National Park are a Scottish band formed in 1997 in

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 ...

. The band's music has been described as having some similarities to

Velvet Underground Weave details visible on a purple-colored velvet fabric Velvet is a type of woven tufted fabric Textile is an umbrella term that includes various fiber-based materials, including fibers, yarns, filaments, threads, different fabri ...

Galaxie 500 Galaxie 500 was an American alternative rock band that formed in 1987 and split up in 1991 after releasing three albums: ''Today'', '' On Fire'' and '' This Is Our Music''. The band was made up of guitarist/vocalist Dean Wareham, drummer Damon K ...

and

Yo La Tengo Yo La Tengo (YLT; Spanish for "I have her") is an American indie rock band formed in Hoboken, New Jersey, in 1984. Since 1992, the lineup has consisted of Ira Kaplan (guitars, piano, vocals), Georgia Hubley (drums, piano, vocals), and James McNew ...

"without sounding like anything else.""

History

The band was formed by former

Telstar Ponies Telstar Ponies are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 1994. Their musical style varies considerably but displays influences from Krautrock, folk (especially latterly), and experimental noise. History They were formed in 1994 by David ...

member John Hogarty and Scott Walker.Strong, Martin C. (2003) "National Park", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, In August 1997, the band played their first gig.

Simon Shaw Simon Dalton Shaw MBE (born 1 September 1973) is a former English rugby union player who played as a lock. He played for Bristol, London Wasps and Toulon. He won 71 caps for England between 1996 and 2011, and 2 for the British & Irish Lions ...

and Michael McGaughrin of the band ''V-Twin'' joined Hogarty and Walker, and played the bass and

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, respectively. National Park's first single, "Great Western", was a 10" released on Earworm records; a ten-minute-long improvisation. It was recorded on a

tape deck An audio tape recorder, also known as a tape deck, tape player or tape machine or simply a tape recorder, is a sound recording and reproduction device that records and plays back sounds usually using magnetic tape for storage. In its present- ...

at an early rehearsal session. Despite the length of the track it was

playlist A playlist is a list of video or audio files that can be played back on a media player either sequentially or in a shuffled order. In its most general form, an audio playlist is simply a list of songs, but sometimes a loop. The term has sever ...

ed on

Xfm London Radio X is a British National commercial radio station focused on alternative rock, alternative music, primarily indie rock, and owned by Global Media & Entertainment, Global. Radio X launched in 1989 as a pirate radio station, a licensed Lon ...

. Hogarty was also part of the Phantom Engineer project with David Keenan and

Bill Wells Bill Wells (born c. 1963)Strong, Martin C. (2003) "Bill Wells", in ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, is a Scottish bassist, pianist, guitarist and composer. Biography Wells is completely self-taught, and began performing in clubs in ...

. Collaborations with Future Pilot A.K.A. then followed, and were released on Beggars Banquet Records and also on Earworm records. The band also played live with many of their favourite bands, including

Belle and 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" come ...

at the

Shepherd's Bush Empire Shepherd's Bush Empire (currently known as O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire for sponsorship reasons, and formerly known as the BBC Television Theatre) is a music venue in Shepherd's Bush, West London, run by the Academy Music Group. It was originally ...

. Scott Walker left the band in 1999, and was replaced briefly by Alasdair Roberts (of

Appendix Out Alasdair Roberts (born 8 August 1977) is a Scottish folk musician. He released a number of albums under the name Appendix Out and, following the 2001 album ''The Night Is Advancing'', under his own name. Roberts is also known for his frequent ...

) and later by

Gerard Love Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom share ...

Teenage Fanclub Teenage Fanclub are a Scottish alternative rock band formed in Bellshill near Glasgow in 1989. The group were founded by Norman Blake (vocals, guitar), Raymond McGinley (vocals, lead guitar) and Gerard Love (vocals, bass), all of whom shared ...

. Walker did return briefly to record "No More Rides" for the compilation ''You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think is Right'', which was released by Geographic Music, a

subsidiary A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a s ...

Domino Recording Company Domino Recording Company or simply Domino is a British independent record label based in London. There is also a wing of the label based in Brooklyn, New York that handles releases in the United States, as well as a German division called Dom ...

during 2001-2002. In 2003, the band released a lathe-cut 7" single, "Background Frequencies", on an

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n label. In 2005 National Park released " The Only Stars" in

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

, which featured contributions by Bill Wells (

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

), Sarah Martin (

flute The flute is a family of classical music instrument in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, meaning they make sound by vibrating a column of air. However, unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is a reedless ...

) and

Mick Cooke Mick Cooke (born 15 December 1973) is a Scotland, Scottish muli-instrumentalist who was the trumpet player of the indie band Belle & Sebastian for fifteen years before leaving in 2013 to concentrate on composing full-time.Taylor, Luke (2013)Int ...

(

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

) of

Discography

Singles

*"Great Western" (1998) 10" on Earworm *"Norman Dolph's Money" (1999) 7" collaboration with Future Pilot AKA on Earworm *"Secret Songs" (2003) 7" on Background Frequencies *"The Only Stars" (2005) 7" on Yield

Compilation appearances

*"Sterling", on ''Future Pilot A.K.A. vs. A Galaxy of Sound'' (2000) *"No More Rides" on ''You Don't Need Darkness to Do What You Think Is Right'' (2002) Geographic *"The Only Stars", on ''Crunk Into Up Vol. 3'' (2005)

References

External links

Official websiteNational Park
at Earworm

at Yield {{DEFAULTSORT:National Park (Band) Musical groups established in 1997 Musical groups from Glasgow