THE EARLY BELLE & SEBASTIAN EPs (Part 1)

In the beginning, there was Tigermilk, the legendary debut LP originally given a release of just 1000 copies in June 1996 on the Electric Honey label, run by students studying a Music Business Course at a Glasgow college.

But there was earlier material.....and four songs which pre-dated Tigermilk would later find their way onto an EP released in May 1997:-

mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Dog On Wheels
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - The State I Am In
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - String Bean Jean
mp3 : Belle & Sebastian - Belle & Sebastian

Dog On Wheels was in fact only released after the band's second LP If You're Feeling Sinister had brought them to a wider audience and was a way of introducing some of the older material to their new fan base with the original pressing of Tigermilk long sold out. The EP was also the band's first hint of chart success as it reached #59.

Oh and the version of The State I Am In is a bit different from that which appears on Tigermilk......its more akin to a demo. As indeed are all four songs....

Over the next year and a bit, more EPs would follow before the September 1998 release of The Boy With The Arab Strap and a subsequent Brit Award which would catapult the band to fame......

Those other EPs will appear here in the fullness of time.