Aztec Camera

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Roddy Frame (1987)

Aztec Camera was a British indie pop band around the singer-songwriter Roddy Frame (born January 29, 1964 in East Kilbride , Scotland), which existed from 1980 to 1995.

Band history

Aztec Camera was formed around 1980 in Glasgow, Scotland . In addition to singer and guitarist Roddy Frame, the original cast included bassist Campbell Owens and drummer Dave Mulholland; In the following years, drummers Colin Auld, Patrick Hunt, Stephen Daly (ex-drummer of Orange Juice) and David Luffy (formerly The Ruts ) as well as guitarists Craig Gannon (formerly The Bluebells ) and Malcolm played in the frequently changing line-up Ross (formerly Josef K). Roddy Frame wrote his own songs at the age of 15 and, at the age of only 16, played in the punk band The Forensics.

Glasgow developed after 1980, thanks to bands like Orange Juice and Josef K into a center of post-punk and indie rock . Like these two bands, Aztec Camera released their first 7 ″ single Just Like Gold / We Could Send Letters on the short-lived but hugely influential label Postcard Records and quickly became prominent representatives of the Sound of Young Scotland (that's the label's motto) . The only seventeen year old Frame was soon hailed as a child prodigy by the English music press and his songs were often compared with those of Elvis Costello . An acoustic version of We Could Send Letters was released on the New Musical Express C81 cassette , the first in a series of NME samplers that pointed the way for indie rock in the 1980s.

In August 1981, Aztec Camera's second single, Mattress Of Wire, was released as the last single by Postcard Records, then the band switched to the Rough Trade label . In 1983 the first studio album High Land, Hard Rain was released there . Frame used traditional rock instruments, the occasional Hammond organ, and reverted to earlier British rock music . Echoes of the Beatles of Rubber Soul alternated with stylized folk patterns. The record earned Frame a high reputation, especially among musicians. The successor Knife, produced by Mark Knopfler , was released like all four other studio albums on WEA Records and was very well received by record buyers and even more so by the English music press. The album even had some success in the US , not least because Van Halen's Jump was released in an acoustic version. The then head of WEA Records was so enthusiastic about Roddy Frame that he received a recording contract for 10 albums in advance.

However, after rather moderate record sales, Frame's patience paid off. A few singles also made it into the UK Top 40 . Aztec Cameras only top ten hit was the pleasing pop song Somewhere In My Heart, which made it into many European charts in April 1988. In the USA, however, Aztec Camera remained largely unknown.

Since the release of the last album Frestonia in 1995, which combines Scottish soul with beautiful melodies, Frame has been on stage as a solo artist.

Discography

Albums

year title Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK US US
1983 High land, hard rain UK22 (18 weeks)
UK 		US129 (10 weeks)
US
1984 Knife UK14th
silver
silver

(6 weeks)UK 		US175 (6 weeks)
US
produced by Mark Knopfler
1985 Backwards and Forwards - US181 (3 weeks)
US
1987 Love UK10
platinum
platinum

(43 weeks)UK 		US193 (3 weeks)
US
1990 Stray UK22nd
silver
silver

(7 weeks)UK 		-
Good Morning Britain UK19 (8 weeks)
UK 		-
(with Mick Jones )
1993 Dreamland UK21 (2 weeks)
UK 		-
produced by Ryūichi Sakamoto
1995 Frestonia UK100 (1 week)
UK 		-
1999 The best of UK36
silver
silver

(4 weeks)UK 		-

Singles

year Title
album 		Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements
(Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) 		Remarks
UK UK DE DE
1983 Oblivious
High Land, Hard Rain 		UK18 (19 weeks)
UK 		-
Walk Out to Winter
High Land, Hard Rain 		UK64 (6 weeks)
UK 		-
1984 All I Need is Everything
Knife 		UK34 (6 weeks)
UK 		-
Still on Fire
Knife 		UK83 (3 weeks)
UK 		-
1987 Deep & Wide & Tall
Love 		UK55 (7 weeks)
UK 		-
1988 How Men Are
Love 		UK25 (11 weeks)
UK 		-
Somewhere in My Heart
Love 		UK3 (14 weeks)
UK 		DE45 (7 weeks)
DE
Working in a goldmine
love 		UK31 (5 weeks)
UK 		-
1990 The Crying Scene
Stray 		UK70 (4 weeks)
UK 		-
Good Morning Britain
Stray 		UK19 (8 weeks)
UK 		-
(with Mick Jones )
Miss Otis Regrets / Do I love you
single track 		UK85 (1 week)
UK 		-
1992 Spanish Horses
Dreamland 		UK52 (3 weeks)
UK 		-
1993 Dream Sweet Dreams
Dreamland 		UK67 (2 weeks)
UK 		-

More singles

  • 1981: Just Like Gold
  • 1981: Mattress of Wire
  • 1982: Pillar to Post
  • 1993: Birds
  • 1995: Sun

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b chart sources: