Butcher Boy are an

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and sub ...

band from

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

. Formed in 1998, they released their album '' Profit in Your Poetry'' in 2007. Their second album, '' React or Die'', was released on 13 April 2009.Band biography on HDIF website

History

The band was formed in 1998 by lead singer and songwriter John Blain Hunt (well known in the Scott Glasgow indie music scene as the organiser of club night National Pop League).'' Profit in Your Poetry'' review, ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', April 2007 Hunt had previously used 'Butcher Boy' as a pen name when submitting poetry to newspapers.''Profit in Your Poetry'' review, '' The Metro'', 12 March 2007 The band has its roots in

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

(where Hunt grew up) but is now Glasgow-based. The core band has been augmented by string and brass musicians for live performances and recordings. On record, they first appeared in August 2006 on the HDIF label's compilation ''The Kids at the Club'' with their song "Days Like This Will Be the Death of Me", described as "wonderful" (though " Smiths-indebted") by ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

''. Their first album, ''Profit in Your Poetry'', was released in April 2007 (having been preceded by download-only single, "Girls Make Me Sick") and attracted overwhelmingly positive reviews, described as "flipping from string-skirling kitchen sink dramas to

Motown Motown Records is an American record label owned by the Universal Music Group. It was founded by Berry Gordy Jr. as Tamla Records on June 7, 1958, and incorporated as Motown Record Corporation on April 14, 1960. Its name, a portmanteau of ''moto ...

bluster", "a promising debut",''Profit In Your Poetry'' review
''

'', 9 March 2007 and having "an instant and addictive charm that even Mozzer would be proud of".''Profit in Your Poetry'' review, '' The Skinny'', March 2007 Reviewers detected influences such as Tindersticks,

Felt Felt is a textile material that is produced by matting, condensing and pressing fibers together. Felt can be made of natural fibers such as wool or animal fur, or from synthetic fibers such as petroleum-based acrylic or acrylonitrile or wood ...

Love Love encompasses a range of strong and positive emotional and mental states, from the most sublime virtue or good habit, the deepest Interpersonal relationship, interpersonal affection, to the simplest pleasure. An example of this range of ...

Belle & Sebastian Belle and Sebastian are a Scottish indie pop band formed in Glasgow in 1996. Led by Stuart Murdoch, the band has released eleven albums. They are often compared with acts such as The Smiths and Nick Drake. The name "Belle and Sebastian" comes ...

, and the Chameleons. The band released an EP, ''The Eighteenth Emergency'', in September 2007, to tie in with several live dates in Glasgow and a short tour of England. In May 2008 the track "I Know Who You Could Be" from ''Profit in Your Poetry'', was used in the US TV drama series ''

Moonlight Moonlight consists of mostly sunlight (with little earthlight) reflected from the parts of the Moon's surface where the Sun's light strikes. Illumination The intensity of moonlight varies greatly depending on the lunar phase, but even the ful ...

''. The song can be heard during the final scene of

episode 14 Episode 14 may refer to: * "Episode 14" (''Primeval'') * "Episode 14" (''Twin Peaks'') * "Episode 14" (''Ugly Betty'' episode) {{disambiguation ...

, which was edited so that the song could be used in its entirety. Their second album, ''React or Die'', was released on 13 April 2009, preceded by the single "A Better Ghost". The band have made a video for the single, filmed in part at the Britannia Panopticon Music Hall in Glasgow.

Members

The current members are: *Maya Burman-Roy: 2007–present (cello) *Alison Eales: 2005–present (keyboards, accordion) *Fraser Ford: 2008–present (guitar, keyboards) *John Blain Hunt: 1998–present (vocals, guitar) *Findlay MacKinnon: 2005–present (drums, percussion) *Aoife Magee: 2004–present (viola) *Basil Pieroni: 2005–present (guitar) *Garry Hoggan: 2003–2008, 2019–present (bass guitar) *Robert Spark: 2008–present (bass guitar) Former members are: *Jenny Diep: 2007 (cello, keyboards) *Andy Forrester: 1998–2003 (bass guitar, drums) *Jacqui Grant: 2001–2007 (cello) *Keith Martin: 2000–2001 (drums) *Gina Murphy: 2001–2003 (keyboards) *Susan Vennard: 1998–2000 (keyboards)

Discography

Albums

*'' Profit in Your Poetry'' (2007) *'' React or Die'' (2009) *
Helping Hands
' (2011)

EPs

*'' The Eighteenth Emergency EP'' (2007) *''Bad Things Happen When it's Quiet EP'' (2017)

Singles

*" Girls Make Me Sick" (2007) *"Carve a Pattern" (2009) *"A Better Ghost" (2009) *"Imperial" (2011)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Butcher Boy Musical groups established in 1998 Scottish pop music groups Scottish indie pop groups 1998 establishments in Scotland