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Shop Assistants were a Scottish
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 su ...
band from
Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian on the southern shore of t ...
, Scotland, formed in 1984, initially as 'Buba & The Shop Assistants'.Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 502 After achieving success with independent releases they signed to Chrysalis Records sublabel Blue Guitar, releasing their only album in 1986. After splitting in 1987, with singer Alex Taylor moving on to The Motorcycle Boy, they reformed for two further singles in 1990.


History

The band began as Buba & The Shop Assistants, consisting of lead vocalist Aggi (Annabel Wright, later of
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 ...
), guitarist David Keegan, bassist John Peutherer, and drummer Moray Crawford. This line-up released one single, the now highly collectible "Something to Do" on Villa21 Records, which was produced by Stephen Pastel. Pastel also contributed backing vocals. Peutherer and Crawford were credited on the sleeve as "Murray-John." Aggi left to be replaced by Karen Parker, who was later joined by second vocalist Alex Taylor. After some live performances, Parker, Peutherer, and Crawford departed and were replaced by Sarah Kneale (bass), Laura MacPhail (drums) and Ann Donald (drums). The band's name was shortened to Shop Assistants, and the first release under their new name was the ''Shopping Parade'' EP in 1985 on
The Subway Organization The Subway Organization was a British independent record label founded in 1985 in Bristol by Martin Whitehead. Indie pop and ''C86'' The label was associated with the indie pop movement and the seminal '' NME'' cassette tape '' C86'', that in ...
. The lead track, "All Day Long" was described by Morrissey as his favourite single of that year. Donald left in late 1985, and was briefly replaced on drums by Joan Bride. ''Shopping Parade'' was followed in early 1986 with " Safety Net", the first release on Keegan's 53rd & 3rd Records, which peaked at number two in the
UK Independent Chart The UK Independent Singles Chart and UK Independent Albums Chart are charts of the best-selling independent singles and albums, respectively, in the United Kingdom. Originally published in January 1980, and widely known as the indie chart, the rele ...
,Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 204 and the band recorded a national radio session with
Janice Long Janice Berry ( Chegwin; 5 April 1955 – 25 December 2021), known professionally by her first married name Janice Long, was an English broadcaster who was best known for her work in British music radio. In a career that spanned five decades, ...
and a second John Peel session, both of
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
's Radio One.Garner, Ken (1993) ''In Session Tonight'', BBC Books, , p. 292 The exposure they gained from the sessions enabled the group to have two songs to be voted into John Peel's
Festive Fifty The Festive Fifty was originally an annual list of the year's 50 (though the exact figure varied above and below this number) best songs compiled at the end of the year and voted for by listeners to John Peel's BBC Radio 1 show. It was usually do ...
in both 1985 and 1986.The Shop Assistants
, ''Keeping It Peel'',
BBC #REDIRECT BBC #REDIRECT BBC Here i going to introduce about the best teacher of my life b BALAJI sir. He is the precious gift that I got befor 2yrs . How has helped and thought all the concept and made my success in the 10th board exam. ...
...
, retrieved 2011-07-23 In 1986, The Shop Assistants were featured on the ''
NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...
''s compilation ''
C86 ''C86'' is a cassette compilation released by the British music magazine '' NME'' in 1986, featuring new bands licensed from British independent record labels of the time. As a term, C86 quickly evolved into shorthand for a guitar-based music g ...
'' with one of their slower songs, "It's Up To You", taken from ''Shopping Parade'' EP. Also in that year, they signed to Chrysalis Records's sublabel Blue Guitar for another single, "I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You", as well as their only album, '' Shop Assistants''. That single reached number 77 in the
UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...
, while the LP spent one week at number 100 in the
UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is a list of albums ranked by physical and digital sales and (from March 2015) audio streaming in the United Kingdom. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the Official Charts ...
. The album was re-released on CD in 2001, and is now out of print. The Shop Assistants split early in 1987, when Taylor left the group to join The Motorcycle Boy. After a two-year hiatus, the band reformed without Taylor, and with Kneale on vocals, MacPhail on bass, and the addition of Margarita Vasquez-Ponte of Jesse Garon And The Desperadoes on drums. With the new line-up, they recorded new material in late October 1989 at Chamber Studios in Edinburgh; releasing the singles "Here It Comes" in 1989 and "Big 'E' Power" in 1990 on Avalanche Records. They also recorded a cover of The Rolling Stones' 1978 song " Respectable" for the tribute album ''Stoned Again - A Tribute to The Rolling Stones'' on Imaginary Records. They split up again shortly afterwards, with Keegan joining
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 ...
. It was revealed in 2020 that Alex Taylor had died in 2005.


Discography


Albums

*'' Shop Assistants'' (November 1986, Blue Guitar Records) UK No. 100


Singles

*"Something to Do" (November 1984, Villa) - as ''Buba & The Shop Assistants'' *''Shopping Parade'' EP: "All Day Long"; "Switzerland"; "All That Ever Mattered"; "It's Up to You" (August 1985, Subway) *" Safety Net" (February 1986, 53rd & 3rd) *"I Don't Wanna Be Friends With You" (September 1986, Blue Guitar) UK No. 77 *"Here It Comes" (January 1990, Avalanche Recordst) *"Big 'E' Power" (May 1990, Avalanche Records)


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shop Assistants Scottish indie rock groups Musical groups from Edinburgh British indie pop groups