Norman Blake (born 20 October 1965,

Bellshill Bellshill (pronounced "Bells hill") is a town in North Lanarkshire in Scotland, southeast of Glasgow city centre and west of Edinburgh. Other nearby localities are Motherwell to the south, Hamilton, South Lanarkshire, Hamilton to the south ...

North Lanarkshire North Lanarkshire ( sco, North Lanrikshire; gd, Siorrachd Lannraig a Tuath) is one of 32 council areas of Scotland. It borders the northeast of the City of Glasgow and contains many of Glasgow's suburbs and commuter towns and villages. It also ...

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 ...

) is a Scottish singer, instrumentalist and songwriter in the

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 ...

-based band

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 ...

. Blake and Sean Dickson (

The Soup Dragons ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

) were in The Faith Healers together, which also contained various members at different times Stevie Gray, Hugh McLaughlin, Brian Carson and Colin Murray to name but a few. Blake was a member of the Glasgow group, The Pretty Flowers, with school friend Duglas T. Stewart,

Frances McKee Frances McKee (born 1966) is a Scottish singer and songwriter known best for her work in the Scottish indie band The Vaselines. Background McKee's involvement with music began as a teenager in the early 1980s when she met Duglas T. Stewa ...

, Janice Cochrane and Sean Dickson. After the group split Blake formed the Boy Hairdressers in 1986, the original lineup being really just Blake assisted by Dickson and Stewart. Later Blake was joined by Joe McAlinden,

Jim Lambie James Lambie (born 1964 in Glasgow, Scotland) is a contemporary visual artist, and was shortlisted for the 2005 Turner Prize with an installation called ''Mental Oyster''. Jim Lambie graduated from the Glasgow School of Art (1990-1994) with an H ...

and three future members of Teenage Fanclub

Raymond McGinley 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 ...

Francis Macdonald Francis Macdonald (born 11 September 1970) drums with Teenage Fanclub. He makes music for filmmakers and TV and manages Camera Obscura and The Vaselines. On 30 March 2015, he released ''Music For String Quartet, Piano And Celeste'', described b ...

and Paul Quinn (after Macdonald's departure) ( Brendan O’ Hare also in joined the group at this time) The group recorded one EP for 53rd and 3rd Records featuring three of Blake's compositions. In 1986, Blake also joined BMX Bandits, originally on drums and later moving to guitar. Blake became a key songwriter for them, co-authoring some of their best-loved material including "Disco Girl", "Serious Drugs" and "Right Across the Street". Blake also joined Glasgow group The Clouds for a short stay, playing lead guitar on their single Get Out of My Dream. In 1989 Blake formed

with McGinley, later enlisting Francis Macdonald and

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 ...

to record their debut ''A Catholic Education''.The album was primarily composed by Blake and included the anthemic "Everything Flows" (later

covered Cover or covers may refer to: Packaging * Another name for a lid * Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package * Album cover, the front of the packaging * Book cover or magazine cover ** Book design ** Back cover copy, part of co ...

by acts including

Velvet Crush Velvet Crush is an American power pop band from Providence, Rhode Island, United States, that achieved prominence in indie-rock circles in the early- and mid-1990s. The band broke up in 1996 but re-formed in 1998 and have continued to record, r ...

Dinosaur Jr Dinosaur Jr. is an American rock band formed in Amherst, Massachusetts, in 1984, originally simply called Dinosaur until legal issues forced a change in name. The band was founded by J Mascis (guitar, vocals, primary songwriter), Lou Barlow ...

, Idlewild and Gallygows). The album was recorded in Glasgow back to back with the debut album of Blake's other group at that time, BMX Bandits, the ironically titled ''C86'', which Blake also wrote much of the material for. Blake officially left the Bandits in 1991 after their ''Star Wars'' album but continues to be an occasional contributor to their records. Blake has found international fame and acclaim with Teenage Fanclub for his songwriting talents and vocal abilities in both lead and harmony roles. Blake's songs are melodic and great, and an appreciation and understanding of many musical genres. His best loved songs for Teenage Fanclub include " Straight and Narrow ", "Alcoholiday", "Did I Say" and "Neil Jung". Blake has continued to contribute to projects without his main band, including one-off collaborations with

Eugene Kelly Eugene Kelly (born 9 August 1965) Eugene Kelly allmusic biography. is a Scottish musician who is a member of the group The Vaselines, a founding member of the now disbanded Eugenius and has had a number of solo releases. Eugene Kelly formed The ...

as The Famous Monsters, and Francis MacDonald as Frank Blake. More recently, Blake has recorded and co-written material with

Euros Childs Euros Childs (; Welsh: ; born 16 April 1975) is a Welsh musician and songwriter, perhaps best known as the frontman for the band Gorky's Zygotic Mynci and—as of January 2019—the keyboardist for Teenage Fanclub. His sister, violinist Megan C ...

