Glasvegas

Glasvegas is an alternative/shoegazing band which formed in Glasgow, Scotland in 2003, the band is composed of James Allan (vocals, rhythm guitar), Rab Allan (lead guitar) and Paul Donoghue (bass guitar). Caroline McKay (drums) left the band in March 2010. Their music is influenced by artists such as Wall of Sound producer Phil Spector and other, more recent, bands which share that same aesthetic such as My Bloody Valentine and The Jesus and Mary Chain. The band's line-up came together in early 2003, and later that year were seen for the first time by Scottish music industry mogul Alan McGee at King Tut's Wah Wah Hut club in Glasgow. Former Creation Records boss McGee would go on to become one of the band's most vociferous supporters. In May 2004, the band released their debut single I'm Gonna Get Stabbed. The band's original drummer Ryan Ross left in 2005 and Caroline McKay was asked to replace him. On 30th October 2006, the band released their first self funded limited edition 7" single, Go Square Go!. Following the release of their second limited edition 7" single, Daddy's Gone in November 2007, Glasvegas found themselves at the centre of a bidding war from several major record labels. Later that same year, Daddy's Gone was voted #2 single of the year in an end of year poll by the NME. After releasing their third limited edition 7" single, It's My Own Cheating Heart That Makes Me Cry on 14th February 2008 the band opted to sign for Columbia. Exactly two weeks later at the NME Awards, the band won the award for best new band: the prestigious Philip Hall Radar Award. The band signed released two further singles – "Geraldine" and "Daddy's Gone" (a re-release of their third single) – which reached numbers sixteen and twelve on the UK Singles Chart respectively. The band's debut album, Glasvegas, was released in September 2008 and reached number two on the UK Albums Chart. A mini-Christmas album, A Snowflake Fell (And It Felt Like a Kiss), followed in December 2008, which failed to chart in the UK although it reached number fifty-nine on the Swedish Albums Chart. On 30th March, it was announced that drummer Caroline McKay had left the band. Frontman James Allan explained that it had been McKay's decision to leave the Glasgow four-piece. He said that the remaining members were "really sad" about her departure. Glasvegas are currently writing their second album in Los Angeles, and expect to begin recording it soon.