Biography
Originally comprising Viv Strachan (vocals), Gordon McIntyre (guitar), Nick Reynolds (bass), and Alexis Beattie (drums), Ballboy played gigs around Edinburgh for a few years, and recorded tracks for the Edinburgh indie compilation it's a life sentence..., released by the newly formed SL Records label in 1997.
By 1999 Gordon McIntyre, the band's main songwriter, had taken over vocal duties. Katie Griffiths had joined on keyboards, and Gary Morgan had taken over the drums. The band signed to SL Records that year, and released a series of EPs. The tracks from these EPs were collected on 2001's Club Anthems. The band toured the United States in September / October 2002 and McIntyre's journal of the tour was published in The Scotsman newspaper.
Their "proper" debut album, A Guide for the Daylight Hours, was released in November 2002, featuring artwork by Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley. This album was followed in 2003 by the acoustic, and often melancholy, The Sash My Father Wore and Other Stories, virtually a solo record by McIntyre.
In 2004, Ballboy returned to full band mode, with a new keyboard player, Alexa Morrison, and their third album. The band continue to play live occasionally and released their fourth studio album I Worked on the Ships in August 2008. Gordon McIntyre has begun work on a side project, ++Money Can't Buy Music.
From their early releases, the band were popular with the late DJ John Peel, and had several tracks featured in the Festive Fifty charts. They recorded several sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show, including a Christmas special live from Peel Acres, where McIntyre recorded a duet with American country singer Laura Cantrell.
In Autumn 2008, McIntyre composed the soundtrack for the Traverse Theatre Company production of Midsummer by David Greig. Midsummer performed at the Traverse Theatre, Edinburgh, from 24 October to 15 November 2008.
Read more about this topic: Ballboy (band)
Famous quotes containing the word biography:
“Just how difficult it is to write biography can be reckoned by anybody who sits down and considers just how many people know the real truth about his or her love affairs.”
—Rebecca West (1892–1983)
“Had Dr. Johnson written his own life, in conformity with the opinion which he has given, that every man’s life may be best written by himself; had he employed in the preservation of his own history, that clearness of narration and elegance of language in which he has embalmed so many eminent persons, the world would probably have had the most perfect example of biography that was ever exhibited.”
—James Boswell (1740–95)
“The best part of a writer’s biography is not the record of his adventures but the story of his style.”
—Vladimir Nabokov (1899–1977)