Jazzateers were a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

post-punk Post-punk (originally called new musick) is a broad genre of punk music that emerged in the late 1970s as musicians departed from punk's traditional elements and raw simplicity, instead adopting a variety of avant-garde sensibilities and non-roc ...

group, formed in 1980, who recorded for

Postcard Records Postcard Records is a British, Glasgow-based, independent record label founded by Alan Horne in 1979, as a vehicle for releases by Orange Juice and Josef K. The label's motto was "The Sound of Young Scotland", a parody/tribute to the Motown mot ...

Rough Trade Records Rough Trade Records is an independent record label based in London, England. It was formed in 1976 by Geoff Travis who had opened a record store off Ladbroke Grove. Having successfully promoted and sold records by punk rock and early post-pun ...

, and have had compilation CDs released by

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 ...

and

Cherry Red Records Cherry Red Records is a British independent record label founded in Malvern, Worcestershire by Iain McNay in 1978. The label has released recordings by Dead Kennedys, Everything But the Girl, The Monochrome Set, and Felt, among others, as well ...

. Jazzateers catalogue covering their archive from

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Rough Trade Rough Trade may refer to: *Rough Trade Records, a record label * Rough Trade (shops), London record stores *Rough Trade (band), a Canadian new wave rock band * "Rough Trade" (''American Dad!''), an episode of ''American Dad!'' *Rough trade (slang), ...

and beyond are available on vinyl via

The Creeping Bent Organisation Creeping Bent, The Creeping Bent Organisation, is an independent record label set up by Douglas MacIntyre in 1994, based in Glasgow, Scotland. The label has been described as a successor to earlier Scottish indie labels Postcard Records and Fast ...

. The group was formed by songwriters Ian Burgoyne and Keith Band.

History

The band's early lineup consisted of Burgoyne, Band, singer Alison Gourlay and drummer Colin Auld. One of the early Jazzateers recordings with Gourlay on vocals, "Blue Moon Over Hawaii", was later included on the '' Messthetics'' series of compilations.Strong, Martin C (2008)
Various - Messthetics #105
, '' The List'', 27 March 2008, retrieved 2010-10-16 Jazzateers were an underground pop group from Glasgow who were active for the first half of the 1980s during the 'Sound of Young Scotland' period. Jazzateers were signed to Postcard Records and managed during this period by label boss Alan Horne. Jazzateers were also the final scheduled release of the Postcard catalogue (81-14) with their Edwyn Collins-produced cover of a

Donna Summer LaDonna Adrian Gaines (December 31, 1948May 17, 2012), known professionally as Donna Summer, was an American singer and songwriter. She gained prominence during the disco era of the 1970s and became known as the " Queen of Disco", while her mus ...

song, "Wasted". However, consistent with Jazzateers inconsistent career trajectory, the single wasn't released, as Postcard Records ceased activity. Alan Horne then produced a Jazzateers album, 'Lee,' which also remains unreleased. After the demise of Postcard, Jazzateers followed labelmates

The Go-Betweens The Go-Betweens were an Australian indie rock band formed in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1977. The band was co-founded and led by singer-songwriters and guitarists Robert Forster and Grant McLennan, who were its only constant members throughout it ...

and Aztec Camera by signing to

, finally releasing an eponymously-titled debut album in 1983. The album was a critical and commercial success, but true to Jazzateers contrary spirit, they put the Jazzateers brand on hold and transmogrified into Bourgie Bourgie, signing a major label deal. Bourgie Bourgie recorded an album (unreleased) and split up after a couple of singles. Jazzateers were reactivated after Bourgie Bourgie split, with new vocalist Matt Willcock joining and taking over lyrical input. Prior to Willcock joining, the songs had been written by Jazzateers core members, Ian Burgoyne and Keith Band, and sung by various vocalists (Alison Gourlay, the Rutkowski Sisters, Grahame Skinner, Paul Quinn). However the injection of new blood provided by Willcock and lead guitarist Mick Slaven, created the perfect environment for Jazzateers to finally hit their peak flow. Slaven's Tom Verlaine / Robert Quine influences took centre stage in the group, along with Willcock's poetic lyrical approach. The ''Blood is Sweeter Than Honey'' recording sessions found Jazzateers developing an approach akin to ''Destiny Street'' and ''Adventure'' (the sophomore albums by Richard Hell & the Voidoids and Television) respectively. A single ("Pressing On") was released to acclaim, garnering Single of the Week plaudits in the music press, which coincided with Jazzateers promoting the release by touring the UK as special guests of Lloyd Cole and the Commotions. However, Jazzateers errant history was repeated when the attendant album (''Blood is Sweeter Than Honey''), was shelved, and the group fractured shortly thereafter. ''Blood Is Sweeter Than Honey'' was released for the first time via the Creeping Bent Organisation and is available in deluxe gatefold 180g vinyl and download editions. Much of the band's unreleased Postcard-era recordings were released in August 2014 by

/ Creeping Bent on the album ''Don't Let Your Son Grow Up To Be A Cowboy: Unreleased Recordings''.

