The Bathers are a Scottish

chamber pop Chamber pop (or Chamber rock; also called baroque pop and sometimes conflated with orchestral pop or symphonic pop) is a music genre that combines rock music with the intricate use of string section, strings, horn section, horns, piano, and voca ...

band. The vehicle for singer-songwriter, Chris Thomson, they are sometimes referred to as ''"the best-kept secret in Scottish music"'' and have released seven albums. Initially active between 1985 and 2001, they reformed in 2016.

Biography

Chris Thomson originally came to attention with the 1980s

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 ...

funk/pop/Celtic soul band Friends Again, which also featured future Love and Money members Paul McGeechan, James Grant and Stuart Kerr. When Friends Again split up in 1985, Thomson secured a solo deal with

Go! Discs Records Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Symo ...

, using the project name of "The Bathers" and drawing on a pool of musicians (including Grant) to flesh out his songs. The debut Bathers album was 1987's ''Unusual Places To Die''. Recorded with a core band of Thomson, Sam Loup (bass), Jon Turner (keyboards) and James Locke (drums), it gained an enthusiastic critical reception, but label politics limited its success. Thomson went back to the drawing board, changed record labels, and released the follow-up ''Sweet Deceit'' on

Island Records Island Records is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It was founded in 1959 by Chris Blackwell, Graeme Goodall, and Leslie Kong in Jamaica, and was eventually sold to PolyGram in 1989. Island and A&M Records, anoth ...

in 1990, to further critical acclaim. Thomson then took time out from The Bathers to work with two former members of

Lloyd Cole and the Commotions Lloyd Cole and the Commotions were a British rock/pop band that formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 1982. Between 1984 and 1989, the band scored four Top 20 albums and five Top 40 singles in the UK; it also had success in several other countries in ...

( Neil Clark and

Stephen Irvine Stephen Irvine (born 1959) is a Scottish musician, formerly a member of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. Following the breakup of that band, he continued to work in the music industry and as a session musician worked with Del Amitri, Étienne Da ...

) and Madness bass player

Mark Bedford Mark William Bedford (born 24 August 1961),Strong, Martin C. (2002) ''The Great Rock Discography'', Canongate, , p. 638 nicknamed Bedders, is an English musician, songwriter and composer. Bedford came to prominence in the late 1970s as the bass ...

in the one-off band Bloomsday, who released their lone album ''Fortuny'' in 1990. Returning to The Bathers, Thompson signed to the German label

Marina Records Marina Records is a German record label started in 1993 and specialising in indie pop. Acts include Ashby, Pearlfishers, Cowboy Mouth (the Grahame Skinner band, not the better-known American act) and The Bathers. Marina has also released albums b ...

, which would go on to release three albums by the band – ''Lagoon Blues'' (1993), ''Sunpowder'' (1995) and ''Kelvingrove Baby'' (1997). Working from a floating membership (which still included James Grant, Neil Clark and James Locke) The Bathers now featured string players and arrangers Mark Wilson and Iain White, keyboard player Carlo Scattini and drummer/percussionist Hazel Morrison (who also added operatic soprano backing vocals).

Elizabeth Fraser Elizabeth Davidson Fraser (born 29 August 1963), is a Scottish singer, songwriter and musician. Hailing from Grangemouth, Scotland, she is best known as the vocalist for the pioneering dream pop band Cocteau Twins who achieved international ...

the Cocteau Twins Cocteau Twins was a Scottish rock band active from 1979 to 1997. They were formed in Grangemouth by Robin Guthrie (guitars, drum machine) and Will Heggie (bass), adding Elizabeth Fraser (vocals) in 1981 and replacing Heggie with multi-instru ...

recorded several tracks with the band on 1995's ''Sunpowder'', and performed live with them in Glasgow. Although Thomson enjoyed a good relationship with Marina, he felt that a label nearer home would be preferable: consequently, The Bathers' sixth album ''Pandemonia'' appeared on

