Roddy Frame

Roddy Frame

Roddy Frame is a Scottish singer-songwriter from East Kilbride, United Kingdom. He is best known as the founder and frontman of Aztec Camera, the 1980s Scottish indie band with which he remains associated.

Aztec Camera

Aztec Camera forms in the early 1980s and becomes one of the key acts on Glasgow’s Postcard record label alongside Orange Juice and Josef K. The band releases its first album, High Land, Hard Rain, when Frame is 19, and the record includes the single Oblivious. Frame later signs with Rough Trade. Aztec Camera’s biggest hit is Somewhere In My Heart, released in 1987, which reaches number 3 in the UK singles chart. The band disbands in 1996 after the release of its final album, Frestonia.

Solo work and collaborations

Frame moves into solo work after Aztec Camera ends. His first solo album, The North Star, appears in 1998 and includes the single Reason For Living. In 1990 he releases Good Morning Britain, a single recorded with Mick Jones of The Clash and noted for its political tone. He also records with the Japanese composer Ryuichi Sakamoto.

Later releases

Frame’s 2002 album Surf consists of acoustic songs and is widely praised, with many treating it as a return to the quality of his earlier songwriting. The track Small World is used as the theme music for the BBC television comedy series Early Doors. He makes his first appearance at the Glastonbury Festival in 2003. Later releases include Western Skies, two live albums, Live at Ronnie Scott’s and Live in Osaka, and Seven Dials, which appears on Edwyn Collins’ AED label in 2014.