Belle and Sebastian is a British independent rock band from Glasgow, Scotland. It is created by Stuart Murdoch and Stuart David in January 1996.
The name of Belle and Sebastian is first used by Stuart Murdoch in a story telling the story of a group formed by two fictional characters, it is kept to name his own group. It is taken from a children's book by French author Cécile Aubry, who is adapted for television. Some albums contain this notice (in English and French): "Belle et Sébastien >>> is the title of a novel and a series of films by Madame Cécile Aubry: the artists thank Madame Cécile Aubry for having authorized them to borrow this name. "
Stuart Murdoch, a Scottish boy living in Glasgow, where he does odd jobs and hobbies for running, thinks for the first time of getting into the music business in 1995. He meets Stuart David in a dance program. Job creation for unemployed youth, and the band embryo tentatively dubbed Road Island starts recording some demos that quickly attract the attention of record companies.
Mark Jones of Jeepster Records gets a verbal agreement with them in January 1996, but Stuart Murdoch delays signing several months because of another project. Indeed, the demos recorded by Murdoch and David are used as part of a course at Staw College at the University of Glasgow, in which drummer Richard Colburn participates. The university offers a marketing course that prepares students to practice in the music sector. The college has a label called Electric Honey, and the expertise of external speakers, like Ken McCluskey, former singer of The Bluebells, and Alan Rankine, former member of Associates. Each year, the music business course aims to publish a single on the label of Staw College, but the quality of the songs of Murdoch and David this time to make an entire album. The two Stuarts bring together other musicians (Chris Geddes, Sarah Martin, Isobel Campbell, Stevie Jackson and Richard Colburn) and record in three days their first album under the name Belle and Sebastian.
