Stuart Braithwaite

Stuart Leslie Braithwaite is the lead member of the Scottish post-rock band Mogwai. He mainly plays electric guitar and sometimes sings. He is associated with the band’s guitar-led sound and remains its central figure.

Early life and influences

Braithwaite grows up listening to records by The Cure, Joy Division, The Stooges, The Velvet Underground and Black Sabbath, among others. Disintegration by The Cure is the first album he buys. When he learns guitar, the first song he learns to play is “Heroin” by The Velvet Underground.

Education

He attends Stow College in Glasgow and gains entry by playing the guitar solo from “Another Girl, Another Planet” by The Only Ones. He later graduates with a Diploma in Music.