north of the border

there is something about Scottish music at this particular point in time



thrilling, the sensation in this music - something unAmerican pushing against the guitar-bass-drums format, taking it outside rock'n' roll and into something else altogether - the jutting, against-the-groove riffs, the doubled chants, the skirling peals of pure-as-a-Highland-stream lead



never knew this video existed - playing on the "be seeing you" catchphrase in the Prisoner, which a year or so earlier would have been repeated for the first time since the original airings in the Sixties.  One of those videos that is a lot of fun but really goes against the actual emotional meaning of the song and distracts from its piercing beauty.






okay bit of a shite video really, at least when they start getting togged up in tribal wotnot

okay this isn't much of a tune but how cool to see the Fire Engines in their prime



"Gold" was something of a Scottish buzz term wasn't it?



"New gold dream" - "big gold dream" - "glittering prizes" - "18 Carat Love Affair" (okay that's not gold exactly but proximately in the zone of precious materials)

and then hark at this




Okay this is a bit wet, but a pretty song and a pretty boy




I also liked "Mattress of Wire"



there's plenty that would undermine the "Scots as master race of pop" argument -  Wet Wet Wet for starters, and most of the rest of that soul-aspiring Steely Dan-ish stuff .... some C86 dribbles too

the name "Bourgie Bourgie" itself is a crime

and even in the postpunk prime, it weren't all gold -  there's this ungainly attempt by former Positive Noise frontman to go New Pop



but why dwell on the negative?

















and how could i forget about these