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 to the southwest, Viewpark to the w ...

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 als ...

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 th ...

) 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 pop ...

-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) 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 Duglas T. Stewart (born 30 December 1964) has been leader and the main composer of Glaswegian indie pop band BMX Bandits since they formed in 1985. Stewart's songs often have a distinctive and wry combination of whimsy, bittersweet romance and ...

, Frances McKee, 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, Francis Macdonald 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 shared ...

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 ...

by acts including Velvet Crush,

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 Barl ...

, 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 as The Famous Monsters, and Francis MacDonald as Frank Blake. More recently, Blake has recorded and co-written material with Euros Childs, forming the indie superduo Jonny. Blake has also appeared on recordings by The Trash Can Sinatras, The Pastels,

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 ass ...

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, Snowgoose, Yeon Gene and

The Pearlfishers ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things that are already or about to be mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in En ...

. Blake has produced recordings for Speedboat (featuring Finlay MacDonald), The Pearlfishers and 1990s. Blake has solo recordings on the albums '' Caroline Now!'' (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 ''Ballads of the Book'' is a collaborative studio album, released on 5 March 2007, on Chemikal Underground. The project was curated by Idlewild lead vocalist Roddy Woomble, and features collaborations between Scottish musicians and Scottish ...

''. 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" comes ...

'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 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 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. In 2018, Blake produced the debut (and only) album, ''Things That Roar'', by Manchester band,

The Beep Seals The Beep Seals were an English psychedelic indie rock band from Manchester. Career The Beep Seals were formed in 2006 by former Alfie guitarist Ian Smith, Jack Cooper, Phil Anderson and Milo Scaglioni. They began working on demos after tourin ...

. The band was fronted by former Alfie guitarist, Ian Smith, and Jack Cooper, who went on to form several bands including Ultimate Painting and Mazes. Blake features prominently in the 2017 documentary ''

Teenage Superstars ''Teenage Superstars'' is a 2017 film about the Glasgow independent music scene between 1982 and 1992, focusing on the bands that emerged from in and around the city at this point including The Pastels, BMX Bandits, The Soup Dragons, Teenage Fanc ...

''.

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