Lineups

The band has gone through several lineup changes from 1980 to 1986: ;Jazzateers v1 (1980–1981) Alison Gourlay (vocals)
Ian Burgoyne (guitar)
Keith Band (bass)
Colin Auld (drums) ''Don't Let Your Son Grow Up To Be A Cowboy'' Some tracks were produced by Edwyn Collins, including a version of Donna Summers' "Wasted" which was scheduled to be a single on Postcard. Another (unreleased) version of "Wasted" was produced by Pete Bellote. ;Jazzateers v2 (1982) Dee Rutkowski (vocals)
Louise Rutkowski (vocals) Paul Quinn (vocals)
Ian Burgoyne (guitar, vocals)
Keith Band (bass)
Colin Auld (drums) Jazzateers 2 recorded an album ('Lee') produced by Alan Horne which has yet to be released. ;Jazzateers v3 (1983) Grahame Skinner (vocals)
Ian Burgoyne (guitar)
Keith Band (bass)
Colin Auld (drums) Paul Quinn (backing vocals) Jazzateers 3 signed to Rough Trade. "Show Me The Door"/"16 Reasons" was released as a single swiftly followed by the eponymously titled album, which received excellent reviews. Shortly afterwards, they were joined by Mick Slaven on lead guitar with Paul Quinn taking over on lead vocals. They reverted to the name Bourgie Bourgie, whilst Skinner started a new group with Douglas MacIntyre called White Savages. Jazzateers had been booked to appear on a UK television show, ''The Switch'' on back of the press acclaim the group were getting for their Rough Trade album. Instead they appeared on ''The Switch'' as Bourgie Bourgie (performing "Show Me The Door" and "16 Reasons"), and shortly afterwards were being courted by several major labels in the UK. Bourgie Bourgie eventually signed to MCA (with Kenny MacDonald replacing Colin Auld on drums) and released two singles, "Breaking Point" and "Careless". An album was also recorded, but unreleased. ''Rough 46'' ;Jazzateers v4 (1985-1986) Matt Willcock (vocals)
Ian Burgoyne (guitar, keyboards)
Keith Band (bass)
Mick Slaven (guitar)
Douglas MacIntyre (guitar) Stephen Lironi (drums, keyboards) Andy Harrold (drums) Skip Reid (drums)
Barry Aitchison (drums) Jazzateers 4 released a single ("Pressing On") for the Stampede label and undertook a UK tour supporting Lloyd Cole & The Commotions.

Discography

Albums

*''Jazzateers'' a.k.a. ''Rough 46'' (1983),

- UK Indie No. 14,Lazell, Barry (1998) ''Indie Hits 1980-1989'', Cherry Red Books, , p. 123 reissued in 2013 by Creeping Bent *''I Shot the President'' (1997),

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships o ...

*''Don't Let Your Son Grow Up to Be a Cowboy: Unreleased Recordings 1981-82'' (2014), Cherry Red / Creeping Bent *''Blood Is Sweeter Than Honey'' (2019), Creeping Bent

Singles

*"Show Me the Door" (1983), Rough Trade - UK Indie No. 35 *"Pressing On" (1985), Stampede *"Here Comes That Feeling" (1997), Marina

Compilation appearances

*''Clear Cut 5'' (1983), Japan/Rough Trade: "Once More with Feeling" *''Clear Cut Final'' (1986), Japan Record: "Sixteen Reasons" *''Fruitcakes and Furry Collars'' (1986), ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper between 1954 and 1991 for pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after the ''NME'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK album chart was published in ''Re ...

'': "Pressing On" *''New Voices Vol. 14'' (1997), ''Rolling Stone'': "Here Comes That Feeling" *''Bentboutique: Chasing the Chimera'' (2000), Creeping Bent: "Heartbeat" *''Ave Marina'' (2004), Marina: "Here Comes That Feeling" *''Messthetics #105'' (2008), Hyped 2 Death: "Blue Moon Over Hawaii" *''Park Lane Archives'' (2009), Jungle: "Sixteen Reasons"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jazzateers Scottish pop music groups Musical groups from Glasgow Scottish new wave musical groups