prince

Artist of the Month: Prince

Following our recent collaborations with the great one’s Estate, and with more on the way, we’re rather more than proud to announce that our Artist of the Month for February is Prince.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: DEPECHE MODE

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: DEPECHE MODE

With the career-spanning, epic box set ‘MODE’ released this month, we revisit the legacy of one of the most innovative bands in musical history. Depeche Mode are our Artist of the Month for January.

Read more
ARTIST OF THE MONTH: WHAM!

ARTIST OF THE MONTH: WHAM!

With the new RomCom ‘Last Christmas’ out now in theaters, our Artist of the Month for the Yuletide season; the pop colossus that is Wham!

Read more
Artist of the Month: The Clash

Artist of the Month: The Clash

As a very special edition of 1979’s ‘London Calling’ hits the shelves, and the accompanying exhibition is due to open at the Museum of London, punk legends The Clash are our Artist of the Month for November.

Read more
Artist of the Month: Leonard Cohen

Artist of the Month: Leonard Cohen

With a new album, ‘Thanks For The Dance’, recently announced, we remember the life and genius of Leonard Cohen, our Artist of the Month for October.

Read more