Scottish Pop - From Postcard to Findo Gask

Above, you can see the video for the excellent ‘Va Va Va’ by Findo Gask which I wrote about here. The video is about 6 months late and isn’t half as good as the song but still, it’s a nice reminder of how brilliant the tune is. It also ties in well with a documentary I came across on Youtube which follows the history of Scottish pop music from Orange Juice through to Franz Ferdinand. What’s particularly nice about the programme is seeing Orange Juice and The Associates get the full respect they deserve, as they’re normally glossed over in the pantheon of great pop bands. It also focuses on Alan Horne, the brains behind Postcard Records - they didn’t release that many records but he is responsible for discovering Aztec Camera and Josef K as well as Orange Juice.

Below, is the first part of the BBC programme. The first four and a half parts are worth watching (You can find them all by searching for ‘Caledonia Dreamin’ in Youtube) but then it all goes a bit Deacon Blue.

And below, another Scottish pop music thing I came across. It’s a solo performance by Belle & Sebastian man, Stevie Jackson singing a song called ‘Try Me’ accompanied by another Scot popwriter, Norman Blake of Teenage Fanclub.