BMX Bandits tonight – in session for Marc Riley at BBC 6 Music on April 15, 2024.
BMX Banditsformed in Bellshill Scotland in 1985. Led by songwriter and lead vocalist Duglas T. Stewart, their music is heavily influenced by 1960s pop. They have shared members with numerous other local bands, including Teenage Fanclub and the Soup Dragons. BMX Bandits were a favorite band of Kurt Cobain, who said “If I could be in any other band, it would be BMX Bandits”. In 2011, they were the subject of the documentary Serious Drugs: A Film About BMX Bandits.
One of the group’s most notable songs is the autobiographical “Serious Drugs”, recorded in 1991 but not released until 1993. The song featured in the movie This Year’s Love and was covered by American stadium power pop group Gigolo Aunts. Oasis did their first UK tour dates supporting the Bandits as a favor from Stewart to Creation label boss Alan McGee.[citation needed] BMX Bandits admirers included Kurt Cobain, who was photographed wearing a BMX Bandits T-shirt. Cobain claimed on a New York radio show that if he could be in any band it would be BMX Bandits.
Stewart split with long term musical partner Francis Macdonald in 2005 but 2006 saw a new wave of live concert activity and the release of My Chain. Stewart’s writing on the album was compared to Brian Wilson, Michel Legrand, Ennio Morricone and even Alan Bennett. The line up was expanded by the arrival of Stewart’s friend David Scott and new female vocalist Rachel Mackenzie (now Rachel Allison).
The follow-up, 2007’s Bee Stings, was influenced by classic girl group pop plus the mellow A & M sound of the late 1960s and early 1970s. Bee Stings features Allison singing lead on half the tracks including “Our Secret Life” co-written by Allison and former band member Norman Blake.
In 2024 BMX Bandits released the studio album Dreamers on the Run. The album was written and produced by Douglas T Stewart and Andrew Pattie. The album featured string arrangements scored by Pattie. Uncut magazine described the album as “a bold and seductive exploration of symphonic pop”, while Classic Rock Magazine said “Against the odds, BMX Bandits have finally painted their masterpiece”.
Hit play – it’ll do the rest.
