The Bathers (band)
Encyclopedia
The Bathers are a Scottish
Chamber pop
band.
Formed in Glasgow
in 1985 after the band Friends Again
split up, they are essentially the vehicle for singer-songwriter
, Chris Thomson. They have released seven album
s.
Thomson secured a deal with Go! Discs Records
and released the debut album Unusual Places To Die in 1987. The album gained an enthusiastic reception, but label politics limited its success. Thomson went back to the drawing board and produced the follow-up Sweet Deceit. The album was released in 1990 by Island Records
and was, again, critically acclaimed. A flirtation with two key members of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
followed in the form of the Bloomsday album Fortuny.
The Bathers then signed to the German
label Marina Records and three albums were released – Lagoon Blues (1993), Sunpowder (1995) and Kelvingrove Baby (1997) – by a new band that now included string players and arrangers
Mark Wilson and Iain White, keyboard player Carlo Scattini and percussionist Hazel Morrison. Elizabeth Fraser
of the Cocteau Twins recorded several tracks with the band on 1995's Sunpowder, and performed live with them in Glasgow.
Thomson enjoyed a good relationship with Marina, but felt that a label nearer home would be preferable. The Bathers' sixth album, Pandemonia appeared on Wrasse Records
in 1999. The label also released Desire Regained in 2001, a compilation
of twenty re-recordings of the band's best known work.
In 2005 The Scotsman
put Sweet Deceit as one of their five lost Scottish classic albums. In 2003, the same newspaper listed Kelvingrove Baby at number 42 in its 100 Best Scottish Albums.
2010 saw the imminent release of new Bathers material, the first in nine years, from a collective including key musicians from the 'classic' Marina era line-up. The last known configuration of the group featured Thomson on lead vocal and guitar, Callum McNair on electric guitar, Hazel Morrison on drums and vocals, Iain White (violin, viola), Barry Overstreet (saxophone), Robert Henderson (trumpet), and Ken McHugh (bass).
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...
Chamber pop
Baroque pop
Baroque pop, Baroque rock, or English baroque, often used interchangeably with chamber pop/rock, is a pop and rock music subgenre which originated in the mid-1960s in the United Kingdom and United States...
band.
Formed 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...
in 1985 after the band Friends Again
Friends Again (band)
Friends Again were a Scottish 1980s New Wave/pop group, formed in 1982.It was built around by Chris Thomson, later of The Bathers, and James Grant, who went on to form Love and Money. The group was famous for their singles "State of Art", "Sunkissed" and "Honey at the Core". They released a...
split up, they are essentially the vehicle for singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
, Chris Thomson. They have released seven album
Album
An album is a collection of recordings, released as a single package on gramophone record, cassette, compact disc, or via digital distribution. The word derives from the Latin word for list .Vinyl LP records have two sides, each comprising one half of the album...
s.
Thomson secured a deal with Go! Discs Records
Go! Discs Records
Go! Discs was a Hammersmith, London based record label, launched in 1983 by Andy MacDonald and Lesley Symons. With artists like Billy Bragg, The Housemartins and later The Beautiful South, it became a prominent label. Go! Beat Records was launched as a subsidiary for dance artists like Beats...
and released the debut album Unusual Places To Die in 1987. The album gained an enthusiastic reception, but label politics limited its success. Thomson went back to the drawing board and produced the follow-up Sweet Deceit. The album was released in 1990 by Island Records
Island Records
Island Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
and was, again, critically acclaimed. A flirtation with two key members of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions
Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK...
followed in the form of the Bloomsday album Fortuny.
The Bathers then signed to the German
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
label Marina Records and three albums were released – Lagoon Blues (1993), Sunpowder (1995) and Kelvingrove Baby (1997) – by a new band that now included string players and arrangers
Arrangement
The American Federation of Musicians defines arranging as "the art of preparing and adapting an already written composition for presentation in other than its original form. An arrangement may include reharmonization, paraphrasing, and/or development of a composition, so that it fully represents...
Mark Wilson and Iain White, keyboard player Carlo Scattini and percussionist Hazel Morrison. Elizabeth Fraser
Elizabeth Fraser
Elizabeth Davidson Fraser is a Scottish singer best known as the vocalist for the pioneer alternative rock group Cocteau Twins...
of the Cocteau Twins recorded several tracks with the band on 1995's Sunpowder, and performed live with them in Glasgow.
Thomson enjoyed a good relationship with Marina, but felt that a label nearer home would be preferable. The Bathers' sixth album, Pandemonia appeared on Wrasse Records
Wrasse Records
Wrasse Records is a British record label. It was started in 1998 by Ian and Jo Ashbridge. Both had been involved in the music industry prior to them starting up their own company. Its offices are based in the UK, but it distributes its CDs all around the world...
in 1999. The label also released Desire Regained in 2001, a compilation
Compilation album
A compilation album is an album featuring tracks from one or more performers, often culled from a variety of sources The tracks are usually collected according to a common characteristic, such as popularity, genre, source or subject matter...
of twenty re-recordings of the band's best known work.
In 2005 The Scotsman
The Scotsman
The Scotsman is a British newspaper, published in Edinburgh.As of August 2011 it had an audited circulation of 38,423, down from about 100,000 in the 1980s....
put Sweet Deceit as one of their five lost Scottish classic albums. In 2003, the same newspaper listed Kelvingrove Baby at number 42 in its 100 Best Scottish Albums.
2010 saw the imminent release of new Bathers material, the first in nine years, from a collective including key musicians from the 'classic' Marina era line-up. The last known configuration of the group featured Thomson on lead vocal and guitar, Callum McNair on electric guitar, Hazel Morrison on drums and vocals, Iain White (violin, viola), Barry Overstreet (saxophone), Robert Henderson (trumpet), and Ken McHugh (bass).
Albums
- Unusual Places To Die (Go! Discs) 1987
- Sweet Deceit (Island RecordsIsland RecordsIsland Records is a record label that was founded by Chris Blackwell in Jamaica. It was based in the United Kingdom for many years and is now owned by Universal Music Group...
) 1990 - Lagoon Blues (Marina Records) 1993
- Sunpowder (Marina Records) 1995
- Kelvingrove Baby (Marina Records) 1997
- Pandemonia (Wrasse RecordsWrasse RecordsWrasse Records is a British record label. It was started in 1998 by Ian and Jo Ashbridge. Both had been involved in the music industry prior to them starting up their own company. Its offices are based in the UK, but it distributes its CDs all around the world...
) 1999 - Desire Regained (Wrasse Records) 2001