Thrum are an

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band from

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 ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

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 ...

, formed in 1992. They released four singles and an album before splitting up in 1995. Singer

Monica Queen Monica Queen is a singer from Glasgow, Scotland who has collaborated with Belle & Sebastian (e.g., on ''Lazy Line Painter Jane'' from the Lazy Line Painter Jane EP), Chris Coco, James Grant and Jim White, among others. She is listed on the Fire ...

went on to a solo career. Since 2011, ''Thrum'' have reformed, releasing a single and album and undertaking a number of live appearances.

History

The band was formed in 1992 by Johnny Smillie (guitar, vocals), Dave McGowan (bass guitar, vocals), Gary Johnston (drums), and Monica Queen (vocals, guitar).Strong, Martin C. (2003) ''The Great Indie Discography'', Canongate, , p. 1028-9 Smillie had met Queen while she was singing in a youth theatre performance of ''

Godspell ''Godspell'' is a musical composed by Stephen Schwartz with book by John-Michael Tebelak. The show is structured as a series of parables, primarily based on the Gospel of Matthew, interspersed with music mostly set to lyrics from traditional hymn ...

'', and she had previously sung in a Christian rock band.Larkin, Colin (1998) "Thrum", in ''The Virgin Encyclopedia of Indie & New Wave'', Virgin Books, , p. 440 Smillie was strongly influenced by

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Furay ...

while Queen cited

Patsy Cline Patsy is a given name often used as a diminutive of the feminine given name Patricia or sometimes the masculine name Patrick, or occasionally other names containing the syllable "Pat" (such as Cleopatra, Patience, Patrice, or Patricia). Among I ...

Johnny Cash John R. Cash (born J. R. Cash; February 26, 1932 – September 12, 2003) was an American country singer-songwriter. Much of Cash's music contained themes of sorrow, moral tribulation, and redemption, especially in the later stages of his ca ...

and

Tammy Wynette Tammy Wynette (born Virginia Wynette Pugh; May 5, 1942 – April 6, 1998) was an American country music artist, as well as an actress and author. She is considered among the genre's most influential and successful artists. Along with Loretta Ly ...

as influences. They signed to

Fire Records Fire Records was an American independent record label, set up in 1959 by Bobby Robinson. Amongst others, it released records by Lightnin' Hopkins, Elmore James, Buster Brown and Arthur Crudup. At one point it was thought Fire had issued the las ...

at the start of 1993, and Fire issued their début self-titled EP in April 1993. Singles "So Glad" (which they performed on '' The Word'') and "Here I Am" were critically well-received, and they recorded their début album ''Rifferama'' in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

. "Purify" was taken from the album as the band's final single; They split up in 1995. Queen went on to provide guest vocals on

Belle & 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 "Lazy Line Painter Jane" single in 1997, recorded duets with

The Jayhawks The Jayhawks are an American alternative country and country rock band that emerged from the Twin Cities music scene in the mid-1980s. Led by vocalists/guitarists/songwriters Gary Louris and Mark Olson (musician), Mark Olson, their country rock ...

Grant Lee Buffalo Grant Lee Buffalo was an American rock band based in Los Angeles, California, United States, consisting of Grant-Lee Phillips (vocals and guitar), Paul Kimble ( bass) and Joey Peters (drums). All three were previously members of another Los Ange ...

and

Shane MacGowan Shane Patrick Lysaght MacGowan (born 25 December 1957) is an Irish singer, songwriter, and musician. He is best known as the lead singer and songwriter of Celtic punk band the Pogues. He was also a member of the Nipple Erectors and Shane MacGo ...

, and performed with

Snow Patrol Snow Patrol are a Northern Irish–Scottish Rock music, rock band formed in 1994 in Dundee, Scotland. They consist of Gary Lightbody (vocals, guitar), Nathan Connolly (guitar, backing vocals), Paul Wilson (musician), Paul Wilson (bass guitar, ...

in Glasgow (June 2010). In addition to her guest vocal work, Queen signed to Creeping Bent and spent the 2000s as a solo artist (with Smillie still on guitar), releasing an EP in 2000 and albums in 2001 and 2004. The band reformed after a 16-year hiatus in 2011, and released a new album, ''Elettrorama'', and making a live appearance at that year's

T in the Park T in the Park festival was a major Scottish music festival that was held annually from 1994 to 2016. It was named after its main sponsor, Tennents. The event was held at Strathclyde Park, Lanarkshire, until 1996. It then moved to the disused ...

festival. Ian Greher replaced McGowan on bass guitar, following the latter's decision not to take part in the reunion. In May 2013, with Rory McGregor now on bass, Thrum released a two track single ''All Over Again'' on new label Mecca Holding Co, and the band continue sporadic live appearances, concurrent to Queen's solo activities.

Discography

Albums

*''Rifferama'' (1994), Fire *''Elettrorama'' (2011), PRA

Singles, EPs

*''Thrum'' EP (1993), Fire *"So Glad" (1994), Fire *"Here I Am" (1994), Fire *"Purify" (1994), Fire *"All Over Again" (2013), Mecca Holding Co

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thrum Scottish indie rock groups Musical groups established in 1992 Musical groups disestablished in 1995 Musical groups reestablished in 2011