The Beta Band
The Beta Band was a British musical group that called their own style Folktronic , which is a mixture of folk , rock 'n' roll , trip-hop and unrestrained experimental jamming.
history
The Beta Band was founded in 1996 near Edinburgh by musicians Steve Mason (vocals, guitar) and Gordon Anderson . The two originally planned to name their band The Pigeons , but later changed their minds. When they wrote songs together for their debut EP Champion Versions , Robin Jones (drums) and John Maclean (DJ, sampler, keyboard pianist) joined two other members. Shortly after signing with Regal Records / Parlophone , Anderson fell ill and decided to leave the band. He later published his own recordings under the name Lone Pigeon . The other band members then brought Richard Greentree (bass) on board and thus consolidated their line-up. In July 1997 they released the EP Champion Versions , produced by Nick McCabe , which received critical acclaim for its innovative "Cut'n'Paste" sample concept. Two similar EPs soon followed: The Patty Patty Sound in March of the following year and Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos in July. All three appeared in September 1998 under the appropriately chosen title The Three EP's in a collection.
They began work on their ambitious first long-term recording, drawing inspiration from sources as diverse as Jamaica reggae, the Disney production The Black Hole, and Bonnie Tyler 's " Total Eclipse of the Heart ". The album with the simple title The Beta Band was released in July 1999. Its first song, "The Beta Band Rap", managed to tell the story of the band through alternating "Bubblegum Pop ", rap and rockabilly background tracks. Thereby he represented the rest of the album, which was perceived as stylistically more diverse than the first EPs. The mixed media opinion turned negative after the band announced their own dissatisfaction with the album. The band claimed that the unreasonable deadline and the tight budget prevented them from refining their improvisations into harmonious songs.
The band dedicated themselves to the studio with a plan to prove something. The result of this session was the 2000 single "To You Alone" / "Sequinsizer". It was received with approval as a return to the prevailing style on The Three EP's .
At that time, the Beta Band was featured in the film High Fidelity , which is based on Nick Hornby's book of the same name . In this film, the main character, a record store salesman (played by John Cusack ), names the band while the song "Dry the Rain" plays in the background for about a minute. This opened the band to a wide base of new fans, especially in the USA. Soon "Dry the Rain" was the band's most popular song, which Mason later took as an opportunity to remove it from the song repertoire of the live performances.
This was followed by a creative break in which Mason released some records under the name "King Biscuit Time". Gradually the band turned back to the studio; this time the English producer C-Swing was hired to oversee the process. The album Hot Shots II , released in spring 2001, was a hit with both critics and fans. Much of the experimental style of the first album was sacrificed in favor of a more "pop-like structure". Three more singles came out on schedule, each with different B-sides and alternative versions: "Broke" / "Won", "Human Being" and "Squares". The band also went on a long tour in support of their album.
A new single, "Assessment", was released on April 12, 2004, followed by the album Heroes to Zeros and the second single "Out-Side" in July.
On August 2, 2004, the band surprisingly announced their separation on their official homepage. Their farewell tour began in November 2004. They gave their last concert on December 5, 2004 in Edinburgh .
On October 3, 2005, the band released a double DVD entitled The Best of The Beta Band . It includes most of the band's videos, a selection of short films, TV reports, documentaries and four live songs, recorded during their farewell tour at a performance on November 29, 2004 in London. In addition to the DVD, a Best of Album was released on the same day ( The Best of The Beta Band ), on which the complete concert from London can be heard.
Since the split, Steve Mason has continued to work on his solo project King Biscuit Time. Robin Jones and John Maclean founded The Aliens , along with Gordon Anderson (Lone Pigeon). Richard Greentree also plays with Robin Jones on The General and Duchess Collins .
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
 UK
|
|||
| 1999 | The Beta Band |
UK18 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| 2001 | Hot Shots II |
UK13 (4 weeks) UK |
|
| 2004 | Heroes to Zeros |
UK18 (4 weeks) UK |
Compilations
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 1998 | The Three EP's |
UK35  (2 weeks)UK |
More compilations
- 2005: The Best of The Beta Band
EPs
- 1997: Champion Versions
- 1998: The Patty Patty Sound
- 1998: Los Amigos del Beta Bandidos
Singles
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChartsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks |
|---|---|---|---|
|
UK
|
|||
| 2001 | Broke / Won Hot Shots II |
UK30 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| Human Being Hot Shots II |
UK57 (1 week) UK |
||
| 2002 | Squares Hot Shots II |
UK42 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| 2004 | Assessment Heroes to Zeros |
UK31 (2 weeks) UK |
|
| Out-Side Heroes to Zeros |
UK54 (2 weeks) UK |
More singles
- 2000: To You Alone / Sequinsizer
Video albums
- 2005: The Best of The Beta Band