, forming the indie superduo

Jonny Jonny is a masculine given name, and pet name, in the English language. A pet form of Jon, the natural diminutive of given name Jonathan, in some cases it can also mean a condom. A variant form of ''Jonny'' is ''Jonnie''. People with the name * ...

. Blake has also appeared on recordings by

The Trash Can Sinatras Trashcan Sinatras are a Scottish band that were formed in Irvine, Scotland in 1986. The band's music makes frequent use of pop harmonies and wordplay. History Formation The band members met through the club/pub music scene in Irvine. The ...

The Pastels The Pastels are an indie rock group from Glasgow formed in 1981. They were a key act of the Scottish and British independent music scenes of the 1980s, and are specifically credited for the development of an independent and confident music scen ...

Kevin Ayers Kevin Ayers (16 August 1944 – 18 February 2013) was an English singer-songwriter who was active in the English psychedelic music movement. Ayers was a founding member of the psychedelic band Soft Machine in the mid-1960s, and was closely assoc ...

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 ...

The Reindeer Section The Reindeer Section are a Scottish indie rock supergroup formed in 2001 by Gary Lightbody of Snow Patrol, which released albums and gigged in 2001 and 2002. Lightbody describes the band's sound as "pretty much all very slow, quiet, folky-ty ...

, Snowgoose, Yeon Gene and The Pearlfishers. Blake has produced recordings for Speedboat (featuring Finlay MacDonald), The Pearlfishers and

1990s File:1990s decade montage.png, From top left, clockwise: The Hubble Space Telescope orbits the Earth after it was launched in 1990; American F-16s and F-15s fly over burning oil fields in Operation Desert Storm, also known as the 1991 Gulf War ...

. Blake has solo recordings on the albums ''

Caroline Now! ''Caroline Now!: The Songs of Brian Wilson and the Beach Boys'' is a 2000 tribute album devoted to songs by the Beach Boys, consisting of cover versions recorded by independent artists. The chosen material focuses on rarities by the group, some o ...

'' (a tribute album to

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

) and '' Ballads of the Book''. In 2001, Blake stood down from being elected

Rector of the University of Glasgow The (Lord) Rector of the University of Glasgow is one of the most senior posts within the institution, elected every three years by students. The theoretical role of the rector is to represent students to the senior management of the university ...

to make room for his friend,

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 ...

's, Stuart Murdoch. In 2009, Blake moved to live with his Canadian wife in

Kitchener, Ontario ) , image_flag = Flag of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , image_seal = Seal of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_shield=Coat of arms of Kitchener, Canada.svg , image_blank_emblem = Logo of Kitchener, Ontario.svg , blank_emblem_type = ...

. He is currently collaborating with

Joe Pernice Joseph T. Pernice (born July 17, 1967) is an American indie rock musician and writer, who has fronted several bands, including the Scud Mountain Boys, Chappaquiddick Skyline, The New Mendicants and the Pernice Brothers. Originally from Holbrook ...

in The New Mendicants. Their debut album, ''Into the Lime,'' was released in January 2014. In 2014, Blake released ''How Many Glasgow'', an album in collaboration with

Jad Fair Jad Fair (born June 9, 1954) is an American singer, guitarist, graphic artist, and founding member of lo-fi alternative rock group Half Japanese. Biography Fair was born in Coldwater, Michigan. In 1974, he and his brother David formed the lo-fi ...

and Tenniscoats on the label Sweet Dreams Press. 2015 saw the release of the album ''Yes'', a collaboration with Jad Fair as part of Fair's artist in residence project with Indianapolis label

Joyful Noise Recordings Joyful Noise Recordings is an independent record label from Indianapolis, Indiana. The label was founded in 2003 in Bloomington, Indiana by Karl Hofstetter, who also played drums on many of the label's first releases. Joyful Noise maintains an a ...

. In 2018, Blake produced the debut (and only) album, ''Things That Roar'', by Manchester band, The Beep Seals. The band was fronted by former

Alfie Alfie may refer to: Theatre and film * ''Alfie'' (play), a 1963 play by Bill Naughton * ''Alfie'' (1966 film), a film based on the play starring Michael Caine * ''Alfie'' (2004 film), a remake of the 1966 film * ''Alfie'' (2013 film), an Indi ...

guitarist, Ian Smith, and Jack Cooper, who went on to form several bands including

Ultimate Painting Ultimate Painting were an English alternative rock band, formed in London in 2014. The band was composed of co-frontmen Jack Cooper and James Hoare, with a revolving cast of rhythm sections. The band were named after a painting made by the Dro ...

and

Mazes A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that le ...

. Blake features prominently in the 2017 documentary '' Teenage Superstars''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blake, Norman 1965 births Living people Musicians from Glasgow 21st-century Scottish male singers Scottish songwriters British indie rock musicians Teenage Fanclub members Scottish emigrants to Canada 20th-century Scottish male singers British male songwriters