the starlets biography

the starlets are:
biff smith - vocals / guitar
mark mcswiggan - backing vocals / guitar
stephen mcgourty - bass
craig laurie - drums
nigel baillie - brass
iain white - strings

"but I say a man can get accustomed, get comfortable, and get accustomed to emptiness, just the way he can get accustomed to the cold or accustomed to the dark"
(ken kesey)

based in glasgow, belonging nowhere, the starlets are a melancholy pop group with ambitions to be cheerful. a diverse range of influences, from the velvet underground via the go-betweens and prefab sprout to judy garland, have all inspired the band’s sound. a sound that you can hear on their debut album, 'surely tomorrow you’ll feel blue.'

since it’s release in 2002 they’ve played gigs across scotland, making the occasional trip down south, which have included gigs at the garage in london, leeds, nottingham and in the city in manchester. over the years they’ve also played at t in the park and go north in aberdeen.

as well as releasing their debut album in japan, they’ve released singles in germany on apricot records and are currently recording an ep for release on the spanish label elefant records.

the band have also recorded a follow up album, the forthcoming “further into night forever” (its not a party album). it features guest appearances by some of their acquaintances from various glasgow/edinburgh drinking dens: roz davies (josephine), flute; helena macgilp (desc), guest vocals; isobel campbell (gentle waves), guest vocals. the new album is being licensed to labels in the states and japan and is due out on sl records over the summer.

this was last updated in july 2003.