Formation, early years and Tigermilk (1994–1996) In 1994,
Stuart Murdoch and
Stuart David both enrolled at
Stow College's Beatbox programme for unemployed musicians in Glasgow. In June 1996, Electric Honey pressed up one thousand copies of
Tigermilk on
vinyl. The album was named by
Spin as one of the 100 greatest albums between 1985 and 2005, and it is widely considered the band's masterpiece. The first of these was
Dog on Wheels, released in May and consisting of four demo tracks recorded prior to the real formation of the band. In fact, the only long-term band members to play on the songs were Murdoch, David, and Mick Cooke, who played trumpet on the EP but would not officially join the band until a few years later. It charted at No. 59 in the UK singles chart. and features vocals from
Monica Queen. The EP narrowly missed out on the UK top 40, peaking at No. 41.
Arab Strap garnered an NPR interview and positive reviews from
Rolling Stone and
The Village Voice, including
Pitchfork, who gave the album a particularly poor review, calling it a "parody" of their earlier work (Pitchfork has since removed the review from their website and re-reviewed the album positively in 2018). During the recording of the album, long-time studio trumpet-player Mick Cooke was asked to join the band as a full member. The
This Is Just a Modern Rock Song EP followed later that year. In 1999, the band was awarded with Best Newcomer (for their third album) at the
BRIT Awards, upsetting better-known acts such as
Steps and
5ive. That same year, the band hosted their own festival, the
Bowlie Weekender.
Tigermilk was also given a full release by
Jeepster before the band started work on their next LP. The result was
Fold Your Hands Child, You Walk Like a Peasant, which became the band's first top 10 album in the UK, though critics felt that the band were starting to stagnate. in Washington, D.C., in 2006 As the band's popularity and recognition was growing worldwide, their music began appearing in films and on television. The 2000 film
High Fidelity mentions the band (with
Jack Black's character referring to them as "old sad bastard music" and disdaining their soft style) and features a clip from the song "
Seymour Stein" from
The Boy with the Arab Strap. Two songs by the band ("Expectations" and "Piazza, New York Catcher") appeared on the soundtrack for the 2007 hit film
Juno. Also, the title track from
Arab Strap was played over the end credits of the UK television series
Teachers, and the lyric "Colour my life with the chaos of trouble" from the song was quoted by one of the characters in the 2009 film
(500) Days of Summer.
Stuart David soon left the band to concentrate on his side project,
Looper, and his book writing, which included his
The Idle Thoughts of a Daydreamer. He was replaced by Bobby Kildea of
V-Twin. The "
Jonathan David" single, sung by Stevie Jackson, was released in June 2001 and was followed by "
I'm Waking Up to Us" in November, which saw the band use an outside producer (
Mike Hurst) for the first time. Most of 2002 was spent touring and recording a soundtrack album,
Storytelling (for
Storytelling by
Todd Solondz). Campbell left the band in the spring of 2002, in the middle of the band's North American tour to pursue a solo career, first as
The Gentle Waves, and later under her own name. She later collaborated with singer
Mark Lanegan on three albums.
Dear Catastrophe Waitress, The Life Pursuit and hiatus (2003–2010) The band left Jeepster in 2002, signing a four-album deal with
Rough Trade Records. Their first album for Rough Trade,
Dear Catastrophe Waitress, was released in 2003 and was produced by
Trevor Horn. The album showed a markedly more "produced" sound compared to their first four LPs, as the band was making a concerted effort to produce more "radio-friendly" music. A documentary DVD,
Fans Only, was released by Jeepster in October 2003, featuring promotional videos, live clips and unreleased footage. It achieved their highest chart position yet, reaching No. 14 in the UK. In April 2005, members of the band visited Israel and the
Palestinian territories with the UK charity
War on Want; The album, originally intended to be a double album, became the band's highest-charting album upon its release in February 2006, peaking at No. 8 in the UK and No. 65 on the US
Billboard 200. "Funny Little Frog", which preceded it, also proved to be their highest-charting single, debuting at No. 13. On 6 July 2006, the band played a historic show with the
Los Angeles Philharmonic at the
Hollywood Bowl. The opening act at the 18,000 seat sell-out concert was
the Shins. The members of the band see this as a landmark event, with Stevie Jackson saying, "This is the biggest thrill of my entire life". In October 2006, members of the band helped put together a CD collection of new songs for children titled
Colours Are Brighter, with the involvement of major bands such as
Franz Ferdinand and
the Flaming Lips. On 18 November 2008 the band released
The BBC Sessions, which features songs from the period of 1996–2001 (including the last recordings featuring Isobel Campbell before she left the band), along with a second disc featuring a recording of a live performance in
Belfast from Christmas 2001.