Wrasse Records Wrasse Records is a British record label based in Ashtead, Surrey. It was started in 1998 by Ian and Jo Ashbridge. Both had been involved in the music industry prior to them starting up their own company. Its offices are based in the UK, but it d ...

in 1999. By 2001, The Bathers featured Thomson, Morrison, White, Callum McNair (electric guitar), Ken McHugh (bass), Barry Overstreet (saxophone, guitar, vocals) and Robert Henderson (trumpet), but gigs were rare. Despite never formally splitting up, the band quietly bowed out after releasing ''Desire Regained'' in 2001 (a

compilation Compilation may refer to: *In computer programming, the translation of source code into object code by a compiler **Compilation error **Compilation unit *Product bundling, a marketing strategy used to sell multiple products *Compilation thesis M ...

of twenty re-recordings of the best known Bathers songs). The Bathers' reputation remained intact despite their retirement – in 2003, ''

The Scotsman ''The Scotsman'' is a Scottish compact newspaper and daily news website headquartered in Edinburgh. First established as a radical political paper in 1817, it began daily publication in 1855 and remained a broadsheet until August 2004. Its par ...

'' listed the fifth Bathers album ''Kelvingrove Baby'' at number 42 in its 100 Best Scottish Albums; in 2005 the newspaper put the band's second opus ''Sweet Deceit'' as one of their five lost Scottish classic albums.News.scotsman.com
/ref> After fifteen years of inactivity, Chris Thomson reformed The Bathers in January 2016 to play two shows at the Celtic Connections festival in Glasgow, with a lineup of himself, Hazel Morrison and James Grant, plus Maya Burman-Roy, Andrew Cruickshank and Kobus Frick. Subsequently reverting to the Thomson-Morrison-McNair-McHugh lineup, the band announced further dates for October 2016 in Glasgow, Edinburgh and London, as well as reissues of their back catalogue and the recording of a new album. Also in 2016, Thomson was confirmed as one of the main contributors to Paul McGeechan's ''Starless'' LP. In August 2020, 'Lagoon Blues', 'Sunpowder' and 'Kelvingrove Baby' were reissued through Marina Records on limited edition vinyl.

Personnel

Current members

*Chris Thomson – lead vocals, guitar, piano, keyboards *Callum McNair – electric guitar, vocals *Ken McHugh – bass guitar *Hazel Morrison – drums, percussion, vocals

Previous/ensemble members

*Sam Loup – bass guitar *Jon Turner – keyboards *Mark Wilson – violin *Iain White – violin, viola *Fermina Haze – keyboards *Douglas MacIntyre – bass guitar, mandolin, electric guitar *Barry Overstreet – saxophone, guitar, vocals *Robert Henderson – trumpet *Carlo Scattini – keyboards *James Grant – guitar *James Locke – drums, percussion *Maya Burman-Roy *Andrew Cruickshank *Kobus Frick *Paul Leonard Morgan – piano, keyboards

Discography

Albums

*''Unusual Places to Die'' (1987),

Go! Discs Go! Discs was a London-based record label, launched in 1983 from offices in Wendell Road, Shepherd's Bush, by Andy Macdonald and Lesley Symons. The pair founded the label after Macdonald left his job as press officer at Stiff Records, and Sym ...

*''Sweet Deceit'' (1990),

*''Lagoon Blues'' (1993),

*''Sunpowder'' (1995), Marina Records *''Kelvingrove Baby'' (1997), Marina Records *''Pandemonia'' (1999),

*''Desire Regained'' (2001), Wrasse Records *''Summer Lightning'' (2022),

Last Night from Glasgow A last is a mechanical form shaped like a human foot. It is used by shoemakers and cordwainers in the manufacture and repair of shoes. Lasts typically come in pairs and have been made from various materials, including hardwoods, cast iron, and ...

Singles

*"Fancy Dress" (1987), Go! Discs *"Twenty-Two" (1999), Wrasse Records

External links

Unofficial Bathers homepage and fan forum

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bathers, The Scottish rock music groups Musical groups established in 1985 Wrasse Records artists 1985 establishments in Scotland