Belle and Sebastian

Stuart Murdoch formed Belle and Sebastian as an ad hoc band to record a college music project, later released as Tigermilk by student-run label Electric Honey in 1996. ∙ When the initial 1,000 copies of Tigermilk sold out, Murdoch enlisted local musicians to make Belle and Sebastian an actual band. ∙ Pitchfork ranked Tigermilk’s “The State I’m In” No. 17 on its Top 200 Tracks of the 1990s. ∙ The group is named after a French TV series adapted from the novel Belle et Sébastien, about a little boy and his dog. ∙ Rolling Stone listed the band’s sophomore album, If You’re Feeling Sinister, No. 75 on its 100 Best Albums of the ’90s list. ∙ Their song “Seymour Stein” was featured in the film High Fidelity, and lyrics from “The Boy With the Arab Strap” were quoted in (500) Days of Summer. ∙ Voted Scotland’s greatest band in a poll conducted by UK digital guide The List, Belle and Sebastian also won Outstanding Contribution to Music honors at the 2014 NME Awards. ∙ Murdoch wrote and directed the film God Help the Girl, which was also the name of his 2009 musical side-project.