Bathers - With the black watch (acoustic solo) and Stephen McLaren, The Wee Red Bar, 25/3/2022
by Admin
published: 26 / 11 / 2022

Penny Black Music is presenting its first gig of 2023 at The Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on Saturday 25th March with The Bathers, the black watch (acoustic solo) and Stephen McLaren. Tickets, will be available in advance for £15 from www.wegottickets.com THE BATHERS The Glaswegian chamber pop outfit The Bathers only play gigs rarely, but have a fanatical following, especially in their native Scotland. The two shows they played in 2022, both for FRETS at the Strathaven Hotel in Lanarkshire, were very warmly received by fans, many of whom travelled from wide distances for them. The Bathers were formed in 1985 by Chris Thomson after the break-up of his previous band, the short-lived but fondly remembered Friends Again. While originally conceived as a project for vocalist, guitarist and keyboardist Thomson with a rotating cast of players, The Bathers’ line-up has stabilised in recent years to also feature remarkable sioprano drummer Hazel Morrison and electric guitarist Callum McNair. The group recorded six albums of impassioned, literate rock in the 1980s and 1990s, which found Thomson working at points with strings’ sections and on their 1995 acclaimed fourth album ‘Sunpowder’ with The Cocteau Twins’ Elizabeth Fraser. 2023 will be an important year for The Bathers, who will be releasing ‘Sirenesque’, their long-planned first album of new material in over two decades, and after they took an extended hiatus in the ‘00s. Penny Black Music is thrilled to be promoting this Edinburgh show with The Bathers, which will be their first gig there since 2016. THE BLACK WATCH (ACOUSTIC SOLO) John Andrew Fredrick has fronted the Los Angeles cult indie group, the black watch (always lower case) since 1987. Another band with a hardcore following, they have received much critical acclaim, including with both their 2020 albums ‘Brilliant Failures’ and ‘Fromthing Somethat’ winning joint Albums of the Year in the influential American music magazine, ‘The Big Takeover’. The group’s 21st album ‘Future Strangers’ will be released in 2023 on ATOM Records. Commited Anglophile Fredrick has also published four novels, including two books about a Los Angeles band, ‘The King of Good Intentions’ (2013) and ‘The King of Good Intentions II’ (2017).He will be playing a short UK tour in March as the black watch (acoustic solo), and Penny Black Music is promoting what will be his first ever Edinburgh show. We will also have news of a London date he will be doing with us soon. STEPHEN MCLAREN Stephen McLaren has been a charismatic presence on the Edinburgh indie scene for over a decade. The former pianist/ front man with dream pop trio Collar Up is now an established solo artist and released his second album, ‘They Don’t Put Any Money in Your Pocket’, under his own name in 2022. He will be opening the evening with a set of his ethereal, keyboard-played solo songs, which move from New Order-style pop numbers into classic Burt Bacharach singer-songwriter territory. Penny Black Music at The Wee Red Bar Edinburgh College of Art, Lauriston Place, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, EH3 9DF Saturday 25th March 7.00 p.m. £15 in advance from http://www.wegottickets.com http://www.pennyblackmusic.co.uk http://www.weeredbar.co.uk
Also In Pennyblackmusic Bands Night - Profile
Band Links:-
https://www.facebook.com/kelvingrovia/https://twitter.com/thebathersoffi1
https://thebathers.bandcamp.com/
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intro
We preview our first gig of 2023 which will take place at The Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on the 25th March with The Bathers, the black watch (acoustic solo) and Stephen McLaren.
interviews |
Interview with Chris Thomson (2024) |
![]() |
Chris Thomson, the frontman with acclaimed Scottish act The Bathers, speaks to John Clarkson about their first album in 24 years,, 'Sirenesque'. |
Interview (2022) |
Interview (2020) |
profiles |
With The Cowboy Mouth, Wee Red Bar, Edinburgh, 14/4/2023 (2023) |
![]() |
We preview our gig with The Bathers and The Cowboy Mouth at The Wee Red Bar in Edinburgh on the 14th April. |
live reviews |
(With Cowboy Mouth and Sugartown), Strathaven Hotel, Strathavan, 17/6/2022 |
![]() |
John Clarkson enjoys sets from The Bathers, Cowboy Mouth and Sugartown in the unusual setting of the Strathaven Hotel in South Lanarkshire. |
features |
An Introduction and a Profile (2002) |
In the first of a series of articles, John "Girder" Clarkson profiles some of the more misunderstood bands of recent years. Scotlands 'The Bathers' have often been labeled as pretentious and as a resu |
photography |
Photoscapes 1 (2024) |
![]() |
In the first of two galleries Philip Wark photographs the Bathers at The Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh. |
Photoscapes 2 (2024) |
Photoscapes 2 (2023) |
Photoscapes 1 (2023) |
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