Write About Love and Girls In Peacetime Want to Dance (2010–2016) On 17 July 2010, the band performed their first UK gig in almost four years to a crowd of around 30,000 at
Latitude Festival in Henham Park,
Southwold. They performed two new songs, "I Didn't See It Coming" and "I'm Not Living in the Real World". Their eighth studio album, released in the UK and internationally on 25 September 2010, was titled
Write about Love. The first single from the album, as well as the record's title track "
Write about Love", was released in the US on 7 September 2010.
Write about Love entered the UK albums chart in its first week of release, peaking at No. 8 as of 19 October 2010.
Norah Jones is featured on the track "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John", and
Carey Mulligan sings on the title track. In December 2010 Belle and Sebastian curated the sequel to the
Bowlie Weekender in the form of
Bowlie 2 presented by
All Tomorrow's Parties. In 2013,
Pitchfork TV released an hour-long documentary in February, directed by RJ Bentler which focused on the band's 1996 album ''
If You're Feeling Sinister'', as well as the formation and early releases of the band. The documentary featured interviews with every member that was present on the album, as well as several archival photos and videos from the band's early days. The band compiled a second compilation album
The Third Eye Centre which included the B-sides and rarities released after
Push Barman to Open Old Wounds, from the albums
Dear Catastrophe Waitress,
The Life Pursuit, and
Write about Love. In an interview at the end of 2013, Mick Cooke confirmed he had left the band on good terms. The band received an 'Outstanding Contribution to Music Award' at the
NME Awards 2014. In 2014, the band returned to the studio, recording in
Atlanta, Georgia for their ninth studio album, along with announcing tour dates for various festivals and concerts across the world during 2014. Their ninth album
Girls in Peacetime Want to Dance was released on 19 January 2015. It was their first album with Dave McGowan, who had been their touring bassist since 2011. The Belle and Sebastian song "There's Too Much Love" forms much of the soundtrack for the Brazilian film
The Way He Looks, about a blind, gay teenage boy and his friends, released in 2014. Belle and Sebastian performed at the
Glastonbury Festival on 28 June 2015, on 'The Other Stage' and at O2 Academy, Glasgow in March 2017 which was televised in the UK as part of the 'BBC 6 MUSIC Presents Festival'.
How to Solve Our Human Problems, A Bit of Previous and Late Developers (2017–present) Boston, 2024 In mid-2017, the band put out a new single, "We Were Beautiful". During the same year, the band appeared in the news for a comical story that occurred during their US tour, in which they accidentally forgot Colburn in a
North Dakota Walmart. In December 2017 and January and February 2018, the band released a trio of EPs under the name
How to Solve Our Human Problems. On 3 November 2018, the band announced that Dave McGowan had become a member. In August 2019, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the first
Bowlie Weekender festival, Belle & Sebastian held a third festival, dubbed the
Boaty Weekender. Unlike the previous two festivals, the Boaty Weekender was held on a cruise ship in the
Mediterranean Sea instead of UK holiday parks. The band's eleventh studio album,
A Bit of Previous, was released in May 2022. In January 2023, the band announced the surprise release of their twelfth studio album,
Late Developers. Lead single "I Don't Know What You See in Me" was released on 9 January 2023 with the album released on 13 January 2023. ==Collaborations and side projects==