Ballboy (band)

ballboy are a 4-piece indie band from Edinburgh, Scotland. Formed in the late 1990s, the band have released five LPs between 2001 and 2008.

Biography

Originally comprising Viv Strachan (vocals), Gordon McIntyre (guitar), Nick Reynolds (bass), and Alexis Beattie (drums), ballboy played gigs around Edinburgh for a few years, and recorded tracks for the Edinburgh indie compilation "it's a life sentence...", released by the newly formed SL Records label in 1997.

By 1999 Gordon, the band's main songwriter, had taken over vocal duties. Katie Griffiths had joined on keyboards, and Gary Morgan had taken over the drums. The band signed to SL Records that year, and released a series of EPs. The tracks from these EPs were collected on 2001's "Club Anthems" [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Club-Anthems-Ballboy/dp/B00005YMFS/ref=sr_1_4?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1217634318&sr=8-4] .

Their "proper" debut album, "A Guide for the Daylight Hours" [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Guide-Daylight-Hours-Ballboy/dp/B00006W2UM/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1217634318&sr=8-3] , was released the following year, featuring artwork by Glasgow-based artist David Shrigley. This was followed in 2003 by the acoustic, and often melancholy, "The Sash My Father Wore and Other Stories" [http://www.amazon.co.uk/Sash-Father-Wore-Other-Stories/dp/B0000DIGMJ/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&s=music&qid=1217634318&sr=8-14] , virtually a solo record by Gordon.

In 2004 ballboy returned to full band mode, with a new keyboard player, Alexa Morrison, and their third album. The band continue to play live occasionally and released their fourth studio album "I Worked on the Ships" in August 2008. Gordon McIntyre has begun work on a side project, ++Money Can't Buy Music [http://www.myspace.com/moneycantbuymusic] .

From their early releases, the band were popular with the late DJ John Peel [http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/artists/b/ballboy/] , and had several tracks featured in the Festive Fifty charts. They recorded several sessions for his BBC Radio 1 show, including a Christmas special live from Peel Acres, where Gordon recorded a duet with American country singer Laura Cantrell.

Discography

tudio Albums

*"A Guide for the Daylight Hours" (2002)
*"The Sash My Father Wore and Other Stories" (2003)
*"The Royal Theatre" (2004)
*"I Worked on the Ships" (2008)

Compilations

*"Club Anthems" (2001)

ingles / EPs

*"Silver Suits for Astronauts" (1999)
*"I Hate Scotland" (2000)
*"Girls Are Better Than Boys" (2001)
*"All the Records on the Radio are Shite" (2002)
*"Where do the nights of sleep go to when they do not come to me" (2002)
*"A Europewide Search for Love" (2003)
*"Past Lovers / I Lost You But I Found Country Music" (2004)
*"I Died For Love" (2005)

External links

* [http://www.ballboymusic.com/ ballboymusic.com] Official band web site
* [http://www.slrecords.net/index2.htm SL Records]

References