BMX Bandits are a Scottish indie pop group from Bellshill, United Kingdom, active from 1985 to the present. Their sound sits within c86, indie pop, indie rock and jangle pop, and draws on 1960s guitar pop.

Formation and line-up

The band is formed by songwriter and lead vocalist Duglas T. Stewart, who starts the group after The Pretty Flowers, an earlier line-up that includes Stewart, Frances McKee, Sean Dickson and Norman Blake. BMX Bandits go through many line-up changes over the years and share members with other Bellshill acts including Teenage Fanclub and The Soup Dragons. The current and past member list includes Norman Blake, Francis MacDonald, Liam Chapman, Sushil K. Dade, Sean Dickson, John Hogarty, Jim McCulloch, Duglas T. Stewart and Gabriel Telerman.

Songwriting and style

The group’s songs combine melody and humour with moments of raw, often heartfelt pathos. Stewart writes many of the songs on his own, including “Your Class”, “The Sailor’s Song” and “Doorways”, while also working with other members. His most frequent writing partners are Francis MacDonald, Norman Blake and, more recently, David Scott.

Key songs and releases

The band’s best-known song is “Serious Drugs”, an autobiographical track recorded in 1991 and released in 1993. It appears in the film This Year’s Love and is also covered by Gigolo Aunts. In 2006 the band release My Chain, followed by Bee Stings in 2007. The music on My Chain draws comparisons with Brian Wilson, Michel Legrand, Ennio Morricone and Alan Bennett, while Bee Stings takes influence from classic girl group pop and the late-1960s to early-1970s A&M sound.

Notable associations

Oasis plays its first UK tour dates supporting BMX Bandits, arranged as a favour from Stewart to Creation label boss Alan McGee. The band also attracts admirers including Kurt Cobain, who is photographed wearing a BMX Bandits T-shirt and says on a New York radio show that he would choose to be in BMX Bandits if he could be in another band.

Later activity

After Stewart ends his long-term musical partnership with Francis MacDonald in 2005, BMX Bandits continue with a new run of live activity in 2006, alongside the arrival of Stewart’s friend David Scott and female vocalist Rachel Mackenzie, later Rachel Allison. Allison sings lead on half of Bee Stings, including “Our Secret Life”, which she co-writes with former Bandit Norman Blake.